The Wild Is Calling

After listening through Natasha Bedingfield’s new album a handful of times I’m wondering why she hasn’t settled in on African inspired gospel tunes yet. Her lyrics are already inspirational. And her songs uplifting. In fact i think she even mentions wanting to perform in Africa using indigenous instrumentation in one of the videos below. Add in some tribal drums, or even a djembe or cajon, and stripped down instrumentation and you’ve got a great album.

This pop stuff is too calculated and too clean to let her roam as she should. she’s always been known to have a killer voice and after watching some of her live acoustic performances over the years (links to follow) i was excited to hear the “Less Is More” versions of some of her songs that were packaged with the iTunes deluxe version of her 2010 release, Strip Me.

These four stripped down tracks are the motivation behind this post. upon hearing these songs, in particular “Can’t Fall Down” and “Weightless” (both of which i didn’t really enjoy as pop recordings), i am inclined to believe that if she fully committed to this sound for a full LP she would have a very good album on her hands. I’ll admit that at times she can wander with aimless vocals as soul singers are prone, but this only reinforces my point that she is better suited for the minimalist structure of such an endeavor. This sort of soul driven inspirational music is right in her wheelhouse and allows her not only to showcase her pipes but also the genuine inflection of her delivery. Go on girl, bring it on home.

And for all you guitarists out there, check out the dude playing acoustic for N.B. in the first 3 links posted (i think his name is Dave Glass).

“The Scientist” (Coldplay cover)

“I Bruise Easily”

“Unwritten”

“Can’t Fall Down”

“Weightless”

“All I Need”

“Strip Me”