Free Yourself

Fantasia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 23, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: J-Records
• ASIN: B00065BYAY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (652 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,356 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Few would accuse Fantasia of a reluctance to abide by the wisdom that what you've got, you should flaunt, and the vocal gusto she slathers over her full-length debut gets partial credit for earning--and keeping--your attention. To a greater extent, though, the high-wattage help heaped over the Idol 3 champ and Patti LaBelle-sound-alike makes the disc dazzle. In addition to pitch-ins from Missy Elliott, who produced and co-wrote three tracks and busts out a two-snaps-up rhyme on "Selfish (I Want U 2 Myself)," Jazze Pha duets on the ultra-mod "Don't Act Right" and Jermaine Dupri wrote and produced the smolderer "Got Me Waiting." Surprisingly, though, it's not those tracks or even the Idol-propelled cover of the Gershwins' "Summertime" that will stick with listeners most. Instead, first single "Truth Is," a sweet, old-school R&B lament directed toward a lost love, and "Baby Mama," a spirited shout-out to hard-working single mothers, snare standout status with their from-the-gut authenticity. Keeping it real is what won Fantasia the hearts of millions on TV, and despite Free Yourself's likable slickness, it convinces that--hot commodity or no--she's not about to forget it. -Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

Includes bonus track. J Records. 2005. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 146 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeded expectations, November 23, 2004

By 

MovedbyMusic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Yourself (Audio CD)

There are some very cool, slick sounds on this cd. Fantasia's voice on AI got a little screechy to me on "I Believe" but not here. "I Believe" is incredibly passionate to me. Her soulfulness is really showcased with some fantastic background sounds from the more urban "Ain't Gonna Beg," and "Free Yourself" and back to a bayou-jazz sound from "Summertime," "You Were Always on My Mind" (a simple piano, drums, some sax and her voice are lovely together and little more is necessary) and of course her rendition of "I Believe."

The better tracks are funky - "Truth is," "It's All Good" and "Selfish" are catchy and have a more traditional R&B sound as does "Baby Mama".

Overall this cd is surprisingly really good to me. I kept thinking about Ruben Studdard's first full length cd and how I was expecting something more from him like what we'd heard on AI and it turned out to be so urban it overshadowed the real joy and R&B smoothness of his voice to me. So I guess my expectations weren't very high for this cd because I thought the same thing might happen. Too much in-your-face urban clouds the universally appealing talent by these young hopeful singers. However, these tracks by Fantasia made a far more positive impression on me than I thought they would because they are very contemporary but not so urban sleek they slide off the plate.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full Review of an amazing Debut!, November 23, 2004

By 

John C. Chapman (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Yourself (Audio CD)

Fantasia - Free Yourself

1 - Ain't Gon' Beg You -- A nice solid r&b soul groove that suits Fantasia really well. She really let's loose here. A nice solid start - ***

2 - Free Yourself -- Okay, here it is. One of the cd's most standout songs. Really amazing. Fantasia could really duke it out, and come out on top, with any of the vocalists in music today, and this song proves it. Wow -- ****

3 - Truth Is -- The first single is nothing but solid. Fantasia really could take on Mary J with this one. Instead of seeing them duel it out, I would love to see them duet. Its wonderful to see a single with great writing, production, and amazing performance by Fantasia. Refreshing for horrible American Idol singles. -- ***1/2

4 - Selfish (featuring Missy Elliot) -- Okay, here we go! Fantasia get's hip-hop on us, and boy does it work. This is one fun song, and a guest rap by Missy Elliot only helps things out. This is one tight track, everything is close to dance-worthy perfection. -- ****

5 - Summertime -- Of course this must be concluded, Fantasia knocks this song out of the park, as usual. There is no way this could garner anything but a four star perfect rating. Never gets old. -- ****

6 - Baby Mama -- I know when I read the title of this song I thought, Fantasia what are you thinking? But in turn, what was I thinking? This is by far the most fun song on the album. It's also very powerful, even I connect, and I do not have a child, nor am I a woman. Bravo .. Don't judge a book by its cover because I could see this being big. I simply cannot stop listening to this track. -- ****

7 - Got Me Waiting -- Very catchy chorus. Overall great song, after some great powerhouse it pales a little in comparison, but it's nice to hear Fantasia take a break and do something really smooth. -- ***

8 - It's All Good -- Fantasia get's crunk again. Woah! Love the background beat on this. Very very tight production here. She really fits all of these styles. And this is one fun song. This song is better than anything on the new Destiny Child cd, another standout song. This is one of my favorites! -- ****

9 - Always on My Mind -- Another song Fantasia sang on the show. This is by Willie Nelson. Yeah, so now we have Fantasia's take on country. This is by far, the most emotionally charged song on the cd. Fantasia sounds amazing, I want this on the radio. This song steals the show. -- ****

10 - Good Lovin -- Don't know what could follow the last song, but this song tries to slow it down even more. A very slow jazz feel to this one. I think it's one of the weaker songs on the cd. It's not terrible, but its not up to the rest. -- **1/2

11 - Don't Act Right (feat. Jazze Pha) -- I don't love the intro. with Jazze Pha, however as soon as Fantasia starts rhyming over this killer loop background, all my hope was restored. This is another hip-hop influenced song. The more I listen to this track, the more I love it. Very Very good. -- ***1/2

12 - This Is Me -- Overall pretty average song. The writing isn't as strong as some of the other songs, and the production of the song itself is rather weak. Fantasia sounds wonderful though, but this one I would skip over. -- **

13 - I Believe -- Ever since we saw her sing this as a victory performance on the show, I still get goosebumps. This is truly an amazing song, solely based on the vocal performance of Fantasia's. Even on cd, this provides the emotional impact of her onstage performance. Absolutely amazing -- ****

So overall, Fantasia really delivers, in a big way. She succeeds at all types of music, R&B, Hip Hop, Country, Jazz, etc. She does it all here. I don't know when the last time was that I rated so many songs off of one album with four stars (7 of the 13 songs here got 4 star ratings from me), so that says something. Although there were 2 songs I feel lacked a little passion, it doesn't mean this album is anything but amazing. What a debut! I hope this gets the chart success that it deserves. And I truly cannot wait to buy more and more albums from Fantasia. I really believe this girl has what it takes to be huge, and thank God American Idol finally put out a deserving winner with exceptional talent.

Best Songs: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13

Overall rating: **** (perfect)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1st Album More Than an Honorable Mention, December 2, 2004

By 

SDK "sdkwonderful" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Yourself (Audio CD)

I got the CD and had to listen to it maybe twice before I began to appreciate fullness and realness (not to mention nice melody) of many of the songs. Music is like that with me; can't appreciate it on just one sample. I can listen to all the songs, but have a tendency to skip to: TRUTH IS (wish they would play more of the others on the radio), GOOD LOVIN(Oh man, My FAV! what a sweet, classic retro, on-vinyl-like sound. A lot of old-hats will enjoy this one). BABY MAMA, YOU CAN CALL ME SELFISH If U Want 2. Her 1st Album already has a seasoned, veteran sound (maybe with all the veteran contributors and collabs). It's her unique, not carbon-copied or cookie-cutter vocals that really set her apart and makes her work appealing. Some people critize her sound, but a lot of artist including Patty LaBelle, Denise Williams, Erykah Badu and Macy Gray work those eccentric sounding voices into heart-touching pieces of musical art.