Customer Reviews

Situation: Critical

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ultra Naté successfully redefined the boundaries of house music on this, her third full-length. The largely rock-leaning press has long contended that house, and its progenitor disco, are only about promoting the beat. Indeed, many uninformed listeners unfairly dismiss dance music as artistically inconsequential. Naté disproves all of this with a musically diverse album. "Situation:Critical" employs production from some of house music's most venerated names including Mood II Swing, Masters at Work and D-Influence.

Stylistically, the album runs the gamut from house and mid-tempo disco to R&B and soul. The album is rich in content ranging from social commentary to disaffected romance. The title track is a call for altruism in a dark world whereas the midtempo disco track, "New Kind Of Medicine" acknowledges the need of terminating a bad relationship. Also, Naté's breakthrough single, "Free", is included here. The standout of the album is without a doubt "Found a cure", a song about moving on in the face of regret. This track also appears again at the album's end, remixed by Full Intention.

With "Situation:Critical", Naté successfully affirms house music's importance and reaffirms her well-deserved status as one of house's most revered divas.

Man, this album is astounding in all aspects: her sultry, smooth voice, the live and synthetic instruments perfectly blended together in harmony, lyrics which exude depth and solidity, and an overall superb combination of disco, R&B/soul, and house.

Situation: Critical is a concept album about love and relationships, and coping with hard times. Ultra Naté shines brilliantly, in my opinion, better than her somewhat more cursory preceding albums. Even non-Ultra fans will love this, I've managed to convert some already!! Her sound is so different from others, she really is a paragon in the dance genre!

Fave songs: "Love You Can't Deny" "Any Ole Love" "Release the Pressure" and "Found a Cure (full intention mix)"

You HAVE to have this one...even if it's not your favorite...Ultra deserves support for her hard work, dedication, and talent. BUY BUY BUY!!!

I KNEW ULRTA HAD TALENT BUT I DONT THINK ANYONE EXPECT THIS ALBUM TO BE AS GREAT AS IT WAS. MOOD II SWING WERE THE MAIN PRODUCERS ON THE PROJECT. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THERE MUSICAL ABILITIES. ULTRA DELIVERS SOME GREAT R/B AND SOULD DIGS. ANY OLE LUV IS A GREAT SONG THAT PUTS U IN THE MIND OF PATRICE RUSHIN. FOUND A CURE IS HOT AND NEW KINDA MEDICINE GETS YA GOING BIG TIME. ULTRA IS SHOWING MORE VOCAL RANGE WHICH IS GREAT AND HER WRITING IS ON POINT. THIS IS AN ALBUM FOR EVERYONE NOT JUST CLUB HEADS. DONT MISS OUT. IVE OWNED THIS ALBUM SINCE IT WAS RELEASED IN 98 AND STILL SOUNDS GOOD.

I bought this CD after hearing " FREE".I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she had quite a few very good songs on here. some a little blues and dance and a quite unique style I had not heard of before. "New kind of medicine" is a catchy tune that could have been remixed into a great club hit. " Found a cure" is another dance highlight. Smart and fun,lots of energy. Definetely worth buying.

Ultra has set it off with Situation Critical. From the first time I heard "Free", I was hooked. Normally, I don't buy albums that artists put out simply because they have only one or two good club songs. They normally tend to dissapoint trying to sing ballads, or some other crazy stunt trying way too hard to showcase their talent or what ever they are trying to do. When artists do that, they tend to throw off the whole vibe that they initially established with the good club songs, which makes the disc unpleasent to listen to unless you continuously skip over songs. Ultra has managed to mix up the the slammin' hits with some very smooth R&B that doesn't make you cry when you hear it, but something you can vibe to. She has made fans at the club or at parties, not at the opera or funerals. Every time my friend plays her CD in the record store, Someone asks, "Who is that"? Or people dance to the music. I'm waiting for "Any ole Love" to drop. That song would pack out any dance floor, particularly R&B clubs in the U.S. and worldwide. Before I only bought DJ's, but I cant wait for Ultra Nate's new joints to drop. If you're a clubber like me and you don't have this CD, You are most definately slippin' because this joint right here is off the hook. Ultra, keep keep on rockin'. One.

This CD features some good house tracks, including her worldwide hit "Free". It also features the hit singles "Found A Cure" and "New Kind Of Medicine". The rest of the album sticks to the same formula. "Release The Pressure" is well written and upbeat, with the usual "house" feel, and "Love You Can't Deny" sounds similar to Free. Tracks like "Every Now And Then" and "Any Ole Love" are good to listen to, but nothing special - a bit of a change from her usual dance stuff. Sitaution:Critical isn't full of repetitive club tracks; all of the songs are well written and are generally good tunes.

Realmente espectacular! Situation:Critical es, sin duda, el mejor CD de música bailable hasta el momento. Canciones vibrantes y unos ritmos que no te los podrás sacar de la cabeza. Máxima puntuación para Ultra Naté y su Situation:Critical.

This album is a welcomed return for Ms. Nate. She really delivers the goods. From the time the CD starts until it ends, you feel that Ms. Nate has something to say and yes it is "critical." I enjoyed every song on the album. Tracks 2 - 5 show vintage Ultra Nate while the remainder of the CD show cases her sikly smooth vocals and lets her fans know, she's not afraid to try new things. Bravo, Ultra.

"Free," the debut single lifted from Ultra Nate's third CD, is an energetic thrust of pure disco bliss: positive lyrics, strong hooks, and a chorus to die for. It was surely one of the best and most soulful club anthems in years, and it richly deserved its Top Ten status in the UK. While the rest of "Situation: Critical" doesn't match the brilliance of "Free," there's enough to make the trip worth your while. An arsenal of aggressive guitars are set to a thumping disco beat and a powerful choir in the catchy "Found a Cure," while "Release the Pressure" stands out as well. "Love You Can't Deny" succeeds as an above-average house number, and the title track, which opens the CD, adds some variety to the mix as a laid-back, mid-tempo number. There was speculation as to whether Ultra Nate would have a future since amicably breaking ties with her mentors, the Basement Boys. But this fine album shows that she has enough identity and personality to stand tall on her own.

I bought this album more than 2 years ago, in its preview promo sale in Spain and I really enjoyed it for a long time... it remains fresh even now! Here to there, you could hear then "Free" or -lately- "Pressure" in various mixes at the best dance places, but -as Ms Nate says herself- every now and then, the tracks have kept a hot soul presence and a fresh mood into house-dance music. It's funny also how "Free" has became a genererational hymn for a whole comunity (you could say the gay comunity) for its sense of freedom and liberation from the pain. But there's more than dance in this CD: "It's crying time", i.e., is a soulful ballad that will surely touch you in some way.