''Free'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Chico DeBarge. It was released by Alove Entertainment and Koch Records on March 5, 2003 in the United States. The album debuted and peaked at number 43 on the US Top Independent Albums chart, and produced the single "Home Alone." In 2017, the album was remastered and re-released as ''Free Remastered''. It features six additional tracks such as DeBarge's contribution "Hard Times" from the '' Beauty Shop'' (2005) soundtrack.

Critical reception

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'' magazine wrote: "Blending the lush romanticism of

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

with the hot-butter sexuality of D'Angelo, DeBarge creates the perfect soundtrack for a night of cuddling under the covers. Like many of today's R&B Romeos, the singer ..evokes

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and Marvin Gaye throughout this disc ..Produced and almost entirely written by DeBarge, ''Free'' has a warm, personal vibe tailor-made for lovers. Jason King of '' Vibe'' critiqued that the record was "too melancholic for urban radio" and contained "standard relationship" lyrics, but praised the "beautifully threadbare" arrangements and felt it was reminiscent of Wonder's 1972 album '' Music of My Mind'', concluding that: "And though DeBarge has yet to develop Stevie's breadth of vision, with ''Free'', he's well on his way to higher ground."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Free''. *Dexter Browne – photography *Gabe Chiesa – mixing engineer *Chico DeBarge – executive producer, producer *Michel Hand – engineer *Jean Marie Horvat – mixing engineer *Rob Reister – engineer, mixing engineer *Scooby – engineer *Smurf – executive producer

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Chico DeBarge albums 2003 albums