Free (Ultra Naté song)

"Free" is a song by American recording artist Ultra Naté released on March 31, 1997 by her record label Strictly Rhythm. The song was co-written by Naté, Lem Springsteen and John Ciafone, while production was held by both Springsteen and Ciafone. "Free" was served as the lead single from her third studio album, Situation: Critical (1997). Musically, the song is a house influenced song that incorporates strong '90s soul, dance-pop, garage and disco.

"Free"
Single by Ultra Naté
from the album Situation: Critical
ReleasedMarch 31, 1997
Recorded1996
GenreHouse
Length
  • 5:52 (album version)
  • 3:25 (Mood II Swing radio mix)
LabelStrictly Rhythm, AM:PM
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Springsteen
  • Ciafone
Ultra Naté singles chronology
"How Long"
(1994)		 "Free"
(1997)		 "Found a Cure"
(1998)
Music video
"Free" on YouTube

"Free" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who commended her vocal ability and production. The song has been noted as one of the best dance anthems during the '90s decade. It became Naté's most successful single to date, charting in many countries around the world. "Free" reached number-one in Italy, and peaked inside the top ten in Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It also managed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 75, but reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Ultra Naté performed the song in various TV-shows, like the British music chart television programme Top of the Pops, where she performed several times.[1][2]

Background and release
"When Ultra and I got together to write lyrics, we had a blast. I wrote the chorus, she did the verses, and then we worked on the bridge together. The words came flowing out. We’d talked about formulas in dance music and what labels wanted. We wanted to be free from that – which is partly where the chorus came from. Plus, I remember talking to Ultra about my personal life and feeling trapped by other people’s expectations. We were both in our 20s and feeling stuck in various ways."

—Lem Springsteen of Mood II Swing talking about the song.[3]

Naté displayed her singing talent at an early age. She sang in church and studied medicine at the university in Baltimore. At weekends she went to clubs, where she met house music production team The Basement Boys. They started writing songs together, and released the 1991 album Blue Notes in the Basement. After she was dropped from the label, she signed Strictly Rhythm in New York. They wanted to release a new album with Naté, and she teamed up with producers and songwriters John Clafone and Lem Springsteen in Mood II Swing.

At first, Naté wanted a rock song that would work in clubs, and added the guitar line at the beginning of the song. The famous riff was played by Woody Pak, a friend of Springsteen. The title of the song came up completely random in the process of making a song that everyone could connect to. Naté co-wrote the lyrics and three gospel-singers; Audrey Wheeler, Cindy Mizelle and Khadejia Bass were hired to perform the chorus with Naté. American DJ, Little Louie Vega was the first DJ to play the promotional copy of "Free" in clubs. From there, the single went on becoming a global hit. The gay community saw it as a song about empowerment and made it a huge anthem.[3]

Critical reception

"Free" received positive reviews from most music critics. AllMusic had highlighted three official versions of the song as "AllMusic Track Picks"; the Bob Sinclar Remix, Jason Nevins Mix and the original version of the song.[4] The Baltimore Sun described it as a "guitar-driven dance tune".[5] Larry Flick from Billboard stated that it "shows [Ultra Naté] in excellent vocal form, belting with a level of authority that only comes with time and experience." He noted that "she has a field day with the message of empowerment that fuels "Free", not to mention producers Lem Springsteen and Jon Ciafone's invigorating soul-house groove."[6] Pamela Rivers from Columbia Daily Spectator noted the song as the "high point" of the album.[7] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "Don't let this one slip by without a careful listen."[8] Richard Wallace from the Daily Mirror noted it as a "divine" dance single".[9] A reviewer from the publication Resident Advisor awarded the song four stars out of five. The reviewer said, "This is a solid package from Curvve Recordings. “Free” has already received widespread plays from jocks worldwide, this time around it appears that it may well do the same. An absolute crowd puller, and an essential release for any house DJ that is looking for something to fill up a dance floor in seconds." Dave Fawbert from ShortList stated that the song "remains, forever, an eternal banger."[10] Sunday Life called it an "anthemic" hit single, adding that it "overwhelms" the other songs of the album.[11]

Chart performance

"Free" reached number one in Italy and on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It peaked inside the top 10 in Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, it reached number 4 during its second week on the UK Singles Chart, on June 15, 1997.[12] The song also was a top-20 hit in Norway and Belgium, where it reached numbers 17 and 11, respectively. In addition, it peaked within the top 30 in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden, the top 40 in Australia and Austria, and the top 50 in Germany. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Free" went to number 8 in September 1997. On the Billboard Hot 100, it managed to peak at number 75. It was certified Gold in both France and United Kingdom, with respective sales of 250,000 and 400,000.

Music video

A music video was made to accompany "Free". It was directed by American filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.[13] The video features Naté performing the song in an empty hospital. There are two different edits of the video, with some different scenes. "Free" was uploaded to YouTube in June 2008. In August 2020, the video has got over 8.7 million views.[14]

Impact and legacy

DJ Magazine ranked it number 5 in their list of the "Top 100 Club Tunes" in 1998.[15]

This song was featured in Rise FM radio station in the 2005 videogame, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

MTV Dance placed "Free" at number 31 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.[16]

Mixmag included the song in their list of "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever" in 2018. They wrote, "The opening bars are delicate, but soon enough the bumping production kicks in, underpinning a vocal that burns with the potency of the sun's surface, encouraging dancers to live by Ultra Naté’s words and be free."[17] In 2019, "Free" was also included in their list of "The 20 best diva house tracks".[18]

In "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s" for Attitude in June 2016, the song was ranked at number-one.[19]

British singer-songwriter and actor Will Young chose "Free" as his all-time favorite sunshine track in 2019. He said about the track, "MTV was so big then and this video came along and Ultra Nate had very short hair, dyed yellow and was so different-looking – she paved the way for a different kind of artist."[20]

Track listing
  1. "Free" (Mood II Swing Radio Edit) – 3:41
  2. "Free" (Full Intention Radio Edit) – 3:20
  3. "Free" (Mood II Swing Extended Vocal Mix) – 12:09
  4. "Free" (Full Intention Vocal Mix) – 6:50
  5. "Free" (R.I.P. Up North Mix) – 6:45
  6. "Free" (R.I.P. Down South Dub) – 6:25
  7. "Free" (Mood II Swing Live Mix) – 7:42
  8. "Free" (Mood II Swing Dub Mix) – 8:52
  9. "Free" (Full Intention Sugar Daddy Dub) – 6:05

Remixes
  • In 2005, Curvve Recordings & Peace Bisquit released the official remixes of "Free", which peaked on the US Billboard Dance Chart at number 23.[21] Remixers included:
    • "Free" (Oscar G remix)
    • "Free" (Junior Sanchez Remix)
    • "Free" (Brick City Remix)
    • "Free" (Corbett and Troia remix)
    • "Free" (Jason Nevins Remix)
  • In 2016, Defected Records released a Deep House remix/mashup of "Free" made by Claptone, called "The First Time Free (Claptone Remix)". This track includes the guitar riff from "Free", overlaid with the vocals from "The First Time", by Roland Clark.
  • In 2020, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike released on Smash The House D'Angello & Francis' Future Rave Remix of Free (Live Your Life)

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Ultra Nate – Free – Top Of The Pops – Friday 4th July 1997". YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  2. "Ultra Nate – Free". YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  3. Simpson, Dave (February 3, 2020). "How we made Free, by Ultra Naté". The Guardian. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  4. "Ultra Naté – Songs". AllMusic.
  5. "No place to be somebody, Her music tops that of Madonna and Janet Jackson on the dance charts. She's a superstar across the Atlantic. Meet Ultra Nate: the Baltimore diva you never heard of.". The Baltimore Sun. May 10, 1998. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  6. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. June 21, 1997. p. 73. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  7. Rivers, Pamela (February 12, 1998). "SHORT SPINS". Columbia Daily Spectator. p. 6. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. Sholin, Dave (August 15, 1997). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2168. p. 62. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  9. Wallace, Richard (May 8, 1998). "Out This Week. CD Releases". Daily Mirror. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  10. Fawbert, Dave (July 19, 2017). "29 classic songs that are somehow 20 years old this year". ShortList. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. Sunday Life. June 7, 1998. p. 43. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 15 June 1997 - 21 June 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  13. "Ultra Nate Free". mvdbase.com. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  14. "Ultra Nate - Free (Official HD Video)". YouTube. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  15. "DJ Magazine Top 100 Club Tunes (1998)". discogs.com. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  16. MTV Dance – Tuesday 27.12.2011
  17. "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever". Mixmag. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  18. "The 20 best diva house tracks". Mixmag. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  19. Fussell, Glyn (June 9, 2016). "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s". Attitude. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  20. "The ultimate summer playlist: 21 golden tracks chosen by 21 artists". The Guardian. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  21. Nielson, Inc, Billboard (October 23, 2004). Billboard - Hot Dance Club Play Chart. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
  22. "Australian-charts.com – Ultra Naté – Free". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  23. "Austriancharts.at – Ultra Naté – Free" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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  28. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3344." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  29. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 39. September 27, 1997. p. 13.
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  31. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ultra Naté – Free". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  32. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (14.08.1997 – 21.08.1997)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir – Tónlist. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  33. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Ultra Nate". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
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  38. "Norwegiancharts.com – Ultra Naté – Free". VG-lista. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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  47. "Rapports annuels 1997" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  48. "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Dance Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  49. "1997 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  50. "Classement Singles – année 1997" (in French). Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  51. "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
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  55. "British single certifications – Ultra Naté – Free". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 14, 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Free in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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