Free (Chico DeBarge album)

2003 studio album by Chico DeBarge

Free

Studio album by

Chico DeBarge

Released| March 5, 2003
Length| 50:23
Label|

* Alove
* Koch

Producer| Chico DeBarge
Chico DeBarge chronology
| The Game
(1999)  | Free
(2003)  | Addiction
(2009)

|
|

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,[1] 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.[2]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]

AllMusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five.[3] People magazine wrote: "Blending the lush romanticism of Maxwell 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 and Marvin Gaye throughout this disc [...] Produced and almost entirely written by DeBarge, Free has a warm, personal vibe tailor-made for lovers.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "It's Cool"| Chico DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:52
2.| "Free"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:27
3.| "Smile (interlude)"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 0:31
4.| "Smile"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:10
5.| "The Unloved"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 4:48
6.| "Style"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 6:35
7.| "Home Alone"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:54
8.| "Virtuous"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 4:41
9.| "Page from the Journal"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:27
10.| "Questions"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:52
11.| "Availability"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 3:33
12.| "Not 2 Gether"|

* DeBarge
* Joe

* DeBarge
* Joe

| 3:24
13.| "Next Time"|

* DeBarge
* Joe

* DeBarge
* Joe

| 4:57
14.| "Royalty (Outro)"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 1:11
Total length:| 50:23

Free Remastered (2017) bonus tracks[2]No.| Title| Writer(s)| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

15.| "Math"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:04
16.| "When You Gonna"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:58
17.| "Be Beautiful"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:28
18.| "Hard Times"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:46
19.| "Supermodel"| DeBarge| DeBarge| 2:10
20.| "Close to You" (featuring Sean Pen)|

* DeBarge
* Pen

| DeBarge| 2:47

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Free.[5]

* 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 – egnineer
* Smurf – executive producer

|

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (2003)  | Peak
position

|

US Independent Albums (Billboard)[6] | 43
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7] | 79

## Release history

[edit]

The Game release history  Region  | Date  | Format  | Label  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|

Various  | March 5, 2003  |

* CD
* digital download

* Alove
* Koch

| [3]
Various  | September 12, 2017  |

* CD
* digital download

| Skye  | [2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ allmusic.com
2. ^ a b c "Free Remastered by Chico DeBarge". iTunes. 12 September 2017.
3. ^ a b c Allmusic review
4. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Free". People. April 7, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
5. ^ Free (liner notes). Chico DeBarge. Koch Records. 2003.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. ^ "Chico DeBarge Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
7. ^ "Chico DeBarge Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2022.

*[No.]: Number
*[Ref(s)]: Reference(s)