Christina Aguilera - Just Be Free

Recorded shortly before the she recorded her multi-platinum self-titled release, this is truly Christina's first album. Just Be Free is a balanced mix of touching ballads, mid-tempo songs and hi-energy club songs. Album Description

Oh MY God!

This is horrible to the point of tears. This CD is career ruining. If this were widely released (was it?), I don't know if we would be seeing the AMAZINGLY talented girl we see now. Stripped & Back to Basics are NOTHING short of IMPRESSIVE. I can't IMAGE the music industry without this talent, so thank GOD this wasn't released! WOW!!! 1 star because there isn't a "0" option! Sorry Christina! August 13, 2006

Strong vocal singing from her here! But very mediocre to average music!

I can understand why Christina Aguilera didn't want this album to come out. On the positive, her singing is superb from the snippets I heard on this never released CD. Everything that her multi-platinum 1999 RCA debut possessed. But sadly, the songs and music here don't blend with her singing. It's mediocre, pseudo-'70s dance funk music under her voice that sounded as if the producers watched too much of the show Solid Gold! And copied some of the grooves from half of Donna Summer's 1977, 1978 and 1979 albums. More that half the album has that disco dance sheen, but it doesn't fit with her style. Some numbers like Just Be Free, By Your Side, The Way You Talk To Me, the Believe Me dance mix and the salsa percussion of the Spanish version of Just Be Free are good. But the rest of the album comes off as misguided. The ballads here sound dull to me. Just listen to this album one time only in the car, then throw it out the window! Then listen to her debut, her hit-making Stripped, and her upcoming album Back to Basics, which comes out in August 2006, instead. Those albums tell you more about Christina and her talent than this paint-by-numbers album that never saw the light of day. August 12, 2006

Well you have to keep it in mind that...

All the reviews I have read for this CD say how awful this album is and really it's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. You just have to keep in mind that this album was recorded as a demo and Christina had no voice coaching at all. This whole album is her own god-given talent. It's not a grammy winner by any means but any Christina fan should appreciate it for the fact that it's raw and unprofessional. Sure the lyrics are childish and not the best but she sings her heart out and makes them worth listening to. July 17, 2006

That... was... just... awful... writing...

I love Christina's voice... and it's just not very well utilized here.

I can see why Christina fought the release.




The writing is bad to the point of being funny though (JUST BE FREE, the title track). I can write better lyrics than this, and I don't know you, but I bet you can too.

These are lyrics you expect on a "Mickey Mouse Disco" song or maybe slapped together for an episode of Sesame Street:

"Don't you see?, you just can't fight
We'll be dancing till the morning light
Just keep going, don't let it slip away
There's no stoppin' till the break of day"



ROFLMAO May 29, 2006

I wanted to throw-up!!!

Poor sweet Christina!!!

I'm a HUGE Christina fan and worship the ground she walks on! In my eyes she can do no wrong, that is until I heard this album. I was in my local CD store and always check out the Aguilera section for the chance of finding imported gems from overseas (I live in Australia so not everything comes our way). Saw this album which I had never heard of and decide I HAD to have it. Went home, put it on and I couldn't cope. My ears started to bleed!!! What had happened, was it some cheap imposter? It sounded like Christina had recorded it on a tape deck, in her garage, using a yamaha keyboard and some BAD (shudder) backing music. Its scary what a no money and some vile producers can do to an amazing singer. No wonder she wanted this album banned. Initially I wanted my money back, but I can cope with the fact that I know own some dodgy bit of Christina's past. I have not yet listened to it all the way through, I couldn't!!! I probably never will. I will file it away in my collection, perhaps incase it in concrete so it can never be played out loud again.... Just as Christina would have wanted.
PS I am hanging out for the follow up to Stripped!!! November 21, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...