.jpg)
Deniece Williams has a pedigree stretching back to the early seventies as one of Stevie Wonder's back up singers. Solo success in the UK has been moderate, but 'Free', her only chart topper, has become one of 'those' number ones that time has simply forgot. In part you can see why - 'Free' is powered by an anonymous, off the peg smooth soul/jazz backing that's as horribly flat as the wallpaper Deniece is breaking free (HA!) from on that bizarre cover. Once heard, forever forgotten indeed, but instead of playing along with the blandness, Williams uses its flat surface as a sprung floor and bounces all over it. Her free running vocal swoops and highs are delightfully playful and they give 'Free' the same pleasurable lightness of touch that her man is giving her ("Feeling you close to me makes all my senses smile"). But it's not enough - once the fun is over then she's off; Deniece doesn't want to be tied down to any bloke "But I want to be free, free, free. And I just got to be me, yeah, be me", and to prove it her voice flies off out the door while her man can only watch from the lumpen bed of that music backing. Hedonistic? Selfish? Both? Maybe, but it's good to see a woman turning the tables for a change and 'Free' is a classy song that hides its 'strong female' message in a velvet glove instead of tubthumping it all over. Classy, but not a classic, which is why it's barely remembered now though I'd be the first to say it deserves a better legacy than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment