Free Spirit is the eleventh studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, released in Europe on 3 October 1995, by EastWest Records and in the United States on 26 March 1996 by Atlantic Records. Tyler recorded the album with numerous producers, and it was her first album release in the UK and the US since Hide Your Heart (1988).
The album saw only moderate success in a small number of European countries, peaking highest in Norway at no. 22. Four singles were released in support of the album, with "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)" narrowly missing the UK Top 40.
Background and recording
In the early 1990s, Tyler released three albums through Hansa Records. With Dieter Bohlen as her primary collaborator, these albums were primarily aimed at the European market. Free Spirit would become Tyler's first album release in the UK and the US since 1988. Tyler signed to EastWest Records in 1994.[1]
The album reunited Tyler with Jim Steinman to record cover versions of "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)". Tyler described the latter as her "follow-up to "Total Eclipse, thirteen years too late".[2] The track features operatic vocals provided by Tyler's mother, Elsie Hopkins. Tyler stated, "I had a tape of her singing as my nephew played the piano. Jim Steinman got to hear this, and he was so impressed that he decided to sample her voice and use it on the track".[3]
Free Spirit was first released in Europe on 3 October 1995 through EastWest Records. In the following year, the album was re-issued in Germany with a cover of "Limelight" by The Alan Parsons Project replacing the remix of "Sexual Device". Tyler's version of "Limelight" was included on a compilation album titled Atlanta '96 - The Sound of Winners, released by EastWest in support of the German team competing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[5]Free Spirit was released in the United States on 26 March 1996 through Atlantic Records.[6][7]
Tyler embarked on a 22-date tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in support of the album, beginning in Nuremberg on 1 April and concluding in Hof on 11 May 1996.
In September 2021, Free Spirit was reissued as part of a three-disc box set titled The East West Years 1995–1998 through Cherry Pop.[8]
Singles
Four singles were released from Free Spirit. "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)" was released as the album's lead single in October 1995, and on 8 January 1996 in the United Kingdom. It peaked at no. 12 and no. 17 on the Dutch Top 40 and Top 100 singles charts respectively, and no. 45 in the UK.[9][10][11] In an interview with Night & Day magazine, Tyler expressed her frustration about East West's promotional strategy. "I was gutted about ["Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)"] because I made it with Jim Steinman [...] but it wasn't in the shops. People wanted to buy it, but I don't think they pressed enough copies because all the copies they pressed sold out."[12]
"You're the One" was chosen as the follow-up single, charting at no. 99 in Germany.[13] "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" was released in Europe and the United States, but failed to chart in both territories. The European release was on a maxi CD with radio edits, while Atlantic issued a 12" vinyl featuring one radio edit and four remixes by house DJRalphi Rosario.[14] "Limelight" became the fourth and final single from the album, peaking at no. 76 in Germany.[15]
"Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" was reissued as a digital single on 29 October 2021.[16] "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)" will follow as another reissued digital single on 19 November 2021.
Free Spirit was met with numerous negative reviews following its release in the United States. Writing for Dayton Daily News, Rich Eichhorn described the album as a "dated-sounding hodge-podge of pop, country and disco".[18] Mark Marymont of the Springfield News-Leader noted "Nothing to Do with Love" and "You're the One" as the album's strongest moments, but described "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)" as "perhaps the most over-produced track of the year".[20] In another negative review, Larry Printz of The Morning Call opined that the use of multiple producers and musical styles "smacks of desperation", describing the album as "mediocre drivel".[19]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Jose F. Promis noted that "Several songs on this album rate about average, but there are several shining moments which should have brought this set, from such an engaging singer, much more attention than the minimal it received".[17] In a review of The East West Years box set for Classic Pop, John Earls described Free Spirit as "a sprawling mess where songs were left to drift far past their natural running time," opining that the album's producers "didn't seem to know what to do with such a gifted singer".[21]
Commercial performance
Free Spirit’s chart performance was fleeting. Despite being Tyler’s first album release in the United Kingdom and the United States since 1988, it failed to chart in either territory.
The album fared best in Norway, entering at no. 22 and spending a total of three weeks in the Top 40.[22]Free Spirit charted for only two weeks in both Switzerland and Austria, peaking at no. 39 and no. 43 respectively.[23][24]
