''Free Spirit'' is the eleventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Welsh singer

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

, released in Europe on 3 October 1995, by

EastWest Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...

and in the United States on 26 March 1996 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. 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) ''Making Love'' is a 1982 American drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. The film tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that dev ...

" narrowly missing the UK Top 40.

Background and recording

In the early 1990s, Tyler released three albums through

Hansa Records Hansa Records (also known as Hansa, Hansa Musik Produktion or Hansa International) was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. Profile The label's most successful act commercially was the German-based band Boney M. with mil ...

. With

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen, 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German a ...

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

in 1994. ''Free Spirit'' features collaborations with an array of producers, including

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...

, Andy Hill,

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

Christopher Neil Christopher Neil (born 1948) is an Irish-born British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. He has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José C ...

and

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

. The tracks were recorded in a number of studios, most notably at

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the The Bahamas, Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musici ...

, Bahamas, and

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

, New York. The album reunited Tyler with Jim Steinman to record cover versions of "

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" is a power ballad performed by the American musician Meat Loaf. It is a track off his 1977 album ''Bat Out of Hell'', written by Jim Steinman. It spent 23 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at #11, and earned ...

" and "

". Tyler described the latter as her "follow-up to "

Total Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three cel ...

, thirteen years too late". 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". Tyler's cover of " Bridge over Troubled Water" by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

features an uncredited guest vocal by

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

, who could not be named due to contractual limitations imposed by his label

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. "Make It Right Tonight" originally appeared on Gary Chapman's album ''The Light Inside'' (1994).

Release and promotion

''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 The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompanie ...

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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. ''Free Spirit'' was released in the United States on 26 March 1996 through

. Tyler embarked on a 22-date tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in support of the album, beginning in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

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 "Cherry Pop" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her second studio album '' Unlocked'' (2014). It was made available for digital download on 28 May 2015 through Roton as the record's second single. The track was written by t ...

Singles

Four singles were released from ''Free Spirit''. "

Making Love (Out of Nothing At All) ''Making Love'' is a 1982 American drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. The film tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that dev ...

" 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 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

and Top 100 singles charts respectively, and no. 45 in the UK. 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." " You're the One" was chosen as the follow-up single, charting at no. 99 in Germany. "

" was released in Europe and the United States, but failed to chart in both territories. The European release was on a

maxi CD A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

with radio edits, while Atlantic issued a 12" vinyl featuring one radio edit and four remixes by house DJ

Ralphi Rosario Ralphi Rosario is an American house musician and founding member of the influential Chicago DJ group Hot Mix 5. Biography When Hot Mix 5 was formed in 1981 on radio station WBMX (now WVAZ), Rosario, the youngest member of the group, was still in ...

. "Limelight" became the fourth and final single from the album, peaking at no. 76 in Germany. "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" was reissued as a digital single on 29 October 2021. "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)" will follow as another reissued digital single on 19 November 2021.

Critical reception

''Free Spirit'' was met with numerous negative reviews following its release in the United States. Writing for ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'', Rich Eichhorn described the album as a "dated-sounding hodge-podge of pop, country and disco". Mark Marymont of the ''

Springfield News-Leader The ''Springfield News-Leader'' is the predominant newspaper for the city of Springfield, Missouri, and covers the Ozarks. The ''News-Leader'' has a daily circulation of 32,363 and a Sunday circulation of 51,402 as of September 2013. Sunday sin ...

'' 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". In another negative review, Larry Printz of ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after ''The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its Al ...

'' opined that the use of multiple producers and musical styles "smacks of desperation", describing the album as "mediocre drivel". In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, 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". In a review of ''The East West Years'' box set for ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'',

John Earls John Earls is an English music journalist, broadcaster, and columnist, best known for his work as chief writer and editor of Planet Sound on ITV's and Channel 4's Teletext on analogue television and online. He has contributed widely in UK media by w ...

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".

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. ''Free Spirit'' charted for only two weeks in both Switzerland and Austria, peaking at no. 39 and no. 43 respectively.

Track listing

;Notes * signifies a

co-producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working Independent film, independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordina ...

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

– lead vocals *

Simon Franglen Simon Franglen (born Westminster, London, England) is an English composer of classical and film music. He is also a record producer and former musician. His credits include four of the list of top grossing films and six of the list of best-sell ...

– Synclavier programming (1, 2, 6), arrangements (1, 2) *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– keyboards (3, 13), programming (3, 13), arrangements (3, 13) * Andy Hill – keyboards (4, 10), guitars (4, 10), bass (4, 10), arrangements (4, 10) * Steve Pigott – keyboards (5, 7),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(5), bass (7), drum programming (7), keyboard programming (12), strings programming (12) *

– keyboards (6), arrangements (6) *

Stuart Emerson Stuart Emerson is a background vocalist and session musician playing drums, bass, keyboards and guitar. He has worked on albums for artists including Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler. His first recordings were with NWOBHM band Emerson which included ...

– keyboards (8, 9, 11, 14), guitars (8, 9, 11, 14), bass (8, 9, 11, 14), drums (8, 9, 11, 14), backing vocals (8, 9, 11, 14), arrangements (8, 9, 11, 14) * Simon Brooks – acoustic piano (11) * Paul Millns – electric piano (12) * Michael Thompson – guitars (1, 2, 6) * Eddie Martinez – guitars (3, 13) * Alan Darby – guitars (4, 10) *

Clem Clempson David "Clem" Clempson (born 5 September 1949) is an English rock guitarist who has played as a member in a number of bands including Colosseum and Humble Pie. Career Clempson began his career in the late 1960s with the power trio, Bakerloo (o ...

– guitars (5, 7) *

Chucho Merchán Jesús Alfredo Merchán (born December 24, 1952)), known professionally as Chucho Merchán, is a session jazz and rock bassist and guitarist. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1980. He has performed with Nucle ...

– bass (5) * Jimmy Bralower – drum programming (3, 13) *

Graham Broad Graham Broad (born 10 March 1957) is an English drummer who has been playing professionally since the age of fifteen, after attending the Royal College of Music in 1970. He is a former pupil of drumming educator Lloyd Ryan, who also taught Ph ...

– drums (4, 10) *

Gary Wallis Gary Wallis is a British drummer, percussionist, drum programmer, producer and musical director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and bands, including Nik Kershaw, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Il Divo, Westlife, Girls Aloud, Atomic Kitten, P ...

– drums (5, 7), percussion (12) *

– arrangements (3, 13) *

– arrangements (5, 11), backing vocals (7) * Gene Miller – backing vocals (1, 2) * David Morgan – backing vocals (1, 2) * Yvonne Williams – backing vocals (1, 2) *

Glen Burtnik Glen Burtnik (born Glenn Burtnick; April 8, 1955) is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx. Burtnik is originally from North Brunswick, New Jersey, in the Middlesex County part of t ...

– backing vocals (3) *

Kasim Sulton Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton ...

– backing vocals (3) *

Eric Troyer Eric Lee Troyer (born 10 April 1949) is an American keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and occasional guitarist, best known as a member of ELO Part II and its successor The Orchestra. Troyer was a founding member of ELO Part II, having been rec ...

– backing vocals (3) *

Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive ''vocal warm up#Vocalise, vocalise'' style gained in ...

– backing vocals (4, 10) * Chris Thompson – backing vocals (4, 10) * Alan Carvell – backing vocals (5, 7) *

Lorraine Crosby Lorraine Crosby (born 27 November 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. She was the female vocalist on Meat Loaf's 1993 hit single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". Her debut album, '' Mrs Loud'', was released in 2008. Ear ...

– backing vocals (8, 9, 11, 14) *

Tawatha Agee Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American backing vocalist and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''The New York Times'' as an "acrobatic, gospel-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of funk and soul band Mtume; her soulf ...

– backing vocals (13) *

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

– backing vocals (13) * Curtis King – backing vocals (13) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...

– backing vocals (13)

Technical

* Humberto Gatica – engineer (1, 2, 6), mixing (1, 2, 6) * Felipe Elgueta – engineer (1, 2, 6) * Simon Franglen – engineer (1, 2) *

Steven Rinkoff Steven Rinkoff is a Grammy Award–winning record producer, mixer, and sound engineer, best known for his work with songwriter-producer Jim Steinman. He has worked with Steinman since 1986 on various projects, in all facets of production (productio ...

– engineer (3, 13) * Tony Phillips – mixing (3, 13) * Brian Tench – engineer (4, 10) * Giles Twigg – engineer (4, 10) * Stuart Emerson – engineer (8, 9, 11, 14), mixing (8, 9, 11, 14) * Dan Priest – engineer (9, 11, 14), mixing (9, 11, 14) * Oswald "Osie" Bowe – assistant engineer (1, 2, 6) * Duane Hibbard – assistant engineer (1, 2) * Ronnie Rivera – assistant engineer (1, 2) * James Saez – assistant engineer (1, 2) * Robbes Stieglitz – assistant engineer (1, 2) * Dan Gellert – additional engineer (3, 13) * Scott Austin – assistant engineer (3, 13) * Tony Black – assistant engineer (3, 13) * Kyle Bess – mix assistant (6) * Alejandro Rodriguez – mix assistant (6) * Doug Cook – second engineer (9, 11, 14) *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York) (3, 13) * Don Ketteler – production coordination (3, 13) * Charles Vasoll – assistant to Jim Steinman (3, 13)

Design

* Mainartery – art direction and design * Paul Cox – cover photography * Dagmar Wildmann – live photography * Gillian Shephard – make-up * Pam Trigg – stylist

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Bonnie Tyler albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Jim Steinman Albums produced by Christopher Neil Albums produced by David Foster Atlantic Records albums