"I'll Set You Free" is a song by

The Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

. It first appeared on their third album ''

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing, is all that exists; it is an antithesis of ''nothing'', or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to . The uni ...

'' in 1988, and was later released as its fourth single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Europe in 1989 as a goodbye-single to the fans. "I'll Set You Free" was released as a single in Australia in 1990 to promote their ''Greatest Hits''.

Personnel

The song was composed by guitarist and vocalist

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

with Eric Lowen and

Dan Navarro Dan Navarro (born Daniel Anthony Navarro, September 14, 1952) is an American vocalist, guitarist and voice actor best known as half of the duo Lowen & Navarro. He is first cousins with Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Pepp ...

, and produced by

Davitt Sigerson Davitt Sigerson (born 1957) is an American retired songwriter, record producer, record executive, and journalist. Early life and education Davitt Sigerson was born in New York City and attended school at Oxford University in England. Career Si ...

. The track was remixed by

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bassist and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco with musician Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 53rd greates ...

for release as a single, with additional engineering by Larry Alexander.Discogs
/ref> The album version of the song runs to 4 minutes 27 seconds, and the single mix lasts 24 seconds longer. As well as a thicker sound than the original recording, the single version has a more forceful introduction and a different lead vocal by Hoffs. An edit of the Single Mix was released in the United Kingdom, with a duration of 4:09.

Single

In the UK its primary

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

was "Watching the Sky", another album track from ''Everything''. The British 12" and CD singles also included a remix of " Walking Down Your Street" by

David Kahne David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive. Professional career Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and ne ...

as a bonus track. In Australia the song was backed by "Everything I Wanted" — later released as a single in its own right in 1990 — and was housed in a different picture sleeve. Unlike the preceding three singles from ''Everything'', all of which had reached the UK Top 40, "I'll Set You Free" only reached number 74 in the United Kingdom. It was also a minor hit in Australia, reaching number 81 in July 1990. No promotional film was made for the single, as the band had broken up a few weeks earlier. The single version of "I'll Set You Free" was included on ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (1990) and ''Best of The Bangles'' (1999), though the album version was included on the vinyl version of ''Gold'' (2020). The UK single version - which runs 4:09 - was included on the Bangles ''Japanese Singles Collection'' (2024).

Reception

Writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' in 1988, Jimmy Guterman wrote: "On numbers like "I'll Set You Free" and "Make a Play for Her Now", their harmonies are the clearest and most evocative they've ever been – their voices float, coalesce and soar".
Rolling Stone
'

Covers

"I'll Set You Free" was covered by the song's songwriters, Eric Lowen &

, on their 1993 album ''Broken Moon''. Their version featured Susanna Hoffs on backing vocals.

Charts

Notes

{{authority control 1989 singles The Bangles songs Columbia Records singles 1988 songs CBS Records singles Songs written by Dan Navarro Songs written by Susanna Hoffs Songs written by Eric Lowen