AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis found that
Freak of Nature "continues with the late-'80s bombastic funk/soul/pop revival ushered in by her debut,
Not That Kind, but this time there's a few more ballads in the mix [...] Reminiscent of
Taylor Dayne at times, Anastacia successfully avoids the sophomore slump by delivering an album full of raw emotion, power, and musicality which manages to improve upon its predecessor." Similarly,
Yahoo! Musics James Salmon Overall cited the album as "highly polished, well-penned pop album that is given a much-needed edge by a performer whose voice should be bottled and donated to scientific research." He felt that "Anastacia does manage to vary both tempo and mood with considerable skill. Just when you think she's about to grind to an insipid halt she snaps out of it with good old fashioned pop rants against the male species."
Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani fel that
Freak of Nature "steers clear of the power ballads that weighed down her debut. Though the album’s highlight is the summery, midtempo "Overdue Goodbye," Anastacia should keep the sloppy slow numbers to a minimum and, like a good bombastic diva-in-training, keep her eye on the dancefloor." In a negative review,
Entertainment.ie wrote: "Anastacia's choice of material is consistently weak, largely built around 80's style power ballads that make her sound like a poor man's
Tina Turner. Only on a handful of heavy, dramatic funk tracks is she allowed to really show what she can do.
Freak of Nature is not without its merits as a pop album, but its title flatters itself."
NMEs Louis Pattison called the album an "inauspicious follow-up" and a "relic of pop days gone by". ==Track listing==