Lisa Stansfield garnered favourable reviews from music critics and was commercially successful, reaching number two in the United Kingdom and receiving Gold certification.

Between So Natural and Lisa Stansfield, she recorded and released two singles from the 1994 soundtracks: "Make It Right" from Beverly Hills 90210: The College Years and "Dream Away" (duet with Babyface) from The Pagemaster.

In Europe and North America, Lisa Stansfield was released with bonus remixes of "The Real Thing" and "People Hold On".

In Japan, bonus tracks included "People Hold On" (Bootleg Mix) and a cover of Player's song, "Baby Come Back".

In 2003, the album was remastered and re-released with three bonus songs: "People Hold On" (Bootleg Mix), "Baby Come Back" and "Breathtaking", B-side of the withdrawn single "Don't Cry for Me".

This edition was expanded to feature rare tracks and 12" mixes plus videos, live footage and a specially recorded interview with Stansfield.

"Never Gonna Fall" (remixed by Junior Vasquez and Victor Calderone) was chosen as next promotional single in the United States and released in October 1997, also reaching number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs (for two weeks).

According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic, the album "finds Stansfield at the top of her game, turning in a stylish set of smooth, disco-inflected dance-pop.

"[1] Josef Woodard from Entertainment Weekly wrote that Stansfield "plays her old-school R&B straight, unleashing white-soul-queen riffs over disco grooves or pop-soul ballads spiced with horns, strings, and backup vocals.

"[5] According to Natasha Stovall from Rolling Stone, "unlike many of her peers from England, Stansfield is not jumping on the latest UK dance trend.

The heat comes from Stansfield, who belts her heart out in a voice that's smooth and pliant when she's falling in love again ('The Real Thing') but edgy – even harsh – when she's staring, eyes appropriately red-rimmed, at a broken affair ('I'm Leavin'').

Stovall added that Stansfield will always fit more smoothly in a smoky piano bar than in the strobe-lit warehouse of a moody DJ star."