The album has a very light tone and a pop rock feel to it compared to Arena's subsequent albums, which were darker and more personal.
Strong as Steel was re-released in 1996 by Sony Music, however the re-release is substantially different from the original version. The cover art for the re-release is completely different and only five of the thirteen tracks from the original version are included. Five previously unreleased songs (including a demo destined for her next studio effort) recorded at a later date were added for a total of ten tracks on the new version. The uniqueness and rarity of the original 1990 version has made it a highly sought after collector's item.