"[8] Writing for Point of Departure, Bill Shoemaker called the album "a comprehensive statement of [the band's] development in the decade since they had arrived in London," and commented: "Conversant with how the Blue Notes used dramatic swells, rhythmic permutations, and moments of suspended animation, where the four musicians swirl about each other before heading off in a new direction, the audience audibly delights in the wild ride.

"[9] In an article for JazzWord, Ken Waxman remarked: "At certain junctures the back-and-forth teamwork suggests earlier simpatico pairing such as Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond or Thelonious Monk and Charlie Rouse," but suggested that "the suspicion remains that the four are beginning to feel the pressure of trying to replicate with one horn arrangements created for two" given the death of trumpeter Mongezi Feza in late 1975.

[10] Jason Weiss of Itineraries of a Hummingbird stated that the album "reconfirms the special sympathy they shared," and noted that "Paradoxically, as may happen in the crucible of exile, they sound more deeply South African than when they lived there: through these years, memory and imagination conspired to transpose the voicings they grew up with... into new forms ever at the edge of wildness, full of lyrical uplift and rousing rhythmic subtleties.

"[11] Commenting for London Jazz News, Jon Turney called the album an "incandescent collective display," with "the group tearing into ten named tunes."

He wrote: "the habits of hard bop are mostly left behind: the last half hour sees them draw on South African music more directly with four traditional anthems arranged by the band.