It peaked at number 186 on the Billboard 200 chart and was voted the 29th best album of 1977 in the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

Joining the band on saxophone was Steve Douglas, who, like Nitzsche, is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and who would also play on many Mink DeVille albums.

[3] American Hit Network said of the album, "Under-promoted, under-appreciated and ultimately under-sold, Cabretta is a sleeper masterpiece that sounds as good today as it did in 1977."

They added: Trouser Press described the Mink DeVille of this era as follows: "Little Girl" was recorded originally by the Crystals in 1964 under the title "Little Boy."

"[8] In liner notes to the 2001 compilation album Cadillac Walk: The Mink DeVille Collection, Ben Edmonds relates how Mick Jagger dropped by the Hollywood recording studio where Jack Nitzsche was producing Cabretta: "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" is not a cover of the song of the same name by Patty & the Emblems.