[8] In Record Mirror the album received a lukewarm review, Eleanor Levy wrote: "'Diary Of A Hollow Horse' treads the usual China Crisis tightrope of mature, enduringly atmospheric songs and pleasant-to-the-point-of blandness background music.

"[10] David Spodek, reviewer of RPM, expressed an opinion that "this release is proof enough that the choice of producer will certainly influence how an album will sound."

As per him Walter Becker brings a lot of Steely Dan sound into the record, "and it makes for very smooth listening from beginning to end".

[11] Trouser Press also noted Becker's contributions to band's sound and found that "Diary is no match for their finest work, but a gratifying effort all the same.

"[12] All tracks written by Gary Daly, Gary Johnson, Eddie Lundon, Brian McNeill and Kevin Wilkinson All tracks produced by Walter Becker, except 1, 6, 9 produced by Mike Thorne, and 2 produced by Walter Becker and China Crisis[13] This version was issued in full consultation with Gary Daly of China Crisis and includes the original Walter Becker-produced tracks, band demo and live versions.