"[1] Cash Box said of it that "Lighthouse producer Jimmy Ienner blazes a ballad trail, setting new Cleveland quartet in a fine light of its own.

[3] Elk Grove Herald critic Tom Von Malder noted the song's "exciting changes of tempo.

"[4] Music journalist Mark Borack said that the song is "papered with pretty piano passages and melodies.

[6] For example, it was a hit in the band's native Cleveland and reached the Top 20 on the survey of the radio station KYSN in Colorado Springs.

[15] Lead singer Eric Carmen said that the band was surprised that Capitol released "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" as the lead single and said that "They pressed up the records without saying anything on the label because they thought that we sounded a lot like the Bee Gees and they wanted to fool program directors.