[14] "The Devil He Wore a Hickory Shoe" is an interpretation of a gospel song beloved by Jackson's mother.

[16] The Gazette noted that Jackson's "music is informed not only by the blues, but also by the country, ragtime and early jazz records he heard growing up".

[12] Billboard called the album "a sweet recital drawn from the musician's apparently vast repertoire of country blues.

"[7] The Washington Post said that "Jackson has pared away all the unnecessary notes to reveal the essential dialogue between his gravelly baritone voice and his sparkling, skeletal guitar lines.

"[3] The Edmonton Journal stated that Jackson's "voice is a warm but flexible instrument that is equally comfortable performing story songs, relating dramatic gospel inspired tunes or conveying raw emotions.