The Cocoanut Grove show featured Garland with Freddy Martin's Orchestra, rather than others like Nelson Riddle or Billy May.

[3] Billboard magazine commended the album, emphasizing its "exceptional" vocal performance, a "striking" cover photo, and "excellent" sound quality.

"[4] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic website rated the album four out of five stars, noting that Garland's reputation as a live performer was established in the spring of 1951, yet it took eight years for her first commercially recorded live album to be released by Capitol Records.

[3] Frank Behrens from the Brattleboro Reformer pointed that Garland performs several songs, including "When You're Smiling," "Day In-Day Out," and a medley featuring "Over the Rainbow" and noted some vocal challenges, particularly in the last mentioned.

[5] Behrens praised Garland as the greatest American female singer and described the album as a treasured addition to her legacy.