[1] Following on the success of contemporaries Black Box and Technotronic, Gonna Make You Sweat was a worldwide smash, reaching number two on the US Billboard 200.

The album's first single "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in February 1991.

James Muretich from Calgary Herald wrote, "From the title track to "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." (a nod here to TV talk show host Arsenio Hall), the music is irresistibly infectious to anyone the least susceptible to dancin' the night away.

C+C Music Factory cleverly snatch melodic lines from people like Suzanne Vega while also providing a few riffs of their own, especially those of guitarist Paul Pesco.

"[6] In a contemporary review, Select stated that "For every might tune like the title track, there's an over-long muddled "What's This Word Called Love?"