The phrase "of missing persons" was derived from a line in a Little Feat song, "Long Distance Love".

[1] Despite being Browne's only album to date to reach number 1 in the Billboard charts, it received mixed critical reviews.

Writing retrospectively for AllMusic, music critic William Rulhmann called some of the tracks awkward or foolish.

He compared the album with earlier releases: "If Browne was still trying to write himself out of the cul-de-sac he had created for himself early on, Hold Out represented an earnest attempt that nevertheless fell short.

"[2] Similarly, critic Robert Christgau wrote: "Never hep to his jive, I'm less than shocked by the generalized sentimentality disillusioned admirers descry within these hallowed tracks, though the one about the late great Lowell George... is unusually rank.