The cover art for the album was shot in Hollywood Township, Carver County, Minnesota by British photographer Andrew Catlin.

[1] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that despite noticeable musical influences from The Everly Brothers, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young on the album, "there's nothing nostalgic about the passion and desperation in every syllable of singer-songwriter Mark Olson's voice — or in the band's effortless mix of sawdust harmonies and craggy electric guitars.

"[4] Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times stated that Olson and Gary Louris "achieve a yearning ache that would have done top Burrito Gram Parsons proud".

[5] Rolling Stone's Chris Mundy hailed Hollywood Town Hall as the band's "definitive statement" and praised Olson and Louris' vocal harmonies.

"[12] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett called Hollywood Town Hall "one of the more unlikely major label releases of 1992" and described the album as "accessible enough for should-have-been success but bowing to no trends", concluding that it "sounds more like something made for the group's own satisfaction that connects beyond it as well.