[2][3] In 2006, Henry referred to Kindness of the World as alternative country—although he didn't consider that to be a defined genre when he made the album—and expressed regret over its recording process.

"[17] Trouser Press thought that "the songs are so fine that such eclecticism doesn’t call attention to itself; Kindness of the World sounds completely organic and thought-out.

"[19] Stereo Review noted that "in spare but telling language Henry evokes the romantic fatalism at the heart of the country-music mythos in 'She Always Goes'.

"[20] The Austin American-Statesman considered the album to be one of 1993's best, writing that, where Henry's songwriting "formerly flirted with the elliptical and oblique, his material has become as elemental and direct on the surface as it is multilayered beneath it.

"[21] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution determined that the songs "have a lived-in, rustic feel, a sustained understatement that throws the singer's mature narratives and life sketches to the forefront.