Prestige Records released the album in 1961, with Original Jazz Classics[1] and Concord Music Group issuing subsequent re-releases.

Rudy Van Gelder engineered the recording on July 11, 1961 at Van Gelder Studio (in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey), while Esmond Edwards supervised the session.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings describes Kirk's Work as "a largely forgotten Kirk album, but one which generally deserves the classic reissue billing.

"[1] Ron Wynn has described the album as "a fine reissue of Kirk in a soul-jazz and mainstream vein.

"[4] AllMusic notes a "swinging R&B vibe pervasive throughout the album," judging that "while certainly not the best in his catalog, it is a touchstone album that captures the early soulful Rahsaan Roland Kirk.