The original cover art on the LP featured a single sleeve with a die-cut opening on the front through which a reflective foil "mirror" was seen, conveying a distorted image of the person viewing it.

The idea, by guitarist Mick Box, was for the cover to directly reflect the album title, and this theme is carried through the band photos on the rear of the LP sleeve, which have also been distorted.

In a favorable contemporary review, Billboard, noting that the band was "determined to break through", described the music in the album as "a mirror, as the hard rock five produce a driving, psychedelic flow that's sufficiently hypnotic, controlled and groovy to reflect the tastes of many youthful rockers.

AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco deemed Look at Yourself to be the point where "the group perfects its fusion of heavy metal power and prog rock majesty".

The album was praised for its track selection, which ranged from "powerful" rockers to the prog-oriented "July Morning", and for singer David Byron's "multi-octave, operatic style.