[11][12][13][14] Accordingly, the signature riff for "More than a Feeling" bears a resemblance to that composed by Joe Walsh for the "Rides Again" track "Tend My Garden".

[20] The lyrics express the author's discontent with the present and his yearning for a former love named Marianne, whose memory is strongly evoked by an old familiar song.

[7] Billboard described "More Than a Feeling" as an "electric guitar-dominated rocker...made commercial with an accessible beat and hand-clap backup and smooth, soaring vocals.

"[22] Cash Box said "it’s a hard-rock offering, but has a sophisticated melody that makes good use of minor chords" and has "attractive" unison guitar work and powerful vocals.

[23] Record World said that with the song Boston "shows it is adept at rocking with a heavy metal fury, yet at the same time builds a dynamic tension around the melody of the tune.

[2] Hilburn also said that the song combines "the graceful splendor and rousing melodic hooks of the Moody Blues, the strident guitar impact of Queen's Brian May and some of the romantic pop-rock consciousness of Eric Carmen and the old Raspberries.

"[26] Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Paul Evans states that "as slick as it sounds, 'More Than a Feeling' strikes an uncommonly resonant emotional note.