[3] The Sun-Sentinel stated that "Bob James' effort to shed his image as the king of Muzak jazz partially succeeds on his latest offering.

"[4] The Washington Post deemed the album a "made-for-background batch of West Coast fake funk and fusion.

"[5] On AllMusic, Jason Elias wrote: "Obsession displays the often chilly sounds of period synthesizers.

[...] While many might be put off by the pure 1980s production values of '3AM' and 'Rousseau', luckily, they have compelling arrangements to ward off boredom.

The album's best song, 'Rain', is a methodical and pretty track that is an essential for devotees of the often-maligned late-1980s jazz-pop era.