"[7] The Lawrence Journal-World admired the opening track, writing that "Adams wails with a manic spark oscillating somewhere between James Brown r&b and the 'free thing' explosiveness of the 1960s black, avant garde.

"[3] The Indianapolis Star stated: "A lapse of intensity comes with the finale, Billy Joel's 'Just the Way You Are', which reverses another cliche—that good jazzmen always redeem cheap tunes.

"[11] The Buffalo News called Old Feeling "one of the great jazz albums of the year," and praised Adams's "marvelously outsized, earthy gestures.

"[8] USA Today labeled the band "wild, woolly, roaring, precise, funny, sometimes quite tender and always on fire, no matter the tempo.

"[14] AllMusic noted that, "unlike some other avant-gardists who seem to lose their personality and purpose when they play standard material, Adams turns even overplayed songs into his own inventive devices.