"[15] Vanity Fair found that "Earth, Wind & Fire's oddysey of uplift, Powerlight is, impossible as it may seem, even more relentlessly cheerful than its predecessor Raise!, a concoction designed to do precisely that to listeners' spirit".

[16] Tony Prince of the Daily Mirror called Powerlight the album of the week exclaiming "The worst you can say about Earth, Wind & Fire are their high standards of arrangements are predictable.

"[17] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice proclaimed with an A− grade that "Their sonic affluence and showtime groove encompass whispering strings no less perfect than their JB guitar beats, Funkafunnies harmonies no less schmaltzy than their Lionel Richie homages, and when the synthesis is this catchy it's the best argument for universalism they'll ever make.

"[14] Craig Lytle of AllMusic in a four out of 5 star review found "Many groups lose the steam that propelled them to the top; Earth, Wind & Fire, contemporary sound and all, were still blazing when this album was released."

"[18][19] With a 3 out of 5 stars rating, Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote "Earth, Wind and Fire's new collection of Utopian funk, "Powerlight" (Columbia), has a glossy sheen that manages to coat even the banal songs with a pretty surface that's pleasing.

"[10] Rick Shefchik of Knight Ridder in a 7/10 review wrote, "The title suggests a further descent into hip spiritualism, but the record itself has all the elements of E,W&F's best work - punchy horns, clean riffs, hard dance rhythms and soaring group vocals.

Hepworth added "They weld their massive sound together with such precision that their whole ensemble can provide a rhythm as spare and compulsive as a snapping finger, they write production numbers instead of songs and never allow the momentum to flag for a second, they're soppy as hell and, when they produce records like 'Powerlight', there's absolutely nothing wrong with that".