[6] Rolling Stone later ranked "Reach Out" number 206 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Lamont Dozier said that he wanted to write "a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero.

Arranger Paul Riser overdubbed instruments including a piccolo and flute in the intro, and a drum pattern made by using timpani mallets on a tambourine head.

After the recording was completed and on hearing the final version, the group begged Berry Gordy not to release it; according to Fakir, "for us, the song felt a little odd."

AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubbs' vocal as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release.

"[10] Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains [the Four Tops'] signature tune.

[12]Cash Box said that it is "a hard-driving, pulsating pop-r&b romancer about a very-much-in-love guy who claims that he'll always be at his gal's beck-and-call.

The version by the Four Tops was used by Joe Biden during his campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election.