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

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.