In a Rolling Stone interview about the tour during which the album was recorded, Browne expressed pleasure at finally being able to afford the session musicians he wanted to go out on the road with him.

In popular culture, the album cover can be seen framed and hanging on the wall next to the front door in the apartment on the set of Mork & Mindy.

The original Rolling Stone review in 1978 by music critic Paul Nelson praised the album, writing "What I really like about Running on Empty probably has little to do with the generosity or genius of its dual concepts, with the songwriter's craftmanship skill, with how much I admire the music of David Lindley and the Section, but rather with Jackson Browne himself.

"[4] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a B+ grade: "Jackson sounds relaxed verbally, vocally, even instrumentally...

"[6] Blender gave the 2005 reissue a 4 of 5 star rating, stating it "cuts deeper than most road sagas partly because Browne had the brilliant notion of recording on the fly...

It also works because he tapped the culture's circa-1977 sense that it was running on empty, feeling like a trashed Holiday Inn room—Empty is about something larger than the misery of room service.

"[5] Bill Shapiro called the album "Audio verité—one of the most conceptually fascinating recordings in the history of rock & roll.

"Edwardsville Room 124" on Disc 2 of the package, which is a DVD Audio version of the album's track lineup that features a 5.1 surround sound mix, among other bonus items, such as video montages and lyrics.