[7][8] "Hastings Street", about Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood, is the only song penned by Hayes.

[9] The New York Times wrote that the album "finds Hayes swinging briskly as he revisits the tunes he played in the early years, when he helped define the classic hard-bop sound.

"[10] DownBeat noted that "some of the album’s best playing ... can be found on the heads, thanks to arrangements that treat the rhythm parts as though they were as integral as the melody—which, of course, they are.

"[11] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opined that Hayes "gathers up a fine bunch of musicians to buttress his rhythmic tribute to and interpretation of Horace Silver.

"[12] The Buffalo News panned the album, concluding that "the best thing about this disc, by far, are Hayes' personal and wonderful notes.