[12] Steven Edelstone of Paste praised the album saying "Sorry You Couldn't Make It represents yet another late-career experiment in a lengthy one filled with them, a back-to-basics approach by an artist who's seen it all.

[11] Allison Hussey of Pitchfork said "His new album Sorry You Couldn't Make It restores him to a more even keel, examining grief from greater distance while savoring life's little sweetnesses.

[7] AllMusic's Mark Deming said "Sorry You Couldn't Make It declares there should be a place for Swamp Dogg in the country pantheon alongside Charley Pride, Stoney Edwards, Darius Rucker, and the other brave artists who've confronted the color line in Nashville".

That those Southern rhythms are played mostly by chintzy drum machine, that they're undermined by hip-hop-biting guitar samples or artificial horns, is the record's vaguely outlandish appeal".

[4] Music critic Tom Hull said "Jerry Williams, started out as an Atlantic r&b producer, released a brilliant debut as Swamp Dogg in 1970, and has been fading in and out ever since, his best moments the ones farthest out.