There were three cover songs on the album: "Honky Tonk Crazy", which had been released a couple of months earlier in 1982 by the duo of Gary Stewart and Dean Dillon on their Brotherly Love album; 2) the Guy Clark song, "Heartbroke", which was first recorded by Rodney Crowell on his 1980 album, But What Will the Neighbors Think; and 3) "Amarillo by Morning" which was first recorded by Terry Stafford in 1973.

"The Only Thing I Have Left" was later recorded by Tim McGraw for his 1993 debut album of the same name.

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek called Strait "a singer of uncommon vitality who could sing honky tonk, countrypolitan, and the new traditional sounds".

[2] Jurek singled out the depth and breadth of the singer's talent, delivering his first number one hit, "Fool Hearted Memory", a slow two-step, alongside the equally successful ballads "Amarillo by Morning", "Marina del Rey", and "A Fire I Can't Put Out", as well as the raw traditional numbers "Honky Tonk Crazy", "Heartbroke", "I Can't See Texas from Here", and the barroom anthem "The Steal of the Night"—songs that "offer a portrait of Strait as a man who can do it all".

[2] Jurek concludes: His work is not over-produced, and his voice rings clear and true, offering only what the song needs to reveal itself to the listener.