PopMatters viewed the album as one where Lytle had decided to "tone down on the experimentation, and concentrate on developing some terrific melodies", calling it "really the next logical step for the band".

He commented on similarities to the Alan Parsons Project ("Now It's On"), ELO ("The Go in the Go-for-It") and John Lennon ("Lost on Yer Merry Way"), and noted an improvement in Lytle's songwriting.

[20] Jim DeRogatis, in his book Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, viewed the melodies as "even more effervescent and more memorable" than on The Sophtware Slump.

[13] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a one-star honorable mention rating and cited "The Group Who Couldn't Say" and "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" as highlights.

[22] A less favorable review came from Heather Phares of AllMusic, who described the record as being "bland and complacent", opining that it failed to live up to the expectations of The Sophtware Slump.