I've wanted to have a recorded representation of that for some time..."[1] Music critic Thom Jurek praised the release in his Allmusic review, writing "Phelps is a dynamite guitarist who adds, subtracts, and morphs figures onto the original fingerstyle lines, and uses his voice to offer evidence of the timelessness of the lyric.

And as moving and virtuosic as these two performances are, it's his own songs that offer the true prize of this collection... if there is one recording that captures the sum of the magic, power, and poetry that is Kelly Joe Phelps, this one's it.

"[3] David Greenberger of No Depression praised the album with reservations, writing "After exploring the studio possibilities with a shifting but sympathetic group of players, Phelps turns, on this record, to a form that has been his mainstay: live, solo performance... His music is so tied to a sound that the songs can roll into one another, as well as disappear into themselves.

"[4] PopMatters critic Robert R. Calder is equally equivocal, giving the album 5 of 10 stars: "He seems hardly to have combined verbal inspiration into any very conventional sort of song....

It's worth suggesting that while there's impressive evidence here that Kelly Joe Phelps is an exceptionally talented musician, guitarist, and performer, he has perhaps not distinguished himself in words.