Johansen impersonated different characters while singing some of the novelty covers, and Morton incorporated many studio sound effects and female backing vocals in his production.

[2] The group held a single session with Mercury A&R executive Paul Nelson at Mediasound Studios in New York City, where they recorded 14 songs, most of which were covers.

[9] In a report on the album's progress for Melody Maker, journalist Lenny Kaye wrote that they were taking more time than they had on their first record, "bringing in occasional strings and horns, following Shadow's advice not 'to settle'.

[13] Robert Christgau believed the New York Dolls relied more on cover songs for the album because, "like so many cocky songwriters, David Johansen overloaded his debut with originals and then found that record promotion wasn't a life activity that inspired new ones.

[16] On the novelty cover songs, Johansen impersonates characters such as the high-stepper in "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" and Charlie Chan in "Bad Detective", which has lyrics describing a nonsensical narrative set in China.

[18] Journalist Ellen Willis remarked that, like the band's 1973 song "Personality Crisis", "Stranded in the Jungle" suggests a theme of "clashing cultures and the dilemma of preserving one's uniqueness while reaching out to others".

"[20] By contrast, Spin magazine's Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks interpreted "Babylon" as a reference to the Biblical city of the same name because of how the song portrays "the symbol of decadence as a sanctuary".

"[25] Its lyrics depict adversities faced by the protagonist, "Little Rhinestone Target", as he tries to change his name in pursuit of his shoe fetish, before the music ends with a gunshot, a sound effect inspired by the Olympics' 1958 song "Western Movies".

"[19] "Chatterbox" is written and sung by Thunders, whom Willis felt "uses his voice as a wailing instrument" in a manner similar to rock singer Robert Plant.

[27] On "Human Being", an ode to self-respect and personal liberty, Thunders introduces his guitar playing with a roughly performed variation on Bill Doggett's 1956 song "Honky Tonk".

According to music journalist Jon Savage, the title was "more than applicable to the Dolls themselves" because of alcoholism and other issues among the band members, including Thunders's heroin use and Nolan's contraction of hepatitis.

[15] "Stranded in the Jungle", originally a rowdy concert staple for the band, had been produced by Morton with a more polished sound and feminine vocals; according to popular music academic Nick Talevski, it became the New York Dolls' most successful single.

[38] Reviewing for Rolling Stone in June 1974, Dave Marsh hailed the New York Dolls as the leading hard rock band in the US and noted what he felt was Nolan's competent drumming, Johansen's ability to add depth to his characters, and Thunders's innovative guitar playing.

Marsh especially praised his playing on "Chatterbox", calling it "a classic", and believed even the most brazen songs sounded successful because Morton's production highlighted the group's more unrefined musical qualities.

[39] Writing for Creem magazine, Christgau said the polished sound reproduction preserved the band's raw qualities, especially in the case of Johansen's vocals and Nolan's drumming, and remarked that Rundgren "should be ashamed—Shadow Morton has gotten more out of the Dolls than they can give us live on any but their best nights.

"[40] Robert Hilburn from the Los Angeles Times felt Too Much Too Soon was a better-produced album that proved the band to be "the real thing", calling it the best record of derisive punk rock since Exile on Main St. by the Rolling Stones in 1972.

[57] According to AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the group predated punk rock with their "gleeful sleaziness and reckless sound" on the record, which he said was embellished by Morton's production details and exemplified by "musically visceral and dangerous" songs such as "Human Being".

[49] Music critic Chuck Eddy contends that a wide array of artists, including Cyndi Lauper and Celtic Frost, have "something rooted here", adding that Johansen's "rape-and-pillage of rock 'n' roll's past" foresaw the postmodern "scavenger-hunting" of the Cramps, Beastie Boys and David Lee Roth.

[58] At the end of the 1970s, Too Much Too Soon appeared on decade-end favorite albums lists by Christgau, who ranked it fourth in the Voice, and Richard Cromelin, who wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Morton's production made it slightly better than New York Dolls.

[60] After it was reissued by Mercury in 1987, Don McLeese of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that Morton's production highlighted the New York Dolls' sense of humor and was rendered vividly by the CD remaster.

[61] In 2005, Too Much Too Soon was remastered and reissued by Hip-O Select and Mercury, after which Christgau wrote in Blender that both it and New York Dolls make up "a priceless proto-punk legacy".

[6] In the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006), Colin Larkin felt that the band's issues with alcohol and other drugs affected their performance on the record, which he deemed "a charismatic collection of punk/glam-rock anthems, typically delivered with 'wasted' cool".