In a 1988 interview with the Evening Times, keyboardist Michael Floreale spoke of the album, "Ben Rogan was great to work with - his ideas on the backing tracks were quite complementary to our own.

"[1] On its release, Curt Anderson of the Daily Union considered When in Rome to "sound like a lot of today's pop music: synthesizer-based, danceable and rather empty-headed".

The music is generally bright and perky, sort of what the Pet Shop Boys probably sound like when they've had too much coffee.

Most of the record thumps along in this vein, although on Side 2 there is a greater reliance on real instruments that makes things more interesting.

"[3] In a retrospective review, William Cooper of AllMusic concluded, "Like many one-hit wonders of the '80s, When in Rome failed to maintain the momentum set by its only hit song by releasing a dud of an album.