Reception
The album has generally received high acclaim. Although one writer appears to disregard the album with a single sentence, calling it "just plain sad, lacking even the vitality of rock and roll." [4] Others have noted Johnson's "plaintive, slightly nasal voice" [5] and indicated that he "sings smooth blues and sentimental ballads with equal skill." [1] The guitarists styles are described as distinctive, yet complementary, [1] and Snowden is described as a "sympathetic accompanist" with "an easy swingingly graceful style." [5]
One reviewer calls Johnson's performance on the blues numbers "convincing, affecting interpretations," but indicates that his performance on the three ballads is less consistent. He states, "On 'Memories of You', his approach is gentle and lyrical, and yet his controlled inner tension builds tremendous emotional power. Two other ballads, his own compositions are too stickily sentimental to be effective." [5]
Referring to an LP/digital audiophile reissue a quarter century after the sessions, a critic maintains that "far from getting propped up with choice backing, Johnson doesn’t disappoint here. Certain voices will reliably say that Johnson’s not as sharp as his younger self, but the clarity of the recording, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, more than compensates for any slippage, and it’s honestly not easy to discern that Johnson’s slipped all that much." [6]
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