All About Jazz's John Kelman wrote of the album:

Music critic Robert Christgau wrote of the album "...you'd never suspect he was a moral philosopher.

Christopher John Farley wrote a review of the album in Time magazine, May 13, 2001.

He wrote of the album: "The end result may be flawed, but in an enjoyable way.

In his Allmusic review, music critic Bruce Eder wrote of the album "the singing and playing still hold up.

They went on to write of the album:

Trouser Press wrote of the album: "Subtle, effective, mature and energetic - but no outstanding songs."

Rolling Stone magazine wrote of the first album that "The pure atmospheric power of the songs is more than enough to hypnotize."

Robert Christgau, of The Village Voice, wrote of the album: