Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote that the band "retained some of the feel" of The Sound, "albeit in a slightly detached fashion that's to be expected when synths and drum machines replace more human elements".
Allmusic's Jason Lymangrover gave the album four stars out of five, describing it as "weird, ‘60s-rooted, psychedelic hip-hop", sounding "like if J. Dilla produced George Clinton after visiting with the Dalai Lama, or if Dan the Automator recorded Cody Chesnutt after the two shared a plate of magic mushrooms", and calling it "truly visionary".
Greg Adams of Allmusic called the album's ninth track "Rotten Little Song" to evoke the vocal performance of Shirley Temple because of its "la la" chorus". Adams reviewed All About a Feeling and gave it three out of five stars, stating, "Fargo's brand of upbeat and accessible country is the sort of music that brought the genre such tremendous mainstream success from the '70s onward.
The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 2 stars and stated "On his final album for Blue Note, Freddie Roach decided to step outside -- way outside -- the tasteful soul-jazz that had become his trademark. Roach decided to make a concept album... in a weird way, it's almost fortunate that Roach attempted something grand, because All That's Good sounds like no other Blue Note record of the early '60s".
James Christopher Monger of Allmusic described it as a "nice, emotive moment" in comparison to other tracks in the mid-point of Come to the Well that he felt were "tacked on".
The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn describes the album as a mix of "African rhythms, township melodies, and the Ensemble's usual array of blistering solos, vocal effects, percussive colors, and furious collective improvisations".
allmusic's Eugene Chadbourne gave the disc high praise (4 stars of a possible 5), and said that Fender "can take on elements as disparate as Doris Day and Ray Charles and make a listener forget either of these icons even exist." He compared the playing on the record to "an incredibly hip, funky Tex-Mex band hired to play at a wedding."
Allmusic described the song as "too cute and overdone to be taken seriously" however The Baltimore Afro-American complimented the track as "new waveish" "ear candy".
Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh called it "a surprisingly successful ... one-shot, with the original group, again dominated by Price and Burdon, turning in fine, hard-nosed blues performances." Bruce Eder of Allmusic judged it "just short of a lost classic."
Brian Mansfield of Allmusic rated it three stars out of five, saying that it was more "consistent" than her previous album.
The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The record retreats a bit from McLean's nearly free playing on New and Old Gospel and 'Bout Soul, instead concentrating on angular, modal avant bop with more structured chord progressions... While Demon's Dance didn't quite push McLean's sound the way its two predecessors had, there was no sign that the altoist was beginning to run out of creative steam".
The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and states "Easy Walker doesn't offer much challenging material, but it does let the musicians work a good groove, and occasionally showcase their improvisational skills, making it a good, relaxing soul-jazz session".
In Berlin Emika started working as a sound designer for Native Instruments, all the while honing her own ("uniquely haunting", according to AllMusic) musical style with her laptop, picking up ideas from the dance scene at the Berghain and Panoramabar clubs.
The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Even if it isn't quite as consistent as Kofi and Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend".
Jared Johnson of Allmusic opined in his review of All That Is Within Me that "The album's crowning moment is "Finally Home," a mesmerizing acoustic journey that takes listeners to a place where they are reunited with loved ones".
The album was well reviewed by music sites and magazines NME, AllMusic, NPR, Pitchfork, Dusted, among others.
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "A melodic but explorative player, Bley (whose use of space sometimes recalls Thelonious Monk) interacts closely with the electric bass of Steve Swallow on this excellent duet session".
Described as a "Toni Braxton-worthy breakup ballad" by Andy Kellman of Allmusic, "Gone Already" has received positive critical reception, being cited as one of the "standouts" on Something About Faith.
The Allmusic review by Ned Raggett awarded the album 4 stars stating "a nice overview of his work between 1997 and 1999".
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Louis Smith had a brilliant debut on this Blue Note album, his first of two before becoming a full-time teacher".
Allmusic's Mike DeGagne felt Hidden Things showed "Paul's genius for telling stories behind the jingle of his acoustic guitar is pure and plentiful throughout... Kelly's story telling can be likened to Harry Chapin's, except Kelly leaves more to the imagination, adding a sturdier foundation for pondering and analysis".
It was released in 1989 on MCA Records, and features the hit "She's Got a Single Thing in Mind", which Allmusic's Jason Ankeny called "the energizing hit which reaffirmed Twitty's standing among the era's country's giants."
Allmusic said in their 3/5 review that the album had a "bizarre" track list, but "this will be ideal for fans who want cheap access to some of the group's best B-sides without breaking for the extensive and more expensive Asides Besides.
Bruce Eder of Allmusic writes "it's one of the greatest soul records ever cut by anybody, outshining James Brown's first live album from the Apollo Theater and easily outclassing Jackie Wilson's live record from the Copa."
Bruce Eder at Allmusic describes this song as "calypso-flavored piece" that was sort of Gibb's answer to the Bee Gees' "I.O.I.O.".
While essentially an expanded re-release of 1990s The Blanton–Webster Band, the packaging, sound and updated notes make this, according to Allmusic, "truly worth either an initial investment or reinvestment".
Giving it three stars out of five, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic thought that the album was an improvement over Moore's debut.
On the other hand, Allmusic's Heather Phares criticized the album, writing that beyond "Jerk It Out," "It's Not the Fall That Hurts" and "Soulchaser," there were not many other memorable songs on the album.
Claypool's debut album received a three-star rating from Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, who called it "a diverse collection building on a solid contemporary base", with "intriguing" production that "saved even the weakest tracks".
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states that "McCoy Tyner still sounds enthusiastic and adventurous performing the timeless music".
Allmusic critic François Couture found Vrtacek's work to be "very aerial" and that "one can't help but think of Steve Hackett's Bay of Kings: simple songs with beautiful melodies."
The 1995 compilation CD "The Six Fat Dutchmen's Greatest Hits" earned a 3.5 star rating (out of 5) in Allmusic.
Many critics notedname="XXL" /> Several songs are built on the same formula of "You're a Jerk", with Allmusic noting that, "Dot Com," "Colors," "Turnt," and "So Dope" (which the chorus is a sound bite from the 1992 film Class Act) all have the cheesy drum machines, samples, and off-kilter lyric approach that make "Jerk" so good.
The Allmusic review by Ken Dryden states "This solid concert is easily recommended to fans of McCoy Tyner".
Erlewine is a nephew of musician and Allmusic founder Michael Erlewine.
Allmusic said that "DEP should be careful, or they'll end up the Radiohead of metalcore."
According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time".
The Allmusic review by Don Snowden awarded the album 4 stars, stating "this trio lineup – call it either the original Coleman quartet sans Ornette or three-quarters of Old and New Dreams – still springs some surprises".
Andrew Leahey of AllMusic described the EP as original, with smoky/pop-based sounds that are reminiscent of a saucier Sara Bareilles or a more metropolitan Brandi Carlile.
Giving the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it a "a classy, tasteful album", saying that the album showed Williams' songwriting ambition, but could have used more variances in tempo.
Scott Yanow of Allmusic says, "Tenor-saxophonist Benny Golson's third recording as a leader was significant in two ways. It was his first opportunity to work with trombonist Curtis Fuller (the two would be members of The Jazztet by 1960) and it was one of his first chances to really stretch out on record as a soloist; up to this point Golson was possibly better known as a composer".
Reviewing the album, Allmusic said "Throughout Platonica, the Pasties demonstrate that they have good guitar pop instincts", identifying Matthew Sweet and Elvis Costello as influences.
Reviewer Bruce Elder of Allmusic describes the song "All Is One" as "unique in the history of pop music as a psychedelic piece, mixing bagpipes, sitar, oboes, horns, flutes, and a fairly idiotic lyric, all within the framework of a piece that picks up its tempo like the dance music from Zorba the Greek while mimicking the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'".
The Allmusic review states "This album was ahead of its time in terms of instrumentation, but was a product of its time in that established ways of doing things were being challenged. Fans of Lalo Schifrin's work will find this to rank with his best, and those not familiar with anything but the Mission Impossible theme will be drawn in further by the eccentric genius displayed here".
Trip Shakespeare's commercial failure has been attributed to the band's poor timing: "1991 was the great embrasure of the grunge movement when Nirvana's Nevermind set the decade-long trend for the popular music charts," wrote AllMusic.com.
Allmusic writes "Along with Lindsey Buckingham's Out of the Cradle, this album may be one of the finest and most underrated albums of the 1990s."
The Allmusic review by Ken Dryden awarded the album 4½ stars stating "This series of duets featuring bassist Marc Johnson with different guests could be considered a tribute to Bill Evans, because it includes such a number of songs associated with the late pianist (though only one is an Evans composition)".
Allmusic gave the album a four star rating, noting similarities to the bands Pavement and Weezer, and described it as "a fairly brilliant album, combining a warm, earnest, and rustic feel with sometimes goofy experimentation".
Allmusic editor, Andrew Hamilton listed "Positivity" and "Can't Seem to Make Up My Mind", both co-written by Paris, as "favorites", adding that "her original version of "You Put a Move on My Heart" sounds better than Tamia's version" featured on Quincy Jones' Jook Joint album.