reviewer concluded: "At the age of 39, Nelson finally seems destined for the stardom he deserves". Robert Christgau wrote: "This attempt to turn Nelson into a star runs into trouble when it induces him to outshout Memphis horns or Western swing." Billboard wrote: "This is Willie Nelson at his narrative best. He writes and sings with the love and the hurt and the down-to-earth things he feels, and he has a few peers." Texas Monthly praised Nelson and Wexler regarding the change in musical style:"They've switched his arrangements from Ray Price to Ray Charles—the result: a revitalized music. He's the same old Willie, but veteran producer Jerry Wexler finally captured on wax the energy Nelson projects in person". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram started its review by declaring: "1973 could be the year country music 'rediscovers' Willie Nelson." Critic Bill McAllister mentioned the support that Texas Longhorns football coach Darrell Royal gave Nelson and his music. The reviewer determined that Shotgun Willie "displays unique musical abilities to excellent advantage" and remarked that Nelson was "often called the Cole Porter of country music". The Arizona Republic presented Nelson as "an accomplished baritone and composer", as the publication appealed the readers to "lend old Shotgun an ear and find out what C&W music sounds like when it's not sung through the nose, or hat". The Philadelphia Daily News considered that the record had "some ups and downs" but that Nelson made the tracks "real winners". The publication deemed the singer "real country, not a hip version of it". The Detroit Free Press delivered a favorable review. Critic Bob Talbert noted that Nelson and country songwriters as "authentic people poets". The reviewer described the content of the songs as written by "people-type people. Bleeders and boozers and dreamers and drinkers. Sad and joyous people." School Library Journal wrote: "Willie Nelson differs (from) rock artists framing their music with a country & western façade — in that he appears a honky-tonk stardust cowboy to the core. This album abounds in unabashed sentimentalism, nasal singing, lyrics preoccupied with booze, religion, and love gone bad, and stereotyped Nashville instrumentation (twangy steel guitars, fiddles, and a clean rhythm section characterized by the minimal use of bass drum and cymbals, both of which gain heavy mileage with rock performers). Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review for AllMusic: "Willie Nelson offered his finest record to date for his debut