of Melody Maker also complained about "uneven" material and the 1960s-style production. Discussing the artist himself, Robert Christgau wrote that Get Happy! establishes "not his fecundity but his fallibility" in The Village Voice, noting the presence of "lotsa duds", but observed some memorable "tropes and hooks". Red Starr, writing in Smash Hits, remarked that it was "short on memorable songs" but that "repeated plays reveal hidden depths". Meanwhile, Rolling Stones Tom Carson felt that "if the new album is hard to get into, it's also difficult to ignore", concluding: "He's succeeded in making his obsessions belong to us. For better or worse, we'll all ride them out together to the end." Nevertheless, many offered high praise towards Get Happy!!, with Creem Jeff Nesin proclaiming: "If you care about rock 'n' roll you must have this album." In The New York Times, Robert Palmer deemed Get Happy!! Costello's most satisfying work up that point, commenting on the "stylistic range, emotional depth, melodic richness and verbal invention" in the songs, where the "writing has never been stronger". Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle also placed it among the artist's best work, highlighting the "distinctive" songwriting and Lowe's production, which he felt created a "sense of being both precise and off-hand". Meanwhile, Sounds magazine's Dave McCullough was highly positive, writing that the album "soars to a pinnacle of Costello's combined creative force, by the end leaving the listener quite breathless." Paul Ramble was also positive in NME, drawing positive comparisons to Armed Forces and announcing: "It's a record you didn't expect. It looks like fun and it is. Maybe it's only a temporary lapse, but Elvis has gotten off the treadmill and gotten happy. Get it." Other reviewers praised Costello himself as an artist. Billboard magazine found the artist "hasn't lost any of his stunt or verve on this snappy LP", which they predicted would be "a sure bet for AOR radio". Cash Box agreed, deducing: "What can you say about the new wave kingpin except that he gets better with age." The reviewer argued that the amount of tracks on the LP "should make any record buyer happy with the quality and quantity of the material", a sentiment echoed by Hilburn who, in the Los Angeles Times, selected Get Happy!! for the month's disc derby with the Clash's London Calling (1979). Commenting on the number of tracks, he argued that "by