Author Jonathan Gould praises the track as a "dark beautiful ballad" and a "breakthrough" for Harrison as a vocalist and composer, since it represents "the first time he ever allowed himself to sound humbled by his emotions in a song". Music critic Chris Ingham, writing for Rough Guides, similarly includes it among "a new phase" of Harrison compositions, along with "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun", in which "warmth and sweetness" replaced the dissonant qualities of his Indian-inspired melodies. Writing for Rolling Stone in 2002, Greg Kot deemed the song to be "quintessential Harrison, summarizing the impending exhaustion of the Beatles and the era they defined, while pointing the way toward the spiritual heights achieved by his solo debut masterpiece, All Things Must Pass". In his obituary of the former Beatle, for Rock's Backpages, Mat Snow included "Long, Long, Long" among his favourite Harrison compositions, saying: "for my money the music of George Harrison is most compelling when dwelling in those strange shadows of elusive regret and longing, even fear ..." David Quantick of Uncut admires it as "a yearning, beautiful song" and "an oasis of calm and faith in the clattering chaos of the White Album". He also considers the track to be "arguably the least feted of the Beatles' great songs". "Long, Long, Long" was ranked 80th in Mojos 2006 list "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs". In his commentary for the magazine, musician Colin Newman described it as "achingly beautiful" and "like the album in microcosm ... [a] lament for a long-lost love which ends with a ghostly freakout". In a similar list, in 2011, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 98. Conversely, in 2012, readers of The Daily Telegraph voted "Long, Long, Long" as the fifth worst Beatles track. The following year, Mojo listed it at number 9 in a poll to determine "the ultimate list of connoisseurs' Beatles' songs", as defined by any track not included on the band's greatest-hits compilations 1962–1966 and 1967–1970. Cover versions In 1987, Daniel Amos vocalist Terry Scott Taylor recorded what Trouser Press admired as a "first-rate cover" of "Long, Long, Long" for his album A Briefing for the Ascent. By contrast, Sean Carruthers of AllMusic considers singer Tom Hooper's 2002 cover to be a version that "manages to drain the life" out of the song. Elliott Smith included "Long, Long, Long" in his live performances. It was the last