praised Rimes' songwriting and dubbed Family "the best, most cogent album of her career". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times complimented her "gentle belting-out" and commented that "the music echoes the fearlessness in the lyrics". Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe called Rimes "a distinctive interpretive singer" and viewed that her songwriting gives the album "the kind of focus and thematic coherence that most Nashville acts can't be bothered with". Keefe cited Family as "among the strongest mainstream country albums of the past several years". Ken Tucker of Billboard gave the album a favorable review and said, "It took personal experience for LeAnn Rimes to get to the point where she could write, record and release Family, the sum of a so-far extraordinary but still young life. But just because it's a personal album doesn't mean it doesn't speak to the masses." However, Q gave the album two out of five stars and stated "There's little spark, despite her admirable willingness to take chances." Entertainment Weeklys Alanna Nash gave it a B rating and commented that "Rimes displays new maturity in songwriting [...] though too often she lapses into posturing power pop". Adam Sweeting of Uncut criticized its music, writing that the songs "sound like an update of the kind of AOR racket Pat Benatar and Heart were making in the '80s". Dave Simpson of The Guardian noted "A slightly too-smooth production and typically overblown Bon Jovi collaboration", but called it "an album full of swaggering rhythm'n'booze and emotional confessionals that explore a dysfunctional childhood". Despite finding the song "uneven", Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars and cited "Nothin' Better to Do", "Family", and "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" as highlights. Thomas Kintner of The Hartford Courant called Family "a carefully manicured, but still lively assortment that highlights her substantial vocal strengths", and praised Rimes' singing, stating "She is prone to embracing tunes so disposable that they should be beneath her notice, but the melodic richness she showers on even the most lackluster lyrics makes for interesting listening". Track listing Personnel Credits for Family adapted from Allmusic. Musicians Tim Akers – keyboards, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer Jon Bon Jovi – vocals on "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" Marc Broussard - vocals on "Nothing Wrong" Tom Bukovac – electric guitar John Catchings – cello Eric Darken – percussion Mark Douthit – tenor saxophone Dan Dugmore –