 He described Redding and Hendrix as "two radically different black artists showboating at the nativity of the new white rock audience", who had both "performed more subtly and more brilliantly" elsewhere, and were "equally audacious and equally wonderful" at the festival.In a lukewarm review, AllMusic's Bruce Eder regarded "Historic Performances" as a significant album when it was released, but it has become "purely of historic interest as an artifact of the time.