Deborah Frost, in a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, felt the album was "slick but inconsistent", and was concerned that Clapton's move into commercial ballads would eventually see him turn his back on his rock fans, instead playing his greatest hits on the Vegas circuit [REF].
In a retrospective summary for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann feels that the album is "somewhat schizophrenic" due to the tinkering of the record label, Warner Bros., who were concerned that the original version of the album contained no hits, and was too downbeat, so brought in new writers and producers.