 Ian Harrison of "Q" said of the album, "It's still quality, but it's hard not to mourn the earlier militancy".Lois Wilson of "Mojo" agreed, observing that "Revisited now, it seems caught up with nostalgia... On the back of "Labour of Love"s huge international success, UB40 became reggae's world ambassadors and their focus shifted; they'd make political records again but never anything as potent as "Signing Off" or "Present Arms", instead relying on the surefire hit potential of further cover albums".In 1989, it was ranked number 98 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the Eighties".