 Of Human Feelings received considerable acclaim from contemporary critics . In a review for Esquire , Gary Giddins hailed it as another landmark album from Coleman and his most accomplished work of harmolodics , partly because of compositions which he found clearly expressed and occasionally timeless . In his opinion , the discordant keys radically transmuted conventional polyphony and would be the most challenging part for listeners , whom he said should concentrate on Coleman 's playing and " let the maelstrom resolve itself around his center " . Kofi Natambu from the Detroit Metro Times said Coleman 's synergetic approach displayed expressive immediacy rather than superficial technical flair while calling the record " a multi @-@ tonal mosaic of great power , humor , color , wit , sensuality , compassion and tenderness " . He found the songs inspirational , danceable , and encompassing developments in African @-@ American music over the previous century . Robert Christgau found the music heartfelt and sophisticated in its exchange of rhythms and simple pieces of melody , writing in The Village Voice , " the way the players break into ripples of song only to ebb back into the tideway is participatory democracy at its most practical and utopian . " 
