in his allmusic review, music critic richie unterberger called the album "one of his more obscure early efforts, voice of the turtle is both listenable and wildly eclectic, going from scratchy emulations of early blues 78s and country fiddle tunes to haunting guitar-flute combinations and eerie ragas." and its "...undercurrent of dark, uneasy tension that gives much of fahey's '60s material its intriguing combination of meditation and restlessness."