in a contemporary review for "rolling stone", anthony decurtis felt that "the careful elegance of the production and instrumental settings seems little more than a strategy to conceal the limitations of sade's vocal range and skills as a song stylist". ron wynn of allmusic was more positive in his retrospective review, describing the album as the "personification of cool, laid-back singing", accompanied by "seldom extending or embellishing lyrics, registering emotion, or projecting her voice." robert christgau commented, "even when it's this sumptuous, there's a problem with aural wallpaper—once you start paying attention to it, it's not wallpaper anymore, it's pictures on the wall. and while as a wallpaper these pictures may be something, they can't compete with the ones you've hung up special. that's why i prefer my aural wallpaper either so richly patterned you can't see past the whole (steve reich's "music for 18 musicians") or so intricately worked you can gaze at the details forever (eno's "another green world"). in between i'll take julie london."