AllMusic derided the first three tracks, referring to "The Kettle" and "Butty's Blues" as, "tarted-up 12-bar blues", and claiming that "Elegy" was beyond James Litherland's abilities as a vocalist.
According to AllMusic, the initial three songs were poorly received. They described "The Kettle" and "Butty's Blues" as "overdone 12-bar blues," and claimed that "Elegy" was too challenging for James Litherland's singing abilities.