Robert Palmer of The New York Times praised Legendary Hearts as "a song cycle without any outstanding weak links... All the songs are personal, from the domestic still-life portrait 'Rooftop Garden' to 'Bottoming Out' and 'The Last Shot,' powerful confrontations between Lou Reed the loving husband and Lou Reed the self-destructive monster. The only villain on Legendary Hearts is Lou Reed, but because he has confronted his own defects as bravely as he once confronted the decadence around him, he is also the album's hero.
Robert Palmer of The New York Times praised Legendary Hearts as "a song cycle without any outstanding weak links... All the songs are personal, from the domestic still-life portrait 'Rooftop Garden' to 'Bottoming Out' and 'The Last Shot,' powerful confrontations between Lou Reed the loving husband and Lou Reed the self-destructive monster. The only villain on Legendary Hearts is Lou Reed, but because he has confronted his own defects as bravely as he once confronted the decadence around him, he is also the album's hero.