The collection "Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie", edited by Robert Santelli and Emily Davidson, found praise for the tour, saying the album's songs gained onstage and that the shows, "although hushed and void of the anthemic rockers that made him the greatest performer that rock has ever known, managed to bring Woody Guthrie back to life again." Jimmy Gutterman's "Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen" criticized the first leg of the tour for producing "the most dour performances of his career". However Guterman praised later legs that incorporated new material that was "sly, low-key, and funny."