Retrospectively, "Tonight" is generally considered to be one of Bowie's weakest releases. An article for "Melody Maker" later dismissed "Tonight" as "rotten". AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "one of the weakest albums Bowie ever recorded" and wrote that "none of the material equals the songs on "Let's Dance"", although he made an exception for "Blue Jean". "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" described "Tonight" as "an expensive quickie padded with lame covers". Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" stated in a retrospective of Bowie's career in 2016: ""Let’s Dance"... had its moments ... "Tonight", however, did not". Jeff Giles of "Ultimate Classic Rock", when revisiting "Tonight" and "Never Let Me Down", stated, "["Tonight"] was pleasant enough in its way, but lacking the creative spark that fueled his best work – and nothing close to essential."