On release, "Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989" failed to chart in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 132 in the United States. The album's lack of commercial success was surprising, given the resurgence in popularity that Harrison had experienced since 1987. Originally distributed through Warner Bros. Records, the compilation went out of print some years later and was not reissued by EMI when that company began distributing Harrison's Dark Horse catalogue. "Poor Little Girl", "Cockamamie Business" and "Cheer Down" were omitted from Harrison's 2004 box set "The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992".