Canadian journalist Martin Popoff wrote that "Dr. Feelgood" is an album "made by a dumb band trying really hard" while a BBC Music reviewer declared it "a glitzy flashy experience... ultimately shallow and narcissistic". Other critics stated that Mötley Crüe are not "out to win humanitarian awards or impress us with lyrical muscle", but to rock "...hard"! "Dr. Feelgood", wrote Mick Wall in a review of 2009's reissue, "was the first time Mötley Crüe actually became well-known for music. Until then, their unthinking mash-up of glam and metal had made them a hoot onstage but a disappointment on record… Though pushed close by last year's shock return with the weighty "Saints of Los Angeles", album is the best Mötley Crüe have ever released."