"Rolling Stone" chiefly commented on the album's lyrics. They criticised "Tell Me Why" and "Way of the World" for being soulless and impersonal social commentaries, but regarded most of the songs as outstanding, and summarised "Although "We Can't Dance" doesn't quite achieve the vulnerable grace of "Duke" or the exuberance of "Abacab", Genesis has nevertheless delivered an elegantly spare – and even adventurous – album." David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" gave a lacklustre review, stating: "At a time when everything is uncertain ... you almost have to admire a record like "We Can't Dance". ... You know there will be a couple of fleeting moments when the band breaks out of its torpor – for instance, on the very polite primal stomp of 'I Can't Dance' – and that such moments will just as quickly be subsumed by the rest of the musical quicksand."