Thomas Conner of the "Chicago Sun-Times" said that "Cheers (Drink to That)" is the best song on the album, saying "song is a wise, world-weary paean from a gal at the bar who's seen some stuff, has moved on and wants to buy everybody a round of fruity shots".

Ferry's paean to Hall, "Prairie Rose", directly inspired the Talking Heads song "The Big Country" and was later covered by the Scottish rock group Big Country as a B-side to their single "East of Eden" in 1984.

Edward Hoagland wrote the essay, "Americana, etc.", a "paean"" to the Fair of 1969.