Rolling Stone (4/7/94, p.71) - 4 1/2 Stars - Excellent Plus - "...a career album in every regard...Raitt is her own best accompanist. Her wind-whipped slide guitar is the first sound the listener encounters, and her playing on a variety of instruments sets the emotional tone for virtually every track thereafter...glows with hard-won grace...."

Entertainment Weekly (3/25/94, p.52) - "...Raitt remains one of the most utterly guileless performers rock has ever produced...she's continuing to push herself and grow as an artist..." - Rating: B

Musician (5/94, p.72) - "...So it sounds pretty much exactly like her two last albums--so what? That doesn't mean there aren't subtle differences here...sometimes the little things make all the difference...."

Stereo Review (4/94, p.87) - "...Raitt seems less pop star than spiritual searcher. In that context, her burning slide guitar functions as more than exquisite instrumental texture--it's practically a metaphor for the sound of a heart cracking open, possibly beyond repair...."

New York Times (Publisher) (3/20/94, p.27) - "...A collection implicitly about an artist coming to terms with middle age, outlasting or outgrowing old themes and influences, LONGING throws down a new challenge to the mass audience Ms. Raitt has worked so long and hard to attract..."