 "Livin' on the Edge" met with dismissive reactions from music critics.Reviewing "Get a Grip" for "Rolling Stone", Mark Coleman cited "Livin' on the Edge" as an example of the album "playing it safe according to strict late-Eighties directives", and added that it "ascends into a soaring, Bon Jovi-esque power chorale; only the gritty guitars on the bridge keep the damn thing grounded.