 Dan Oppenheimer of "Rolling Stone" magazine said that "Mannish Boy" sounded like it was recorded live, while both Oppenheimer and Daniel Gioffre of Allmusic state how powerful Willie "Big Eyes" Smith's drumming is.Oppenheimer and Gioffre both share the opinion that "Hard Again" is Muddy Waters comeback album.In "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" (2004), "Rolling Stone" journalist Dave Marsh said "Johnny Winter provided the sensitive production touch otherwise lacking on some of [Muddy's] early '70s recordings."