The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw generally received mixed to favorable reviews from critics, and reached number 52 in the American Billboard 200 charts in 1968.
Michael G. Nastos wrote in a review of The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw at AllMusic that Paul Butterfield "really com[es] into his own" here with his vocals and harmonica, and the band are "as cohesive a unit as you'd find in this time period".[1] He described the closing track, "Tollin' Bells" as "somewhat psychedelic", adding that the guitar and the "slow, ringing, resonant keyboard evokes a haunting feeling." Overall Nastos called the album "likely the single best Butterfield album of this time period and you'd be well served to pick this one up."[1]
A 1968 review in Record Mirror stated that on this album the band's blues sound has "hardened" with "stronger" and "more confiden[t]" vocals.[6] The reviewer said the tracks' accompaniments are "clear and well recorded" with "clever" arrangements, although he preferred their own material to some of the covers they did, like "One More Heartache" and "Drivin' Wheel".[6]
In another review from 1968, Rolling Stone magazine felt that the band's newly acquired horn section is not fully utilized on this album and tends to "riff unobtrusively" in the background, letting Bishop's guitar and Butterfield's voice take the lead.[2] The solos are "short, though musically interesting", but often reduce to "mechanical-sounding, repetitive arrangements." The reviewer called "Drivin' Wheel" the album's "most successful" track, and concluded that while Resurrection "may not show the group to best advantage", they are "the most venturesome and exciting players of blues-based rock around".[2]
^Bishop said Pigboy Crabshaw was a nickname he gave himself, but the album's title, which referred to his promotion to lead guitarist, was Butterfield's idea.[3][4]
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