Geoff Brown of Vox gave a 7 out of 10 rating and declared "Still, it's the best album I've heard by a DeBarge".[8] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe noted that "El DeBarge's third solo flight adds a heavier funk accent to his usual R&B. He co-produced it with Maurice White and they've come up with a punchy mix of bass heavy jams and seductive ballads.[5] Greg Simms of the Dayton Daily News gave a four out of five stars rating and exclaimed "On an album produced by El DeBarge and Maurice White, the former has teamed up with a group of splendid musicians to create an absolute masterpiece." Simms added "This album is about as good as pop music gets."[9]People wrote "DeBarge’s first album in three years is something of a milestone. As he turns 30 and finally sheds his cutie-pie teen idol image, the singer joins a new label in a new funkier style."[4] With a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating Don Mayhew of the Fresno Bee found that "This seems awfully derivative upon first listen, but further exploration reveals an intricate 19-track synthesis of old-school horns and guitars woven together with new jack swing percussion and sound bites".[10] Craig Lytle of AllMusic stated "Aside from the Marvin Gaye undertones, this collection of songs is well written and produced. It is free of the typical and predictable rhythms of the day."[3] Chuck Eddy of Rolling Stone proclaimed "El's In the Storm defies all expectations". He also added "It's a song cycle. And like most such animals, especially ones that rely on studio clutter, the music comes off a bit disjointed at first. But before long you surrender to the sheer wash of sound--meshes of high-pitched church voices; audacious "interludes" of electric wah-wah funk, piano-boogie jazz and liquid salsa; extravagant strings dousing sax solos."[7] Lynn Dean Ford of the Indianapolis Star said "Still this disc, co-produced by Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White, comes highly recommended as a decent slice of retro funk and soul with some poignant social messages".[6]
