Rounder Records released Move It On Over in November 1978.[3] The album debuted at No. 133,[4] and peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart.[1] The album sold around 75,000 copies in its first 2 weeks,[5] and eventually sold more than 500,000 copies.[6]
A reviewer for DownBeat magazine said the album "lacks by just a hair the ferocity and passion that made his debut album such a standout. Thorogood is the best new rockabilly performer to come along since the music’s golden age. It will be interesting to see how he develops."[17] A Cash Box magazine reviewer wrote "What apparently sets George Thorogood apart from the hackneyed is a sense of flair and individuality that permeates his work and makes the familiar so devastatingly entertaining that the end result is a follow-up album bristling with a basic rock 'n' roll joyfulness unavailable anywhere else currently."[18] A reviewer for Record World wrote that the album "should establish him as a top personality", and that "Hank Williams' title song and the old warhorse, "Who Do You Love" both suit his electric urban blues style."[19]
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine says "Gold records and radio hits came later, but this is the album where everything fell into place for George Thorogood; it's the record that defined what came afterward, and it remains one of his best."[20]Robert Christgau writes that "It's impossible not to be charmed by Thorogood's enthusiasm, and instrumentally this band is as likable as, say, Hound Dog Taylor's HouseRockers."[21]
