Down Beat magazine critic John A. Tynan reviewed the album for the April 12, 1962 issue and stated: "Murphy should thank his lucky stars for, among other things such as his talent, Ernie Wilkins. Wilkins has written a set of arrangements for the young jazz singer that should turn Frank Sinatra green with envy. Much of the album's success is due to the arranger's pen.[2]
The Allmusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album four stars and said that Rah "has worn well over the years...On tracks such as "Green Dolphin Street," he dives into the rhythm with the relaxed calm of an expert. And when the result can be the harebrained complexity of "Twisted" or the funky timing of "Doodlin'," the wisdom of letting the experts handle the hard work has never been more apparent"[1]
The original version of "My Favourite Things" on the session featured hip lyrics, including lines like "Ol' Ernie Wilkins he sure gives you wings", but these new lyrics were deemed inappropriate by composer Richard Rodgers and as a result Riverside Records/Mark Murphy were asked to substitute a 'straight' shorter version of it, but with the same arrangement. Another track left off the original album is "I'll Be Seeing You" for much the same reason. These original versions (still available in Japan) have become a collector's piece.
In the entry for Mark Murphy in MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide, Andrew Gilbert calls Rah! Murphy's "breakthrough album", a "classic session" with "a heartbreaking version of "Angel Eyes", a "definitive" "Doodlin'," "and a roller coaster version of Miles Davis's "Milestones", with Murphy "surrounded by players who know how to swing".[5] The album is assigned 5 bones.[5]
