Blue Smoke received general acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, they assign a rating out of 100 to selected independent reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". At
Country Weekly, Jon Freeman graded the album an A−, stating that "On
Blue Smoke, the country legend travels many different paths and sounds only like herself." At
American Songwriter, Eric Allen rated the album four stars out of five, stating that "
Blue Smoke easily hits its mark of making us look within ourselves while laughing through our tears." Joe Sweeney of
Slant Magazine rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that in "the vividness and genuine conviction in that timeless, still-powerful voice finds the humanity in all of it", and in so doing "the country legend mainlines one greeting-card sentiment after another, singing about angels, rainbows, moons, and fishing holes with reckless abandon." At
Exclaim!, Thierry Côté rated the album a seven out of ten, writing that "It is an album of small pleasures, an eclectic collection of songs that showcases many of the qualities that have made the Tennessee singer such a vital force in country music for five decades." Andy Argyrakis of
CCM Magazine rated the album four stars out of five, commenting how "Parton's cheer, humor and candor continue on this stripped-down, catchy collection" that "continues her popularity resurgence with another rootsy record consisting of many personally penned tunes." ==Commercial performance==