The Original Delaney & Bonnie was widely acclaimed by
music critics. In a contemporary review for
The New York Times,
Robert Christgau praised the duo's singing and lyrics of "rich but implicit" sexuality and commonplace truths about love. He was also impressed by how the album appropriates
soul music, but asserted that "it is a white album, and for once that's good. No black singers would record anything so eccentric, so unabashedly
baroque, in its celebration of
black music." In his ballot for
Jazz & Pop magazine's annual critics poll, Christgau ranked it as the eighth best album of the year. English guitarist
Eric Clapton said he "immediately loved the album", calling it "hardcore
R&B, and very soulful, with great guitar playing and a fantastic horn section". He subsequently enlisted Delaney & Bonnie to be support act to his band
Blind Faith on their 1969 American tour. In a retrospective review, music journalist
Nick Logan wrote that
The Original Delaney & Bonnie & Friends "still stands as a remarkable document – the quintessential fusion of
gospel,
country and soul influences that was easily the most exciting sound of its time."
AllMusic's Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. said it featured the kind of mixture of soul and
rock and roll later present on
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) by Clapton's project
Derek & the Dominos, recommending it to listeners unfamiliar with Delaney & Bonnie's other work.
Q magazine cited it as one of 1969's "keynote albums", while
Rolling Stone called it "a wonderfully earthy mix of
blue-eyed soul, gospel and country, brimming with grit and longing". ==Track listing==