"Jam" was generally well received by music critics.
Larry Flick from
Billboard magazine wrote that the song "is fortified with brassy horns, a funky bass line, and a rap cameo by
Heavy D. Jackson's signature squeals and whoops are at home within an urgent groove that seems to goad him to the point of catharsis." Andrew Smith from
Melody Maker described it as "lean" and "spikey". Pan-European magazine
Music & Media commented, "Get in the groove with the most funky track on the
Dangerous album." An editor from
People Magazine felt Jackson "captures the outer style but not the energizing spirit of
hip-hop."
Alan Light from
Rolling Stone praised the song, adding that it "addresses Jackson's uneasy relationship to the world and reveals a canny self-awareness that carries the strongest message on
Dangerous." He wrote further, "Though it initially sounds like a simple, funky dance vehicle, Jackson's voice bites into each phrase with a desperation that urges us to look deeper. He is singing as 'false prophets cry of doom' and exhorts us to 'live each day like it's the last'. The chorus declares that the miseries of the world 'ain't too much stuff' to stop us from jamming. To Jackson, who insists that he comes truly alive only onstage, the ability to 'Jam' is the sole means to find 'peace within myself', and this hope rings more sincere than the childlike wishes found in the ballads." Ted Shaw from
The Windsor Star noted that Jackson's voice is treated electronically on the track, "which establishes the thematic thrust in lyrics that call for brotherly love." ==Retrospective response==