Awarding the album four stars at AllMusic, Mark Deming stated, "Worthy is another impressive release from an outstanding singer, and if it follows the pattern of some of her recent albums, nothing here sounds rote; this is the sound of an artist doing what she does best, and she is far more than worthy of this great music."[4] Colin McGuire, rating the album an eight out of ten for PopMatters, wrote that Worthy succeeds because "Bettye LaVette knows her strengths. She knows what makes that voice of hers so timeless, and she knows how to make songs sound like they are her own, even if she had no part in writing them. If these 11 tracks were designed to remind the world of a criminally forgotten musical treasure, they succeeded and then some."[6] Giving the album four stars from Blurt, Michael Toland remarked, "This record isn't just Worthy – it's essential."[5]
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