Territory (Alvin Youngblood Hart album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Birmingham Post	[13]
Calgary Herald	[14]
Robert Christgau	A−[15]
Edmonton Journal	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[16]
Vancouver Sun	[8]

The Observer called Hart "the best of the new crop of acoustic bluesmen."^[6] The Chicago Tribune noted that "Hart's distinctive voice and rocking spirit draw a straight line through everything"; the paper chose the album as the second best blues album of 1998.^[17][18] The Calgary Herald wrote that "Hart stretches stylistically ... while impressively staying true to his acoustic blues heart."^[14] The Birmingham Post deemed Hart "a wonderfully inventive player happily mining away at odd, forgotten seams in the vast motherlode of American music."^[13]

The Washington Post opined: "Playing a variety of acoustic and electric instruments, he brings surprising color and texture to an improbable but thoroughly enjoyable collection."^[19] Newsday concluded that "all this variety might be pointless showing-off were it not for his consistently inventive guitar and compelling vocals, which seem to carry urgent messages from a long-lost past."^[20] JazzTimes determined that "Hart’s obvious command of Piedmont and Delta styles is beautifully balanced by a sincere and soulful expression."^[21]