The album marked a reunion of the band's original lineup; the band, in part, recorded the album as an excuse to play live and tour.[6][7] Produced by the band, A Blazing Grace was recorded at Castle Recording Studio, in Nashville.[8][9] All of the band members were struggling with personal issues, and regarded the offer of free studio time as a blessing.[10]
Newsday wrote that "Ringenberg's high-lonesome tone has always lent itself to balladeering, and it might be a mark of age and experience that a couple of the album's best songs gear down to make breathing room for heartfelt expression."[18]The Indianapolis Star noted that "the Scorchers haven't lost one iota of supercharged twang."[16]The Washington Post determined that Ringenberg "attacks the [songs] as if he were leading the Ramones at the Grand Ole Opry."[19]
Don McLeese, of the Austin American-Statesman, opined: "Though I once considered the Scorchers the great lost American rock band of the '80s, the band has regrouped with a 1995 album that is arguably its best—and is likely to rank with the year's best as well."[20]Guitar Player deemed guitarist Warner Hodges "the Eddie Van Halen of country-punk."[21] The Vancouver Sun concluded that "there's nothing amusing about taking George Jones' sublime 'Why Baby Why' and subjecting it to sub-metal boogieization."[17]
