Stephen Holden of The New York Times awarded the album first place in his annual adult-pop consumer guide, calling it "profoundly beautiful," and stating that Lincoln "suggests what Billie Holiday might have become had she overcome her personal demons and survived into her 60's. A piercing pain is balanced by an exhilarating sense of self-determination and a childlike wonder."[10]
Entertainment Weekly's Chip Deffaa wrote: "Unhurried, sagacious, and original, [Lincoln] makes wise use of her limited vocal range... At her most penetrating... she offers not just entertainment, but a kind of spiritual nourishment."[4]
Critic Gary Giddins described the album as "Lincoln's most expressive tour de force,"[11] and included it in his list of the best jazz records of 1995, commenting: "For more than half a century, a jazz diva was almost by definition a singer crying for her man. Lincoln has turned that around—never with greater emotional resolve than on this sublime album."[12]
In an article for the Chicago Tribune, Howard Reich noted that, on the album, Lincoln "attains a new expressive depth and ardor." He remarked: "Probably the best recording of her career, A Turtle's Dream documents an artist who has pared down her means and her message to their essence. Not a note is wasted, not a phrase is unnecessary... Not since Billie Holiday's sublime final recordings has a female jazz vocalist expressed pain and yearning so eloquently."[13]
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album a full 4 stars, and stated: "One of the joys of the record... is flicking through and identifying one dream line-up after another... only to find that the saxophone solo you've just swooned to... is by the relatively unknown Lourau."[6]
Track listing
"Throw It Away" (Abbey Lincoln) – 5:44
"A Turtle's Dream" (Laurent Cugny, Abbey Lincoln) – 6:29
