"Their first album since 2010's seasonal "Christmas With The O'Jays", and purported to be their last (...), it's patterned on their prime "Back Stabbers"/"Ship Ahoy" period. The key factors are the songs, beautifully crafted by Betty Wright and the S-Curve label boss Steve Greenberg, and the singing. Despite being in their seventies, group founders Eddie Levert and Walter Williams, and Eric Nolan Grant who joined them in 1995, sound invigorated, vital with voices remarkably sweet and strong as they swap leads with aplomb. As with their classic material, songs that empower and bite"

"The Last Word closes with an update of the group's first R&B Top 10 hit, "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today)" a touching goodbye that takes the now older and wiser group full circle to their roots. With The Last Word, The O'Jays end their legendary career on a peak"