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"[Holding On] demonstrate[s] ... Carl's rhythmic and harmonic superiority as a guitarist. The solo work is clean and inventive in the ballads and the speedy pieces as well. This is one to play again and again."
- Just Jazz Guitar -
"Carl Barry is an absolutely spectacular, but unheralded guitarist, as fleet of finger as any man around, who, however, never allows stupendous technique to interfere one iota with his swinging ways. His solos are often breathtaking in their virtuosity as he shifts easily from single string to full-chordal confrontations, or from the fleet runs of a John McLaughlin to the utter funkiness of a B. B. King."
- The New York Post -
"[Carl Barry is] a man with a very relaxed swinging delivery."
- Ira Gitler, Jazz Times Magazine -
"Carl plays . . . smooth precise jazz guitar lines . . . (his) accompaniment is warm and pianistic; his solos are clean and expressive."
- Guitar Player Magazine -
"[Carl] Barry is an accomplished jazz guitarist and accompanist whose work is sometimes reminiscent of Jim Hall. Good listening . . ."
- OP Magazine -
"[Carl Barry's] excellent guitar accomps [and] pluckings are tasty, and shift between delicacy and strength."
- Variety -
"Carl Barry started his set off to the accompaniment of electric bassist Jeff Ganz, and displayed technical excellence with a gift for melodic improvisation."
"[In 'Embraceable You'], vocalist Joanne and husband-guitarist Carl have produced a wonderful set of swinging jazz standards that showcase her beautiful voice and give us all a lesson in placing the guitar with a singer. . . . Carl's eclectic and original guitar work supports, coaxes, and punctuates the vocal treats so well. Many singers would be fortunate to have his sensitive support. I hear a lot of love here in their interplay. His very mature and moodful solos are not unnoticed despite his humble understatement -- one can't overlook their contribution to this work. . . . This is a CD recommended without reservation; a musical thrill."
- Just Jazz Guitar -
"['Embraceable You' is] a CD's worth of material by vocalist Joanne Barry and her guitarist/husband Carl . . . [It] brings their talents to a wider audience and offers a dozen sparkling vocals put to Carl's solid arrangements for an excellent band. . . . Carl has selected some of the New York area's finest to assist on this project . . . The arrangements run the gamut from the solo guitar simplicity of the title track to the bombastic horns on Milton Nascimento's 'Empty Faces' . . . Carl's own playing is always tasty, knowing when to lay back and let Joanne do her thing, but ready to jump in with strings-a-blazing when the time is right."
"Carl [Barry's] support is solid throughout. On a lovely 'Embraceable [You]', he is his wife's sole support and the track fairly resonates with erotic tension."
- Cadence -
"There's lots of solid help here, led by the cleanly plucked guitar of Carl Barry, which takes on the role the piano usually plays in vocal accompaniment. . . . In stark contrast is [Joanne's] almost Elizabethan music rendition of "My Funny Valentine," with Carl Barry's lute like guitar being the principal instrumental chaperone. . ."
- Dave Nathan, for AMG (All Music Guide)