John Kelman in All About Jazz wrote that there is "no shortage of high octane playing here" and that it is "McLaughlin's most exhilarating work and group since his Heart of Things band in the late 1990s" and closed by saying that the album is "quite simply, McLaughlin's best album in well over a decade". Ian Patterson in All About Jazz wrote that "Simply listening to his improvisations throughout the six originals leaves no doubt that he is in inspired creative form." Robert Bush, also in All About Jazz, called To the One the "most consistently engaging disc in years" and that "McLaughlin's chops have never been better".
