On AllMusic, Lindsay Planer said, "Luckily, tape archivist David Lemieux chose not only two of the better shows from [1978], but also a pair that had not fallen prey to international CD bootleggers or otherwise been widely liberated into tapers' circles.... Easily discernible are the jazz-influenced elements that musically motivated and seamlessly pair older tunes such as "Scarlet Begonias" and "Eyes of the World" with more recent material such as "Fire on the Mountain" or "Estimated Prophet", respectively." In The Music Box, John Metzger wrote, "There must have been something funny in the air – or perhaps the backstage punch bowl – for the Grateful Dead's performances on May 10–11, 1978. The band members were all a little more playful than usual on each of these consecutive nights in New England, and the music – most of which is contained on the 25th edition of the Dick's Picks series – ran the gamut from strangely sloppy to fiercely fervent.... In other words, Dick's Picks, Volume 25 showcases the fine line between chaos and structure that the Grateful Dead so often tread.