The album was produced by Angelo and John Leventhal, who also cowrote some of the songs.[7][8][9] Richey either wrote or cowrote all of its songs.[10]
Bitter Sweet was recorded with Richey's touring band as the backing musicians.[11]Kenny Vaughan played guitar on the album; Sam Bush played mandolin.[12][13] "I'm Alright" employs accordion, mandolin, and banjo.[14]John Crooke duetted with Richey on "Fallin'".[15]
The Chicago Reader wrote that "a few tunes suggest the mid-70s turquoise and denim of Linda Ronstadt, but there are also a number of gritty, loose songs."[22]Spin determined that the "best tracks tastefully tangle alternative country's string band purity and mainstream country's gloss."[21] The Chicago Tribune thought that Richey's band "plays with the rapport of the Jayhawks and the Band before them, laying barbed-wire guitar leads and earthy harmonies over acoustic strumming and rough-and-tumble rhythms."[17]
Stereo Review stated that Richey "cuts through country's plastic heart to usher in the genre's new realism."[23] The Los Angeles Daily News called the album "excellent," and praised the "terrific vocals and top-notch country-rock musicianship."[20] The Lincoln Journal Star concluded that Richey "cements her growing reputation as the rare artist who manages to appeal to both Nashville's most hidebound factions and its alternative-minded strains."[19]
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