The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes

the 1999 film

By the end of 1996, the album had sold around 750,000 copies worldwide, with its main markets in Europe (reaching the top 20 in several countries including Germany and Scandinavian territories), Japan and Australia. UK sales exceeded 100,000. In two months, the album had sold a "respectable" 12,000 copies in Canada.

The Boy with the X Ray Eyes was generally well received by critics upon its release. The Guardian named the album their "CD of the week". Rick Glanvill said: "This is a fey, pretentious vision of music but deny its energy and style to your detriment Lyrics aren't a strong point but strong tunes put [Mann] on the harder side of glam." Less enthused was music historian Martin C. Strong, who found the album to be "mediocre". There were several negative reviews throughout the British Isles. The Daily Telegraph commended the first two tracks but lost interest thereafter, directing criticism at the "mannered" vocals, "increasingly precious" lyrics, and song arrangements in which "one grinding riff sure enough follows another". Andy Gill in The Independent described the album as "re heated techno glam guitar rock somewhere between Ziggy Stardust and Jesus Jones", which brings home "just how mundane the notionally exotic can be". The Irish Times observed an "outmoded melange of distorted guitars, washed out synthesisers and pseudo sociological sci fi lyrics", listening to which is "not a pleasant experience". The Lists Rodger Evans portrayed the record as "wholly uninspired", while Ian Harrison of Select dubbed it "a mime troupe unable to keep quiet". Dave Thompson in Alternative Press felt "no fears for follow ups" to the lead single, and likened the album to "[David] Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, remixed by the guys from Underworld". An unfavourable J. D. Considine in The Baltimore Sun chided the album's "shoddy sound and abundant gimmickry", concluding that "it's hard to imagine America falling for this junk".