"Stand on It" was released as a single and reached No. 35 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart; "Sling Shot" was featured in the 1990 horror comedy film Gremlins 2: The New Batch; several other tracks were used as part of the soundtrack for the 1990 South Atlantic Raiders episodes of the British comedy series The Comic Strip Presents.
In a further move from his previous jazz fusion stylings, Beck adopts a more straightforward instrumental rock approach on Guitar Shop, save for two tracks ("Guitar Shop" and "Day in the House") on which drummer Terry Bozzio provides quirky spoken vocals.