mark coleman in "the new rolling stone album guide" gave the record 4 and half stars out of 5 and wrote; "this austere, beautiful set of songs represents a mature peak. the controlled chaotic edge of the early albums is completely gone, and cofounders manzanera and mackay provide only skeletal guitar and sax lines. ferry fills in the details, creating layered synth landscapes around his tragic scenarios and melodic ruminations. "avalon"'s pervasive influence on the british pop scene of the '80s can't be overstated. roxy music's stature is even further enhanced by the absence of a latter-day comeback album. so far, anyway." "spin alternative record guide" rated "avalon" nine out of ten: "1982's "avalon" remains one of the all-time great makeout infernos, a synthesized version of al green's "call me", van morrison's "moondance", and joão gilberto's "amoroso"."