the album has consistently been praised by critics. reviewing the album in "rolling stone", kurt loder wrote ""avalon" takes a long time to kick in, but it finally does, and it's a good one. bryan ferry stars as a remarkably expressive keyboard player and singer whose familiar mannerisms are subsumed in a rich, benevolent self-assurance. and reed man andy mackay shines in a series of cameos (his oboe meditation on ferry's "tara" is particularly lovely). ten years after its debut, roxy music has mellowed: the occasional stark piano chords in "while my heart is still beating," for example, recall the stately mood of "a song for europe," but the sound is softer, dreamier and less determinedly dramatic now. ferry's songwriting, however, has seldom seemed stronger."