A review in Rolling Stone by Ken Barnes was critical of Ray Davies' "tendency toward vaudevillian excess," but overall he rated Preservation as a "highly listenable, enjoyable album.

"[7] Barnes singled out "Sitting in the Midday Sun" as a "wistfully irresistible" number and labeled "One of the Survivors" the Kinks' "best outright rocker" in years.

[7] Gary Lucas, reviewing Preservation Act 1 for Zoo World, also had high praise for the work, stating: "Dare I say it is one of the nicest albums to be released this year (if not the best)?

"[8] Focusing on the musical theater aspects of the LP, Barbara Charone ranked the album as one of the "most impressive" of the Kinks' career.

[9] Some more recent reviews of Preservation Act 1 have been sympathetic to its theatrical ambitions, such as AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who declared "Sweet Lady Genevieve" to be the "real candidate for Davies' forgotten masterpiece".