Upon its release, "The Head on the Door" was well received by the British press. In a very favourable review, "Melody Maker" hailed the "liberty" that Smith took to conceive a multifaceted record. Chris Roberts of "Sounds" said that it "makes you wish more pop stars were hip enough to stay in bed all day". "Record Mirror" reviewer Andy Strickland wrote that "The Head on the Door" "may lack the swirls of chorused guitar that many adore, but there's a wider more mature musical approach". "NME" wrote: "it's quite pop" and "tunes abound". In December 1985, "The Head on the Door" was named the best album of the year by "Melody Maker".