The album was a critical success, with Spiral Earth commending it as "the sound of one of the finest duos in English roots music having a blast".

[3] In 2009, Show of Hands released their fourteenth studio album Arrogance Ignorance and Greed, produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson, with additional production by Mark Tucker.

[4] In 2010, the duo performed a live cover version of Don Henley's hit "The Boys of Summer" on the Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC Radio 6 Music.

[5] "Covers Two is personal collection of sound-check fragments, late-night party pieces and mid-song references finally captured as complete songs.

The album was recorded in three sessions in October 2010 at Mick Burch’s Riverside studio in Exeter with the forensic ears of Mark Tucker assessing every note."

"[11] Both members of the duo, Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, sing lead vocals fairly across the album.

[3] The album opens with a cover of Richard Shindell's "You Stay Here", featuring Syke's "brooding bowed double bass that resonates chillingly beneath Steve's anguished vocals".

The album also contains an acoustic re-recording of the title track from Arrogance Ignorance and Greed, with its name changed to "AIG 2" and subtitled "The 'Lite' Version".

[16] Spiral Earth ran a competition in which three winners could win a copy of Covers 2 and see three of the duo's performances on the tour.

[1] A month after the album's release, Beer was nominated for "Musician of the Year" at the 2011 Spiral Earth Awards.