It was originally released as a triple LP box which also contained a booklet with lyrics, photos and profiles of the musicians.

Side six of the original LPs ended in a locked groove, the final track "...And It's Again" continuing infinitely on manual record players.

In 1997, a live version of Escalator over the Hill, re-orchestrated by Jeff Friedman, was performed for the first time in Cologne, Germany.

Jonathon Cott's Rolling Stone article stated: "Like an electric transformer, Escalator Over the Hill synthesizes and draws on an enormous range of musical materials – raga, jazz, rock, ring modulated piano sounds, all brought together through Carla Bley's extraordinary formal sense and ability to unify individual but diverse musical sections by means of the editing of the record medium...

"[7] Marcello Carlin, writing for Stylus Magazine, considers the album to be "the greatest record ever made."