Although credited to Strawbs it does contain three Hudson Ford tracks and a Dave Cousins solo track (taken from his album Two Weeks Last Summer).

The album was released as a 2-CD set in the UK and US.

The US release has a slightly different title (The Very Best of Strawbs: Halcyon Days – The A & M Years) and a different track listing.

The cover image is of a common kingfisher, a reference to the mythical kingsfisher of Halcyon days.

In the liner notes, track 16 is referred to as "Ciggy Barlust (Backside)" The songs were performed by several incarnations of Strawbs, plus the Hudson Ford and Dave Cousins session musicians.