One of the most successful tunes from the album, "The Preacher", was almost rejected for recording by producer Alfred Lion, who thought it was "too old-timey", but reinstated at the insistence of Blakey and Silver, who threatened to cancel the session until he had written another tune to record in its place if it wasn’t included.

[1] According to Silver, the track showed that the band could "reach way back and get that old time, gutbucket barroom feeling with just a taste of the back-beat".

[2] Originally released as an LP, the album has subsequently been reissued on CD several times.

The music on the album mixes bebop influences with blues and gospel feels.

[citation needed] AllMusic critic Scott Yanow called it "a true classic".