It was originally released in 1989 by Epic Records, and reissued and remastered in 2000 with two bonus tracks.

Upon its release, the album received mostly positive reviews from critics, went gold after six months and eventually went platinum.

The duo was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy (losing to Milli Vanilli, who later vacated the award), and won one for Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

Michael Stipe sang on "Kid Fears", and the other members of R.E.M.

In addition, the Irish band Hothouse Flowers contributed background vocals on several tracks, notably "Closer to Fine".