Nonetheless, the singles "I Come from Another Planet, Baby" and "Planetary Sit-In" made the UK Top 40, and the record received acclaim from music critics.

[5] Thighpaulsandra, who had previously collaborated with Cope on Autogeddon and 20 Mothers,[6][7] returned to help produce, arrange and musically contribute to the new Cope album;[8] his contributions included heavy usage of the ARP and EMS VCS 3 synthesisers, string arrangements, piano, "preened" vocals and the organ solo that concludes "Since I Lost My Head, It's Awl-Right.

[9] Some ten other guests appear on the album, including drummer Rooster Mark Cosby who turns in what critic Ned Raggett described as some of his best work,[8] and "henchman" The Boy Anal,[10] who was unaware his piano playing was being recorded for the end of "Dust".

[9] Other contributors included saxophonist and trumpeter Raymond Lovesong, vocalist Doggen (TC Lethbridge), conductor Martin Schellard and vocal chanters O.K Simon and Merrick Godhaven.

[2] While described by critics to be an album of space rock[12] or glam pop reminiscent of Mott the Hoople,[11] the eclectic record incorporates acoustic folk,[13] idiosyncratic glam rock,[13] orchestral pop,[10] anthemic guitar music and "novelty Krautrock moon-opera,"[10] leading to what writer James Delingpole called a "weird, futuristic netherworld of Cope's own devising.

"[15] "The Battle for the Trees" celebrates the organised protests against the Newbury bypass construction, while "Cheap New-Age Fix" is in a trashy garage rock style and attacks "wannabe poseurs" with only a superficial interest in New Age subjects, as opposed to Cope's more intense focus on environmentalism and heathenism.

[12] The dramatic science fiction-style album cover depicts the standing stones of Cairnholy in south west Sctoland, exemplifying Cope's interest in Neolithic sites and experience in archaeology.

[19] As Interpreter was Cope's final album for Echo, it marked the end of the musician as a traditionally signed music act; he released his subsequent material independently.

"[8] The New Yorker wrote that the "wild and woolly rock record" was one of Cope's strongest releases, finding its song titles to "read like manifestos.

"[2] Trouser Press hailed the "at times-luxuriously produced album", writing: "Thrust by Cope's boundless enthusiasm, the blend of wit, intelligence and unhinged nuttiness is irresistible, one of those experiences that's best accepted without much deliberation.

"[13] In The Rough Guide to Rock, Nig Hodgkins wrote that Interpreter was Cope's "most commercial solo effort to date", writing that it "crystallized the pop promise of 20 Mothers."