"Silent Running", featuring lead vocals by Paul Carrack, and the uptempo "All I Need Is a Miracle", featuring lead vocals by Paul Young, both reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at numbers 6 and 5 respectively, with the former also peaking at number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

[4] Mike Rutherford began constructing the album's set of tracks by playing demo tapes containing musical pieces in various stages of development (in some cases no more than isolated riffs and fragments but a few seconds long) to producer Christopher Neil.

Rutherford received permission from Genesis bandmates Phil Collins and Tony Banks to use it for the Mechanics, then developed it into a full song with help from Christopher Neil and B.A.

[5] In their retrospective review, Allmusic lauded the strong performances of all the band members, while noting that the creative and powerful songwriting is the most important element of the album.

They oddly concluded that though Mike + the Mechanics' second album was a bigger commercial success, "their debut reflects a more compliant (sic) sound in every aspect.