Their cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang On to a Dream" featured a ghostly choral arrangement by Duncan Browne and became a popular live number which showcased Emerson's idiosyncratic jazz piano skills, including manual striking of the interior strings.

The original idea for the cover was to make it look like a family photo album with various snapshots of the group interspersed with handwritten letters in a gatefold sleeve, but Emerson was highly displeased with the results.

[5] It failed to chart in the US, where The Nice remained obscure in spite of touring hip American venues like The Fillmore West and East that year and receiving rave reviews.

"[6] Don Heckman of The New York Times also gave a glowing review, while Lloyd Grossman of Fusion noted the group "use jazz and classical elements with an ease and brilliance that few bands can equal."

On the other hand, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice quickly established himself as one of Emerson's harshest critics when he admitted the keyboardist's technical virtuosity but bemoaned a lack of taste, concluding that The Nice were "the most overrated group this side of The Moody Blues.