The album saw Gabriel expanding on the post-punk and world music influences from his 1980 self-titled record, and earned him his first US top 40 single with "Shock the Monkey".

Instead of working with Hipgnosis on the cover art as he did for his previous three albums, Gabriel turned to sculptor Malcolm Poynter.

The image is of Gabriel's face, based on an experimental videotape recorded by Poynter and heavily distorted through the use of flexible mirrors, Fresnel lenses, and lighting techniques.

"The Rhythm of the Heat" is based on Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's experience watching a group of drummers and dancers in Kenya, during which he became overwhelmed and worried that the music and dancing would subsume him.

[26] Additionally, in the South Bank Show documentary on the album, the working title for "I Have the Touch" was shown to be "Hands".

In the United States and Canada Geffen Records issued the album under the title Security to differentiate it from his previous releases.

In The Boston Phoenix, Howard Hampton wrote that "though I have serious reservations about the album, it is just varied, provocative, and experimental enough to have radio programmers and fans murmuring 'artistic breakthrough.'

Erlewine partially attributed the album's "brighter feel" to Gabriel's embrace of African and Latin rhythms, which he thought were effective in complimenting the synthesizers.

He asserted that certain songs required greater attention from the listener , including "The Family and the Fishing Net," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "Wallflower", but felt that some of them failed to deliver a rewarding experience.

The album has a different running order: "San Jacinto" is swapped with "The Family and the Fishing Net" (here, "Das Fischernetz").

(None of his songs were used in the second season, though "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins, which features backing vocals by Gabriel, was used in the second-season premiere.)