[1] In September, 1974, Desmond brought Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert to the United States to record the studio album, in a quartet setting with Ron Carter and Connie Kay.

The Allmusic reviewer Richard S. Ginell stated "With the Skylark "experiment" behind him, Paul Desmond reverted to the relaxed quartet format that suited him well in the past...

Specifically, an alternate take of "Nuages" was used, an Ed Bickert guitar intro was restored to "Everything I Love", a half-chorus featuring bassist Ron Carter was restored to "Mean to Me", and a different Desmond saxophone solo on "Everything I Love" was featured.

In addition, two outtakes ("Wave" and "Theme from M*A*S*H") were included in the first compact disc release.

Both edits of "Nuages" on the 2011 compact disc reissues were released with missing measures from the opening section of the song.