While the trio formed the core part of the band, the group's recordings and performances featured a varying ensemble of musicians, who played a range of string instruments (including viola and cello) in combination with piano, guitars, electric bass guitar, and a drum set that included a large orchestral bass drum.

A profile of the band is included in the book Second-Hand Stories: 15 Portraits of Louisville by Michael L. Jones.

[2] The Rachel's song "Water from the Same Source" was featured in the movie Hancock, although it did not appear on the official soundtrack, and in the Italian film The Great Beauty.

"Lloyd's Register", from the album The Sea and the Bells, made it into the French movie Une liaison pornographique.

Their song "An Evening Of Long Goodbyes" provided the inspiration for the title of Paul Murray's novel of that name.