The first song recorded for the album was "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood", a Richard Fariña lyric he had set to a traditional Irish melody "My Lagan Love"; Denny's ambitious multi-tracked vocal arrangement was inspired by the Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic.

[5] A further two tracks were begun but not finished: a cover version of fellow folk singer Anne Briggs's "Go Your Own Way My Love" and another Denny original "After Halloween", which was reworked three years later for Fairport Convention's Rising for the Moon album.

[6] All of the album's songs were finished at Sound Techniques and Island studios in about five sessions between the end of April and late May, during which string arrangements by Harry Robinson were added[5] and two further Denny compositions were recorded: "It Suits Me Well" and "It'll Take A Long Time".

The album was originally issued in a gatefold sleeve featuring on its front a photograph by David Bailey, which came to define Denny's public image.

The gatefold of the LP opened to show the song lyrics handwritten by Denny herself and bordered by garlands of flowers drawn by Trevor Lucas's sister, the illustrator Marion Appleton.