[1][2] This is the first album in which Renaissance (the Jon Camp/Annie Haslam/Terence Sullivan/John Tout version) did not use quotes from actual classical pieces and the first not to feature any songwriting credits from the original members.

[1] The suite "Song of Scheherazade", which occupies most of the album's running time, was originally conceived by Renaissance guitarist Michael Dunford as the score for a theatrical musical.

Since vocalist Annie Haslam had no songwriting role in the band, during these sessions she would simply sit and listen with a cup of tea and a packet of crisps.

They took David Hitchcock as their second choice because they were impressed with his work on In the Land of Grey and Pink, and because he and Renaissance were both being managed by Miles Copeland III.

[3] Moreover, for a stretch of several days Hitchock was simultaneously producing Scheherazade and Other Stories and Cunning Stunts, so that he would have to work on Cunning Stunts at Tollington Park Studios during the day and on Scheherazade and Other Stories at Abbey Road Studios at night, an arrangement which Hitchcock felt negatively impacted both albums.

This confusion was reflected in the packaging and labels of original LP copies of this album, and in the mis-titling of "Festival Preparations" (part 1) as "The Young Prince and Princess" on the 1990 Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume I compilation.

In a retrospective review, Bruce Eder of Allmusic summarized that "This album was the group's magnum opus in the perception of many onlookers and fans, and it still plays well, though its flaws are more evident than they were at the time."