After recording the entire album with an unnamed producer who scrapped the recordings, the band re-recorded the album on a minimal budget, mostly at Lifesource Studios in Emeryville, California with production from Psychic TV's Larry Thrasher, whose usual "studio" approach was vetoed out by the band's back-to-basics approach.

Records on May 28, 1996, it is the first of three full-length albums released by the band in 1996, preceding Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request and Thank God for Mental Illness.

In 1995, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, led by frontman Anton Newcombe, along with bassist Matt Hollywood, guitarist Dean Taylor, organist Mara Regal, accordionist Dawn Thomas, drummer Brian Glaze, and "Spokesman for the Revolution" Joel Gion released their debut album Methodrone which featured a shoegazing-influenced style.

[4] Looking for a change in direction, and under the influence of 1960s British rock music, the band soon began work on Take it from the Man!.

He also asked that I kick the shit out of old Mick and Keith for ripping off his band, girl and money, having him murdered, being glad he's dead, and for not being very nice people.

with an unnamed producer who, in wanting to "get on board", recorded the album and "chopped it up to make it like so perfect" and then requested 3% of the royalties, leading the band to "just [laugh] in his face.

[8] The band were recording their follow up album Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request (1996) concurrently with Take It from the Man!, although not in the same studio or with the same producer.

was another change of style for the band, taking a large influence from 1960s British garage rock, particularly the early work of the Rolling Stones.

"[11] Laut more broadly said the album "deals with British music from the 60s," noting "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six" as an example.

"[13] Joel Gion talked down the recognized similarities, saying "Take It from the Man was largely described as a December's Children nuts and bolts Rhythm & Blues sound.

I used to really love writing songs in front of people with acoustic guitars or whatever just to show off with my mates, it used to make me really happy to be clever.

[17] The Village Voice characterized "Mary, Please" as "trippy with partially dejected yet sincere lyricism" and "filled with meticulously placed tambourine and cymbals.

[5] The long version of "Straight Up and Down", in particular, clearly indicates two of the band's biggest '60s influences, as by the final minutes of the song, the vocals mimic both the "Woo-woo!"

AllMusic's Jason Ankeny described the album as "brilliant" and said that "singer Anton Newcombe is half madman and half shaman, and he commands each delirious moment with absolute mastery, emerging not so much a disciple of Mick Jagger but as a serious threat to the throne.

"[24]" He said that tracks like "Who?," "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six," and "Straight Up and Down" are "simply amazing, evoking rock's golden age without ever disintegrating into slavish devotion–clearly, the BJM is a group that believes in killing their idols"[24] Skiddle called it a "classic" album.

[28] Alongside Thank God for Mental Illness, FasterLouder called it the band's "sublime high watermark.

"[29] In 1998, Newcombe stated that Take It from the Man!, alongside Give It Back!, Thank God for Mental Illness and Their Satanic Majesties Second Request were his favorite albums by the band; "I like those four records a lot.

"[30] In 2015, The Village Voice included "Mary, Please" in their list of "Ten Nineties Earworms That Just Get Better with Age," saying the song "isn't quite as dancy as 'Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth' or as mesmerizing as 'It Girl,' but it is just as essential and equally good.

"[31] "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six" was included on What Youth's" Stay Tuned playlist, praising the production and strained vocals.

[32] Several bands have cited the record as an influence; Leon James Kenny of Black Sonic Revolver cited the album as an influence, saying "we always listen to BJM before recording or demoing, their creativity inspires us.

[35] In 2010, "Straight Up and Down" was used as the theme music for the popular television period drama series Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi on the American cable network HBO.

"[36] While experimenting with the opening, Winter says he paired the footage of one of its scenes with several different pieces of music before settling on "Straight Up and Down"; "I had been a fan of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, so we tried it, and I said to the editor, that really works for me.