To help guide the musicians, Eno and Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards called Oblique Strategies to facilitate creativity during the recording process.

Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a loose concept album that references themes of geopolitical intrigue ranging from espionage to the Chinese Communist Revolution.

The album was inspired by a series of postcards depicting a Chinese revolutionary opera titled Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy.

"[6] To further explore the possibilities of the studio setting, Eno and his friend Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards, called Oblique Strategies.

[5] Describing the words on the album as an expression of "idiot glee", Eno and Schmidt eventually expanded the Oblique Strategies set to over 100 "worthwhile dilemmas", which would be used in nearly all his future recordings and productions.

[8]Eno's group on Taking Tiger Mountain included Brian Turrington and Freddie Smith of The Winkies, along with Robert Wyatt and Manzanera.

Other musicians appearing on the album include Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, along with the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra in which Eno had once played clarinet.

[10] The sound of Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) has been described as more subdued than Eno's previous solo album, while the lyrics have darker themes and subject matter.

[13][8][14] The album's lyrics have been described as "remarkably literate and often humorous" with "quick-fire rhymes, oddball couplets, abrupt demands, and ruthless statements".

[6] Steve Huey of AllMusic described the album's themes as "often inscrutable, but still playful – about espionage, the Chinese Communist revolution, and dream associations".

[...] guaranteed to be put on the 'Most Wanted' list by psychopaths everywhere [...] [Eno] takes you on a dada-ists tour-de-force, lampooning and integrating every type of music conceivable".

[26] Chris Jones of BBC Music called Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) "a work of genius because it didn't know the meaning of repetition" and "merely took Warm Jets and refined it into a smoother lump of oddness.