The follow-up to 1988's Turn Back the Clock, Tall Stories features producer and songwriter Phil Thornalley as lead singer, following the departure of the band's frontman Clark Datchler.

[2][self-published source] The album featured contributions from XTC's Dave Gregory (lead guitar) and Kasim Sulton of Utopia (backing vocals).

Following the commercial success of Turn Back the Clock, lead singer Clark Datchler left Johnny Hates Jazz at the end of 1988 to embark on a solo career.

I can't really listen to that record, some things happened from a personal point of view, my mother died right at that time, Calvin had that car crash.

"[11] Phil Bryant of The Crawley News wrote, "Tall Stories has a number of influences, bits of Paul McCartney here, George Michael there and Tears for Fears in abundance.

"[12] Jon Selzer of Melody Maker was critical of the album, believing it to have little "approaching a tune" and be full of "clichés and self-pity" instead, particularly the lyrics which he felt concentrated on the theme of "he's split up with his girlfriend and wants her back".

He commented, "Tall Stories sounds like the kind of music they play to illustrate trysts in soap operas, where a lovelorn character wanders by a lake to get a free blow-dry, or the touching moment in those human-dramas-on-Bogdon-Pier the Beeb are so good at.

"[13] Andrew Collins of NME was also negative, noting that Thornalley's replacement of Datchler "[does] not make a sod of difference to the Johnnys' spiritless, dreary coffee table adultsoulpopdirge".