After wrapping up touring in support of their 1995 self-titled fourth album in early 1996, vocalist Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins went to a cottage near Lake Windermere to write material.

Tellin' Stories is a Britpop, hip hop soul, and rock album that has been compared to the work of Patti Smith and Neil Young.

Prior to a tour of the United Kingdom, which saw the introduction of keyboardist Tony Rogers, "North Country Boy" was released as the album's second single in March 1997.

[6] Guitarist Mark Collins asked the band's management to locate a remote part of the Lake District where he and vocalist Tim Burgess could work on ideas.

Upon returning home, the pair learned that bassist Martin Blunt, drummer Jon Brookes, and keyboardist Rob Collins had completed three songs.

[16] Manager Steve Harrison informed Brookes of the situation over a phone call in the early hours of the morning, while Burgess and Mark Collins had gone to the studio unaware of it.

[29] In a series of tweets surrounding a listening party for the album, Burgess and Mark Collins revealed that Duffy played on "With No Shoes", "Tellin' Stories", "You're a Big Girl Now", and "Get On It".

[31] Rowlands visited the Quadrangle room at Rockfield Studios, using a sampler, sequencer, and synthesiser to add his parts, altering the sound of "Tellin' Stories", "Only Teethin'", and "One to Another".

[38][39][40] Blunt described it as a mix between Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980) by Dexys Midnight Runners and Let It Bleed (1969) by the Rolling Stones.

[42] MTV's Mitch Myers said the band avoided the "overt Beatle pop-isms" of their contemporaries Blur and Oasis, instead opting to do a "bluesier, more sultry take on the British Invasion.

[44] Author Susan Wilson, in her book The Charlatans – Northwich Country Boys (1997), said Burgess' words were "very obviously about emotions, relationships, and of course Rob [Collins]", noting that his ex-girlfriend, who had left him at the start of recording, was an influence.

[45] Biographer Dominic Wills, in his book The Charlatans: The Authorised History (1999), expanded on this, saying that Burgess' lyrics "took on a religious feel as he began to treat life as not just a thrill-packed teenage pursuit but as a sometimes painful but always rewarding learning process leading (hopefully) to redemption."

[50] "Tellin' Stories" was initially named "Laughing Gravy", a reference to Laurel and Hardy,[51] with some of the lyrics being influenced by John Wesley Harding (1967) by Dylan.

[49] Wills wrote that it had an aggressive Led Zeppelin-like guitar riff that was "underpinned by Rob Collins' Stonesy electric piano, and a Bomb the Bass beat".

[28] It originally started as an up-tempo indie rock song that they eventually stripped down, edited, and saw the inclusion of Mark Collins' acoustic guitar.

[81] The US edition, which was released through MCA Records and featured "Title Fight" and "Two of Us" as part of the track listing before "Rob's Theme",[82] was originally planned for July 1997 but was moved up to 17 June 1997.

[84] They embarked on a tour of the UK that ran into May 1997, with support from Bentley Rhythm Ace; the London show saw the debut of Tony Rogers from Jobe, the Charlatans new full-time keyboardist.

[89] MCA's vice president of product management, Robbie Snow, had previously worked with the band during their time at RCA Records earlier in the decade.

[93] "Tellin' Stories" was released as the fourth single from the album on 20 October 1997, with "Keep It to Yourself", "Clean Up Kid", and a live version of "Thank You", a track from The Charlatans, recorded at Phoenix Festival as the B-sides.

[97] "One to Another", "North Country Boy", "How High", and "Tellin' Stories" were featured on their third and fifth compilation albums, Forever: The Singles (2006) and A Head Full of Ideas (2021).

[100] In 2012, Beggars Banquet Records released a two-disc edition of the album that included B-sides and an early version of "Don't Need a Gun".

[107] Directed by Chris Hall and Mike Kerry, the documentary features Blunt, Burgess, Brookes, and Mark Collins individually, with additional interviews from Heavenly PR agent Jeff Barrett, Duffy, and photographer Tom Sheehan.

He added that various comparisons were made to the mix of genres found here as well as to acts from the 1960s, with a heavy focus on the Charlatans' "survival rather than the reasons for it", with Collins' death obfuscating the band's musical growth.

[42] Robb felt that there were "no dips in the album's quality" compared to past releases, as the band showed that they were "full-on, strident, confident in [their] own strengths.

"[46] Tom Lanham of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the band "confront[ed] death [...] with grace, dignity, and new creative commitment" on the album.

[114] Myers thought that they made a "durable album that is a fitting tribute" to Rob Collins, adding that it "sounds cohesive, and the band appears more unified than ever".

[119] Rolling Stone writer Jason Cohen said the band "scramble up industrial hip-hop soul with spirited, melodic '60s-rock influences, but they never let their postmodernism detract from the base simplicity of well-crafted songs and unabashed rockin'".

He said that while Burgess' "streams of hope'n'hurt lyrics are still those of a confused kid pouring out his heart," they "leap ten feet over cynicism" when anchored by Mark Collins' guitarwork.

[120] Tim Kennedy of Consumable Online was impressed that the lyrics were "no longer childish", as Burgess now "frequently relies on fairly hackneyed good-time clichés from the sixties.

[126] The British Phonographic Industry in the UK certified it gold in the month of its release, before subsequently reaching platinum status in January 1998.