In contrast to other albums by Colosseum, The Grass Is Greener was released only in the United States and Canada,[1] on the Dunhill label, distributed by ABC.

It was conceived as a North American alternative to November 1969's Valentyne Suite, complete with a muted, blue-green variation of the aforementioned album's cover.

In a review of The Grass Is Greener at AllMusic, Jim Newsom said he was "impress[ed]" with Dick Heckstall-Smith's saxophones and woodwinds, and Dave Clempson's "blazing guitar licks".

[2] Newsom found "Jumping off the Sun" and Jack Bruce's "Rope Ladder to the Moon", "especially strong", and called the title track the "highlight of this disc".

[2] Achim Breiling wrote at Babyblaue Seiten that in contrast to its predecessor, Valentyne Suite, The Grass Is Greener is a well balanced and diverse album.