[3][4] The album features four unaccompanied soprano saxophone solos, recorded by sound engineer Michael Gerzon[5] in St Paul's Church, Oxford, England in 1986.

"[1] The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album one of its rare crown accolades, in addition to featuring it as part of the Core Collection, calling it "a great record," "an essential document of modern music," and "a hyper-subtle document of one of Parker's keynote performances, in which he takes the language experiments of the previous two decades and compresses them into one flowing and involving performance."

"[6] In a review for All About Jazz, John Eyles stated that the album "provides a ready-made excuse to focus on the serpentine qualities of Parker's soprano playing.

His relentlessly energetic flurries of notes defy logic or reason, seeming to spiral and to tie themselves in knots and coils...

"[8] Writing for The Guardian, Stewart Lee included The Snake Decides on his list of "Top Five Evan Parker Albums", calling it "A gripping solo set, brilliantly recorded.