The album was co-produced by Neil Young's regular producer, David Briggs, and featured contributions from George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Klaus Voormann and Hopkins's fellow Rolling Stones sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price.

Having recently completed his duties on the Rolling Stones' "STP tour" of North America, Hopkins began work on his second official solo album in London during September 1972.

[9] The Tin Man Was a Dreamer was issued in April 1973 (delayed until July in Britain)[10] with a brace of singles and a Columbia promotional campaign that posed the question, with reference to Hopkins's impressive credentials: "After albums with the Airplane, the Who, Jeff Beck, Fats Domino, John Lennon and the Rolling Stones, where can you possibly go?

Bruce Eder of AllMusic describes it as "engagingly edgy pop-rock – picture Elton John's early '70s work with more variety, a few rough edges, and a bit less ego".

[14] For Eder, the highlights are many: "Dolly", a "hauntingly beautiful" ballad; the instrumental "Edward"; a "pounding, pumping" rocker called "Speed On"; the "wittily scatological" second single, "Banana Anna"; "Lawyer's Lament" – specifically, its "exquisite harmonies" and Taylor's "sensitive lead playing"; and the "rollicking" closing track "Pig's Boogie", on which Chris Spedding contributed a guitar part.