The album was the listening public's first widespread opportunity to hear the band, which Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal called a "jazz power trio with a rock-and-roll heart.

"[7] The album features several cover songs: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Blondie's "Heart of Glass," and Aphex Twin's "Flim".

In November 2009, NPR's All Songs Considered selected the album as one of the 50 "most important" recordings of the decade.

[8] According to JazzTimes, producer-engineer Tchad Blake, "comes to [jazz] from the world of Los Lobos, Tom Waits and Pearl Jam" and "approaches These Are the Vistas with an ear for acoustic frictions.

His firm but unobtrusive direction showcases the Bad Plus in a way that's somehow both huge-sounding and stripped-down.