In his 2002 book The Sensational Alex Harvey, John Neil Munro suggests that the album was written while the group was on tour, a common practice for them.

Munro relates that reviews of the album in the UK were positive - Charles Shaar Murray in the NME, for instance, comparing Harvey to Frank Zappa and opining that the song 'Give My Compliments to the Chef' was the best thing the band had done.

"[5] A writer identified as 'JIC' in the Charleston Gazette-Mail regarded the record as ‘a futuristic concept album’ and opined that ‘if they don’t become a giant act from this set, there’s something wrong with us’[6] The cover, by Dave Field, which Munro describes as a parody of Roger Dean's art for groups such as Yes, depicts degradation of the environment by earthmoving equipment as referenced in the song "The Tale of the Giant Stoneater".

Munro relates that the song was a response by Harvey to witnessing "a bulldozer paving the way for a new motorway through previously unspoilt land" while on holiday in the West of Scotland.

Curiously while both versions of these lyrics subtly differ, they are similar in ascribing parts of the song to 'girl', 'man' and 'commentator' (and 'all together'), however Harvey is the only vocalist on the actual track.