[1][2] The jazz-influenced album features 14 renditions from a wide variety of artists, including Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Nick Drake, John Coltrane and more.

The genesis of the album began in 1999 when Chrissie Hynde teamed up with composer and producer Marius de Vries to work on music for the film Eye of the Beholder.

[5] Although the album includes two instrumentals: Charles Mingus' "Meditation on a Pair of Wire Cutters" and John Coltrane's "Naima", Hynde features on wordless background vocals on both tracks.

[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, wrote, "Most of Valve Bone Woe sways to a soft, gentle beat and is dressed in elegant strings, keyboards, and other jazzy accouterments, but beneath this lush exterior lies some modern flair.

"[14] The Guardian's Rachel Aroesti wrote that Valve Bone Woe "sees Hynde drown out cliche (and, occasionally, any recognisable tune) with her inbuilt insouciant cool and disregard for anything approaching stuffy tradition.