Band members:
Alan White: drums, percussion
Peter Kirtley: guitars, vocals
Colin Gibson: bass, percussion
Kenny Craddock: keyboards, vocals
Alan Marshall: vocals
Bud Beadle: solo sax, flute
Andy Phillips: steel drum
Steve Gregory: added tenor sax, flute
Henry Lowther: trumpet
Madeleine Bell: backing vocals
Joanne Williams: backing vocals
Vicky Brown: backing vocals

Mountain Fjord Limited arranged and conducted by David Bedford

Additional musicians:
Jon Anderson: vocals (4)
Steve Howe: guitar (4)

Produced and engineered by Alan White and Bob Potter
Recorded at the Manor Studios, Shipton-on-Cherwell, except (2, 3) at Basing Street Studios
Second engineer: Paul Hardiman
Co-ordination: Nu Nu

Sleeve concept & design Ian Vincentini
Fine art Henry S. Hodgson
Poem by Tom Pickard
 

Tracks:
1. Ooooh Baby (Goin' to Pieces) [Kirtley]
2. One Way Rag [Craddock/Gibson]
3. Avakak [Gibson/Craddock/Kirtley]
4. Spring—Song of Innocence [lyr: William Blake; mus: Kirtley]
5. Giddy [Craddock/Gibson]
6. Silly Woman [Kirtley]
7. Marching into a Bottle [Craddock]
8. Everybody [Gibson/Craddock/Kirtley]
9. Darkness (Parts I, II & III) [Craddock/Gibson]
 

Notes: (****) The two instrumentals come with notes on the album. For "Avakak":

This tune sometimes called "Twelve Ways to Drink Meths" other times called "That's Not the Way God Planned It" but most days goes by the name "Captain Morbid And the Breakfast That Came From Outer London".

(The former title "Darch Of The Lesbian Mwarfs")

In 1975/6, all five members of Yes put out solo albums. For his, instead of recording a true solo album, White re-assembled former band mates in a number of projects to make the album. Kirtley, Craddock and White had been together in the Alan Price Set and Happy Magazine, while Gibson had joined them as well in Griffin, who released a single in 1969 (see under The Story of Skip Bifferty). Craddock and Gibson both joined Ginger Baker's Air Force, who White had previously played with. Air Force's horn section consisted of Beadle, Gregory and Geoff Condon. The Griffin instrumentalists, White, Kirtley, Craddock and Gibson, plus Beadle, Gregory and Condon, formed Simpson's Pure Oxygen. Craddock described the band in an Oct 1997 interview:

just after Airforce a whole bunch of us went to live in Suffolk to study music and generally check things out. There were seven of us in this band called Simpson's Pure Oxygen (a Colin Gibson idea) and we did two gigs, which were both in Newcastle; but that wasn't a problem because we'd lived and played together for nearly a year and we had nearly all made enough money before that to sustain us during that period. If money ran short there was always someone nipping into London to do a quick session and any money went into the communal pot. Somebody out there may remember us - let's see, we played at 'Change Is', which I think was a club run by Bob Monkhouse of all people, and at The Corner House in Heaton and both gigs were packed, we went down a storm. It was a great band; three horns, piano, two guitars, Colin on bass and Alan White again, on drums.

Anyway, Colin Gibson and myself went off to the States with the Mar[k]/Almond Band - Jon Mar[k] and Johnny Almond, Danny Richmond on drums, this was another great learning period - and meanwhile Alan White, or 'Whitey' as we called him, he joined Yes and became very rich, very quickly. He bought a big house and a couple of Bentley's and we were all incredibly jealous! Pretty soon he was in a position to record a solo album, thanks to his success with Yes and to help him record it we basically put Simpson's Pure Oxygen back together plus a few other session players. It sold very well, in fact as far as royalties go I'm still getting the odd trickle from it now, I think it's just been re-released in Japan

The implication is that at least some of the material on the album was from the Simpson's Pure Oxygen repertoire. (Gibson's 2002 obituary for Craddock in The Guardian says Simpson's Pure Oxygen toured the US in 1972, but this seems to be a subediting error and elsewhere Gibson has been clear the 1972 tour was with Mark/Almond.)

Gibson and Beadle also appeared on Steve Howe's Beginnings. Orchestral arranger David Bedford is better known for his work with Mike Oldfield and Kevin Ayers.

Although he does not appear on the album, Patrick Moraz has a cameo in the promotional video. (HP, 12 May 03; revised 30 Jul 06; revised 31 May 22)