Earth & Fire, one of the most successful groups in Dutch pop history, was founded in The Hague (Netherlands) in 1969. The quintet consisted of singer Jerney Kaagman, guitarist Chris Koerts, his brother, keyboardist and guitarist Gerard Koerts, bassist Hans Ziech and Ton van der Kley on drums. After several single hits in their home country, they released their first, self-titled album in September 1970. In strong contrast to their previously released, more pop-oriented singles, this album was a work of psychedelic and progressive rock, heavily influenced by those American psych-rock bands of the late 1960s featuring female vocals. With outstanding guitar solos, very fast and powerful, the album sounds significantly harder and rougher than the sound for which the group would later become famous.

While the copies released on the continent featured the well-known „matchbox cover“, the British editions were released on the small Philips sub-label Nepentha, housed in a beautiful gatefold cover designed by the then-unknown artist Roger Dean. This highly sought-after British version is now extremely rare and virtually impossible to find.