The album was recorded during the summer of 2015 in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios in London. The album was recorded during MacFarlane's promotional tour of Ted 2.[5] On what attracted him about making this kind of album, MacFarlane stated, "There was a time during the mid-1950s and early 1960s when popular song was stretching its creative boundaries, and experimenting with more ambitious structures and tones. During this period, a song set out to really tell a story: not just with the lyric and the vocal, but with the arrangements and orchestral interpretations. The songs on this record attempt to do just that."[6]Joel McNeely said about the music of the album, "The instrumentation on this record is unusual. It is a very small string section, only a few brass and woodwinds. But we chose the musicians very carefully. These players have an understanding of the long lost style of playing from that era and their understanding of the required extra vibrato, copious dramatic slides and bends brings a stylistic realism to the orchestra almost impossible to achieve these days."[6] MacFarlane has initially described the album as being in the style of Frank Sinatra's album In the Wee Small Hours. The album's cover art reflects this.[7]
No One Ever Tells You has received mostly positive acclaim from music critics. At Music Times, they commented that "He certainly embodied the style and swagger of Sinatra."[7]
Daily News' Kirthana Ramisetti praised the album, commenting "MacFarlane channeled his Sinatra for this album."[9]JazzTimes Christopher Loudon praised the album by saying "Backed by a wall of brass and a sea of strings, MacFarlane again succeeds admirably—as does McNeely, whose charts estimably echo Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. While he lacks Sinatra’s raw emotional wallop and more closely mirrors the mellow warmth of Dean Martin, he is no poseur. There’s plenty here from the Sinatra canon."[10]A Plus said the following about the album, "While Music was largely upbeat, the melodies in No One are slow and sad in the best possible way. It's the kind of album where the orchestra wraps you up and indulges your sorrow while the nuances in his voice break your heart completely."[11]
