Colour Green was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder in Baier's home in Germany. Part of the album was inspired by a trip through Europe by Baier and her friend Claudine. The instrumentation on most of the album is minimal, featuring only Baier's voice and nylon-string guitar. However, the last track on the album, "Give Me a Smile", features an orchestrated string section and an electronic organ, and Baier plays a steel-string guitar instead of a nylon-strung one. Some 30 years after these songs were recorded, Baier's son Robby compiled a CD from these recordings to give to family members as presents. He also gave a copy to Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis, who helped finalize the first official release of it.