TO THE DGMLIVE FAITHFUL
Posted by
Mariana Scaravilli
on Dec 17, 2024
From Sid Smith's notes:
"[...]Starless and Bible Black was a strangely furtive documentary of the group operating in its natural element. In some respects, the album can be seen as an experimental template, one which mingled live tracks with stand-alone studio recordings, and where concert performances were augmented with studio overdubs as in the case of The Mincer, where live improvisation in the studio was adapted to create wholly new material.”
Only three tracks were recorded in the studio, uploaded today to the DGM vaults:
January 7, 1974 - AIR Studios - The Great Deceiver
January 8, 1974 - AIR Studios - Lament
January 9, 1974 - AIR Studios - The Night Watch
These recordings have been made available for download in 2024 to satisfy recent changes to copyright laws: All recordings must be released within the fiftieth year of their recording in order to continue to enjoy copyright protection. So these have been released to the DGMLive faithful – and are thus protected!
When asked about his experience, Alex ‘Stormy’ Mundy said:
"Where possible, David Singleton and I start with a basic backing track type version of the song with the bass, drums and guitar which are the building blocks of the whole track.
Then by choosing each section of the recording and adding the different elements of the track, we hope to make a musically interesting documentary of events. Where there is any studio chatter on the tapes this has been retained.
By taking a glimpse inside the songs and presenting them as "open" mixes, it highlights the different instruments and makes them stand out. Several passes of the overdubs may be required to allow us to present all of the parts that were added, and in some cases, were left on the tape and not added to the finally released album mixes."
