If you know anything at all about recording, please brace yourself. This is going to seem like a "How many [insert horrible stereotype here] does it take to mix an album?" joke.
On our first three albums, each song overlaps with the next to create a seamless piece of music on each side of the record. In the 90's (and before), and certainly now, this is easily accomplished at mastering. In fact, the length of the gaps between songs (or their absence) is one of the many things that impact the flow of an album. And this is often addressed at the mastering session.
Our first two albums were sent away for mastering and so we achieved the unbroken effect we wanted by recording the songs in order... on a single piece of tape... and mixing the side of an album in its entirety as one 20 minute piece of audio. Even though it was only 8 channels, it took the whole band clustered around the mixing board to address changes in level, eq, pan, etc. Imagine a game of Twister, but with arms only and on a much smaller mat.
If a mistake was made on "Gone To Earth", then brother we were all starting over at the beginning of "Diana". It was an inefficient way to create an album, but over the course of many attempts at an album side we all began to improve upon and finesse our "performances". I like to think of us working together and pouring creativity and love into the recordings right until the end.
We all made notes for ourselves. Here are a few from the first record.
-AK
