String Driven Thing "Suicide – Live in Berlin"

When Chris Adams (guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and founder) and his wife, Pauline (vocals), left String Driven Thing in 1974, just after their excellent 'The Machine That Cried' album had set critics and audiences on fire, violinist Grahame Smith was persuaded by Charisma Records to continue the band without Chris Adams - a mistake Smith, who later joined Van Der Graaf Generator, regretted for a long time.

In 1995, Ozit Records finished production work on a suitable follow-up to the last Chris Adams & Grahame Smith SDT album (1973's 'The Machine That Cried') in the shape of this live album recorded in Berlin on a 24-track mobile.

In true prog rock, folkie style, after working separately for around 20 years, Adams and Smith rehearsed for two days with other selected musicians, after which they played two European dates, which form the basis of 'Suicide - Live In Berlin'.

Already hailed by one rock critic as "one of the best live albums of the Nineties", the quality of this album is infinitely superior in comparison with many live rock albums recently released on CD; the cost of using both a 24-track mobile and two studios for the final mix is justified by the end result: a fitting follow-up to 'The Machine That Cried'.

The title track, 'Suicide' is a stunning Chris Adams song, written when he was aghast at a comment made by the manager of Joy Division about the death of the latter group's lead singer Ian Curtis. Dealing with the attitude of the media and music business moguls to musicians who take their own lives and the subsequent exploitation, it could equally apply to Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. The balance of the live tracks included here are a mixture of classic SDT songs from the 1970s, such as 'Circus' (the 1972 'New York Times' Single Of The Year), and new songs written in the 19-005.

Three bonus tracks which have never previously appeared on an album, one of which features Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks, complete the CD.

Track Listing