Disc one (Black) was recorded during the band's Final Tour in 1997: Amsterdam (March 13), New York City (January 24), Trondheim (February 15), Prague (February 27), Brussels (March 14) and Atlanta (January 29).

[1] Two other songs were performed on this tour, "The Man With the Silver Tongue", which appeared in a revised form on Angels of Light's 1999 debut LP New Mother; and "My Birth", which remained unreleased until it appeared on Swans's 2010 album My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky.

The liner notes state that disc two (white) was recorded in Norway on the band's 1995 tour (September 20-23).

[2] The songs "In", "Alcohol the Seed", and "Animus", that had been played during the tour and also for the Amsterdam concert, did not appear on Swans Are Dead (the concert was recorded by the radio station VPRO, "Animus" is also cut on that recording).

[5] All tracks are written by Michael Gira, except "I Crawled" by Gira/Norman Westberg/Harry Crosby/Roli Mosimann, and "Lavender" and "Yum Yab" by JarboeCredits for Swans Are Dead adapted from liner notes.