Children of God (album)
| Children of God | ||||
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| Swans studio album | ||||
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Publication |
1987 |
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| Label (s) | Caroline Records , Product Inc. | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
13 |
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running time |
71 minutes |
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| occupation |
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Rico Conning and Michael Gira |
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Children of God is the fifth studio album by the US band Swans . It was released in 1987 as a double LP and CD on the American label Caroline Records and the British label Product Inc. (a sub-label of Mute Records ).
History and style of music
Children of God was created entirely in Great Britain . The album was recorded in February and March 1987 at Sawmills Studio in Golant, Cornwall , and mixed in March and April at Guerilla Studios, London .
The band's repertoire, which was previously dominated by power rock rhythms , has been expanded to include melodic compositions with acoustic instrumentation , even more than on the previous albums Greed and Holy Money .
Michael Gira called Children of God a turning point in the history of the Swans. He wrote on his website about the album and the expansion of the noise rock structures it contained :
“I wanted to move on to other things and not stick to any style of music that, in our case, could have gotten ridiculous if we'd just kept going. […] Children of God was a significant turning point for the Swans, and the musical direction that emerged here for the first time was the fertile soil for the coming albums. "
Track list
All tracks from the Swans.
- New Mind - 5:12
- In My Garden - 5:34
- Our Love Lies - 5:47
- Sex, God, Sex - 6:43
- Blood and Honey - 4:45
- Like a Drug (Sha La La La) - 5:36
- You're Not Real, Girl - 4:18
- Beautiful Child - 5:13
- Blackmail - 3:33
- Trust Me - 4:25
- Real Love - 6:19
- Blind Love - 7:44
- Children of God - 4:33
The running times correspond to the information on the LP. The track Trust Me at the end of the third page fades into an almost one-minute sound recording of boat paddles gliding through water, which is not listed in the track list. Blackmail is an alternate version of the track of the same name from the EP A Screw .
On later re-releases, Children of God was combined with compositions from Swans' side project World of Skin and two pieces from the EP New Mind . The LP version of Our Love Lies has been replaced by the version on the Love Will Tear Us Apart -EP.
reception
For many critics, Children of God is considered a key work of the Swans:
“The band takes a big step forward on Children of God . The changes that were indicated on the previous albums come to the fore here [...] "
“The Swans' early work on Filth or Young God showed the band fixated on simple beats in brutally sweeping, machine cacophonies ; in many ways the realization of the theories of the futurists . Later, with the reinforcement of Jarboe , Gira expanded the whole thing with more varied tones, mixed barbs and spatial extensions into the rigid rhythms. Children of God exemplifies this change: the manic, violent drone of the opening piece New Mind gives way to the fragility of Jarboe's In My Garden . "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on the LP first publication; there the Sawmills Studio is referred to as Sawmills Studios.
- ^ "I wanted to move on to other things and didn't want to get stuck in some style, which in our case had the potential of becoming cartoonish if we'd continued in that direction. [...] Children Of God was a major turning point for Swans and the musical tendencies that are first engendered here were fertile ground for the remaining future records. " Children of God / World of Skin ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info : The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Younggodrecords.com, accessed June 20, 2012.
- ^ " Children of God finds the band making their own particular great leap forward. The simmering changes that were apparent in the albums just before this one's release fully come to the fore […] “Ned Ragett: Children of God - Swans on allmusic .com .
- ↑ "Much of Swans' earliest work on Filth and Young God found the band fixating on single beats in a brutally sweeping, industrial cacophony, in many ways the realization of the theories of the Futurists. Later, with the addition of Jarboe, Gira brought more varied sounds into the mix, reporting hooks and spatial variation to the unwavering rhythms. Children of God stands as a solid example of this transition: the maniacally heavy drone of the album's opener, New Mind gives way to the fragility of Jarboe's In My Garden . "Brandon Stosuy: Swans: Children of God .
Web links
- Children of God on Swans.pair.com
- Children of God on Younggodrecords.com