Swans (Michael Gira, Jarboe...)

any Swans fans in here? didn't find any topics devoted to them in the archives, surprisingly.

i like the noisy, repetitive, harsh stuff from the early years (Filth, Cop, Young God, Greed, Holy Money); i think "Time is Money (Bastard) (mix)" is genuinely disturbing, hands down the most hateful vocal i've heard. but i actually think that Napalm Death beat early Swans at their own game on songs like "Multinational Corporations pt. 2" (pretty much a reworking of Swans' "Half Life") and "Evolved as One."

Children of God is the best Swans release i've heard so far. i like it better than the aforementioned releases. some of the songs (like "Sex God Sex") refine the brutal, hypnotic quality of the early work. others explore the dark acoustic route that showed up on some of the material prior to this double LP. this music is gorgeous and utterly depressing.

i'm not too happy with what Gira did on some of the reissues that are currently available. the packaging is plain and ugly, and there is some revisionism going on - the releases are not presented as originally released insofar as alternate versions of songs replace the originals. Gira also wrote a rather salty message to his fans on this matter after receiving complaints (check the swans faq on google).

i recently tracked down the Caroline CD of Children of God, and it's way better than the Children of God/World of Skin 2xCD that is easier to find nowadays. it has the awesome cover art intact, and the original, superior version of the third song "Our Love Lies." on the 2xCD, Gira replaced this version with a stripped-down but (i.m.o.) inferior version from the Love Will Tear Us Apart EP... and didn't even bother to mention it anywhere in the liner notes.

question: has anyone heard "Time is Money (Bastard)" from the 12"? the version which is currently available on CD is actually a shorter version of "Time is Money (Bastard) (mix)" from the 12". i've never heard the original and i'm wondering how it compares to the (mix) version.

 

What other differences are on the Caroline Children of God? I have that 2fer and I really like Children of God. It's scary! It's not my typical listening fare and I can't remember how I ended up on the Young Gods web site buying the cd's. Do you have any Jarboe solo recommendations?

 

i'm not familiar with Jarboe's solo material. i've heard good things about her collaboration with Neurosis, though.

regarding Children of God - the different "Our Love Lies" is the most significant change apart from the artwork and the mastering. there is also an extra bonus track on the 2xCD; the title track is the last song on the Caroline. i think that there are other, more minor differences in individual songs, but i've never done a/b listening tests. if i ever do, i'll post the results here.

are there really no other Swans fans here??

 

yeah, I used to have the original K.422 CDs of 'Greed' and 'Holy Money' on two seperate discs. they were among a whole bunch that got stolen that I've never been able to replace. now they're combined on one, and the original versions of some songs and some of the bonus tracks (includes, as I remember the full-length 'Time Is Money' 12". the version on the current disc (and the second K.422 CD, which is all I have at the moment) is the LP version) I remember it being different, but I don't recall the exact details. sorry.) have been deleted. me not happy.

 

Thanks for the info. I was going to mention that 93curr might be the only person here who is aware of Swans. It looks like he showed up!

 

that he did.

 

You reminded me that I used to have Children of God (disappeared with an ex roomate)-- gotta hunt up another copy.
I do enjoy listening to The Burning World, when in the mood.
"God Damn the Sun" is .... I don't exactly know what it is, but I like it.

Cody