Children of God (Swans album)

Children of God
Yellow spirals emanate from a circle containing a figure in the center of the album art. On the left and right sides pink crosses and spirals alternate.
Studio album by
Swans
ReleasedOctober 19, 1987[1]
RecordedFebruary–March 1987
StudioSawmills Studios, Golant, England
Genre
Length71:13
LabelCaroline
ProducerRico Conning, Michael Gira
Swans chronology
Public Castration Is a Good Idea
(1986) 		Children of God
(1987) 		Love Will Tear Us Apart (EP)
(1988)
Singles from Children of God
  1. "New Mind"
    Released: Summer 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
OndaRock9/10[8]
Pitchfork7.0/10 (2003)[9]
9.4/10(2003)[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[12]

Children of God is the fifth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released on October 19, 1987,[1] through record label Caroline and on K.422 in the United Kingdom.

Production

The album was recorded over the course of six weeks in February–March 1987 at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, England. It represented a dramatic, experimental change in sound from earlier Swans releases, moving away from the brutality of previous work to explore acoustic instruments and more conventional song structures.

By 1986/7 Swans had run its course with the physical assault of sound that we had employed previously for the most part. 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. So, I pushed the music into unfamiliar territory.[13]

— Michael Gira

Release history

Children of God was reissued along with the World of Skin compilation (without the cover versions) as the 1997 Children of God/World of Skin CD. On the rerelease, the original album version of "Our Love Lies" was replaced with the version included on the Love Will Tear Us Apart EP. The re-release also added "Damn You to Hell" and "I'll Swallow You" (under one title as "I'll Swallow You") from the New Mind single. The tracks "Sex, God, Sex", "Beautiful Child" and "Children of God" were shortened by several seconds with earlier fadeouts, and "Trust Me" fades directly into the brief interlude at the end.

A remaster of the album, along with the live album Feel Good Now, was released on November 13, 2020.[14]

Track listing

Original release[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."New Mind"Algis Kizys, Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Ted Parsons5:13
2."In My Garden"Kizys, Jarboe, Gira5:34
3."Our Love Lies"Kizys, Gira, Westberg5:50
4."Sex, God, Sex"Gira, Westberg6:49
5."Blood and Honey"Jarboe, Gira4:46
6."Like a Drug (Sha La La La)"Kizys, Gira, Westberg, Parsons5:36
7."You're Not Real, Girl"Gira4:21
8."Beautiful Child"Kizys, Gira, Westberg, Parsons5:16
9."Blackmail"Jarboe, Gira3:34
10."Trust Me"Jarboe, Gira, Westberg5:23
11."Real Love"Kizys, Gira, Westberg6:23
12."Blind Love"Gira, Westberg7:46
13."Children of God"Jarboe, Gira4:34
Total length:71:11

Some pressings of the CD divide "Trust Me" into two tracks: The actual song (4:28), and an unlisted/untitled interlude consisting of a field recording of a rowboat on the water, with birds in the background (0:57).

1997 re-release Children of God/World of Skin[16]
Disc 1: Children of God
No.TitleLength
1."New Mind"5:12
2."In My Garden"5:35
3."Our Love Lies" (Love Will Tear Us Apart EP version)4:30
4."Sex, God, Sex" (edit)6:36
5."Blood and Honey"4:47
6."Like a Drug (Sha La La La)"5:34
7."You're Not Real, Girl"4:17
8."Beautiful Child" (edit)4:52
9."Blackmail"3:32
10."Trust Me" (fades into shortened rowboat recording)4:58
11."Real Love"6:20
12."Blind Love"7:44
13."Children of God" (edit)4:22
14."I'll Swallow You" (composed of "Damn You to Hell" and "I'll Swallow You" from the "New Mind" single)4:14
Total length:72:39
Disc 2: World of Skin
No.TitleLength
1."1,000 Years" (edit, from Blood, Women, Roses)4:02
2."Everything at Once" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)4:22
3."Breathing Water" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)4:18
4."Blood on Your Hands" (from Blood, Women, Roses)3:53
5."Nothing Without You" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)5:43
6."We'll Fall Apart" (from Blood, Women, Roses)4:43
7."My Own Hands" (from Blood, Women, Roses)4:38
8."Turn to Stone" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge as "Turned to Stone")5:21
9."Cold Bed" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)2:25
10."24 Hours" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)4:13
11."Red Rose" (from Blood, Women, Roses)4:29
12."One Small Sacrifice" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)6:43
13."Still a Child" (from Blood, Women, Roses)5:22
14."The Center of Your Heart" (from Shame, Humility, Revenge)4:48
Total length:65:00

Personnel

  • Michael Gira – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar, album cover concept and design, production
  • Jarboe – vocals, backing vocals, piano, keyboards
  • N. Westberg – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Algis Kizys – bass
  • Theodore Parsons – drums, percussion
  • Simon Fraser – flute on "In My Garden"
  • Audrey Riley – cello on "Like a Drug (Sha La La La)"
  • Lindsay Cooper – oboe on "Blackmail" and "Trust Me"
  • Wilton Barnhardt – piano on "Blackmail"
  • Rico Conning – production, engineering
  • John Cornfield – engineering
  • Laura Levine – sleeve photography
  • Paul White/Me Company – sleeve artwork

Charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[17] 3

References

  1. ^ a b "Children of God Advertisement". Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. ^ Morse, Erik (2009). Spacemen 3 And The Birth Of Spiritualized. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857121042.
  3. ^ Terich, Jeff (September 26, 2013). "Beginner's Guide: Swans". Treblezine. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. ^ Pattison, Louis. "Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". BBC. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Terich, Jeff (May 27, 2015). "Swans : Filth (Deluxe Edition)". Treble. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Children of God – Swans". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^ "Swans - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto".
  9. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (17 July 2003). "Swans: Children of God Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Swans: Children of God: Pitchfork Review". Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  11. ^ Evans, Paul; Brackett, Nathan (1992). "Swans". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. ISBN 0679737294.
  12. ^ Weisband, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Syd Barrett". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. ^ "Children of God (2020 Remaster), by SWANS". SWANS. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  14. ^ "Children of God / Feel Good Now (Remastered 2020)". Young God Records. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  15. ^ "Swans - Children Of God". Discogs (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  16. ^ "Children of God / World of Skin". Spotify. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  17. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.