Children of God (Swans album)

Children of God
Children of God
Studio album by Swans
Released	October 19, 1987
Recorded	February–March 1987
Studio	Sawmills Studios, Golant, England
Genre	Noise rock; gothic rock; blues rock; industrial;
Length	71:13
Label	Caroline
Producer	Rico Conning, Michael Gira
Swans chronology
Singles from Children of God
	"New Mind"; Released: Summer 1987;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[7]
OndaRock	9/10^[8]
Pitchfork	7.0/10^[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10^[11]

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.

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.

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.^[12]
— Michael Gira

Release history[]

Children of God was reissued along with the World of Skin compilation (without the covers) 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 rerelease 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.^[13]

Track listing[]

Original release^[14]

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

Disc 1: Children of God
No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

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 (1987)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart^[16]	3

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Children of God Advertisement". Retrieved April 21, 2017.
^ Morse, Erik (2009). Spacemen 3 And The Birth Of Spiritualized. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857121049.
^ Terich, Jeff (September 26, 2013). "Beginner's Guide: Swans". Treblezine. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
^ Pattison, Louis. "Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". BBC. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
^ Terich, Jeff (May 27, 2015). "Swans : Filth (Deluxe Edition)". Treble. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
^ Raggett, Ned. "Children of God – Swans". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ 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.
^ Weisband, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Syd Barrett". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
^ "Children of God (2020 Remaster), by SWANS". SWANS. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
^ "Children of God / Feel Good Now (Remastered 2020)". Young God Records. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
^ "Swans - Children Of God". Discogs (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-09.
^ "Children of God / World of Skin". Spotify. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links[]

Children of God at Discogs (list of releases)

[childrenofgodadvert-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Children of God Advertisement". Retrieved April 21, 2017.

[2] Morse, Erik (2009). Spacemen 3 And The Birth Of Spiritualized. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857121049.

[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] [1]

[9] [2]

[RSguide-10] 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.

[11] Weisband, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Syd Barrett". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

[12] "Children of God (2020 Remaster), by SWANS". SWANS. Retrieved 2021-05-01.

[13] "Children of God / Feel Good Now (Remastered 2020)". Young God Records. Retrieved September 15, 2020.

[14] "Swans - Children Of God". Discogs (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-09.

[15] "Children of God / World of Skin". Spotify. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

[16] Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

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hide v t Swans
Michael Gira Jarboe Algis Kizys Ted Parsons Thurston Moore Roli Mosimann Vincent Signorelli Bill Rieflin Toby Dammit Jonathan Kane Thor Harris Christopher Pravdica Phil Puleo Paul Wallfisch Norman Westberg
Studio albums	Filth Cop Greed Holy Money Children of God The Burning World White Light from the Mouth of Infinity Love of Life The Great Annihilator Soundtracks for the Blind My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky The Seer To Be Kind The Glowing Man Leaving Meaning
Fundraiser albums	I Am Not Insane We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head Not Here / Not Now The Gate What Is This?
Live albums	Public Castration Is a Good Idea Feel Good Now Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room Real Love Omniscience Kill the Child Swans Are Dead We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head Not Here / Not Now The Gate Deliquescence
Compilation albums	Body to Body, Job to Job Children of God/World of Skin Various Failures Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job Cop/Young God Greed/Holy Money Forever Burned
EPs	Swans Young God Love Will Tear Us Apart Die Tür ist zu Oxygen
Singles	"A Screw" "Time Is Money (Bastard)" "New Mind" "Can't Find My Way Home" "Saved" "Celebrity Lifestyle"
Related articles	Discography Young God Records Angels of Light The Body Lovers / The Body Haters Cop Shoot Cop Of Cabbages and Kings Prong Sulfur Unsane World of Skin Where Does a Body End?