Swans Cop/Young God/Greed/Holy Money CD - Import

Originally released as three separate LPs: COP, GREED, and HOLY MONEY plus the EP YOUNG GOD.

Digitally remastered by M. Gira (1998, Griffin Mastering, Atlanta, Georgia).

Swans play some of the most brutal songs that can still be called music. This two-disc set collects the band's third, fourth, and fifth albums, along with an early EP. Clearly influenced by Throbbing Gristle and Test Department, Swans take the basic template of industrial music, remove the last vestiges of punk rock--along with any semblance of humor--and create something so punishing, so monumentally "heavy," that it seems as though they really have to wrench out every sound.

The first disc focuses on the body--the mental as well as the physical. "Why Hide," a gut-wrenching slow grind, features the charming "I need you more than I hate myself / You hurt me then hurt yourself / Why hide the lie?," delivered in Michael Gira's sandblasted and glass-shattered voice. The second disc ups the speed of the songs, lyrically focuses on power, and keeps up (occasionally exceeding) the graphic intensity of the earlier material while also exploring new ingredients. "Blackmail" introduces a piano and female vocals, and "A Screw" features horns. This music is in no way fun or pleasant. A glance at the track titles ought to make that abundantly clear. Swans are, however, compulsively interesting.

Amazing double CD re-issue of four Swans early albums. Crawling out of the same noisy, arty New York underground that sired Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, Swans created a dark, abrasive, murky, slowed-down noise rock that served as a starting point for their ruminations about alienation, depression, depravity, and the disturbing side of human nature. Singers Michael Gira and Jarboe have been the group's only constants over the years; Gira has taken the group from its early confrontational shock tactics to a more varied, mature attack. The band first appeared on record in 1982 with a self-titled EP, and these early releases document their search for the musical vocabulary to express their ideas effectively. Female singer Jarboe joined the group for 1986's Holy Money and brought a gentler, more relaxed dimension to Swans' sound.

U.K. version.

Recorded at Vanguard Studios, New York, New York & Platinum Studios, Zurich, Switzerland in February through May 1984; Intergalactic Studios, New York, New York in January 1986; Soho Studios, London, England in April 1986.

Swans: M. Gira (vocals); Westberg, Mosimann, Crosby, Kizys, Jarboe, Gonzales, Parsons, Nahem.

Producers include: M. Gira.

Enigineers include: Jorge Estaban.

Additional personnel: Lo, Prosser, Erskine, Thirwell.Entertainment Weekly (3/19/99, p.107) - "...It's hard to imagine a colder, bleaker sound than the monotonous rhythmic pounding found on this two-disc reissue of four of their mid-'80s releases, but if you're in the right state of mind, their grueling music is strangely beautiful." - Rating: A-
Q (7/01, p.90) - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" - "...Like crushing your head in a vice..."