The hard working Brian Parker, a fellow Buckeye wraps up the Swans marathon (and I DO mean Marathon), one of the most comprehensive posts I have ever seen. great stuff here, you know, by now, what this is all about so without further adieu, here's Brian:
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and of course, feel free to visit HIS website
http://howdthehellyougethere.blogspot.com/2015/03/solo-stuff-michael-gira-drainland.html?m=1
it's a good one, so let's help him get it established. Comes with my full recommendation, so please give him a looking over!
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and of course, feel free to visit HIS website
http://howdthehellyougethere.blogspot.com/2015/03/solo-stuff-michael-gira-drainland.html?m=1
it's a good one, so let's help him get it established. Comes with my full recommendation, so please give him a looking over!
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Swans Part 3 - Angels of Light and Solo Material
I didn't want to just sandwich the Angels of Light material amongst the live albums in the previous post, hence part 3 here. This is also solo stuff of Gira's and Jarboe's I've come across. It is by no means everything, but it's all I can get my digital hands on right now.
You might hear the word "folk" invoked when talking about this group, but make no mistake - this is not "Michael Gira Unplugged" or something. There are moments on the Angels of Light albums that are equal to the greatest moments on Swans records. And digging into the Angels is vital to knowing the bridge between old and new Swans. If the return of Swans is a phoenix story, then Angels of Light is the flame.
NEW MOTHER Download
The first Angels of Light album definitely carves out a different instrumental space when compared to previous Gira material. The song "Angels of Light" is a good example: a spare country waltz, supported by acoustic guitar and accordion, yet swelling beautifully on the choruses. And the sensuous, spacey arrangement of "Inner Female" shows that Gira hasn't lost that dark edge of Swans. The deep-sounding groove of "The Man With the Silver Tongue" is amazing, with tympani and piano. A great album, and it shows that even in this guise, Gira can still see into our darkest heart...
HOW I LOVED YOU Download
My fucking God, this album is phenomenal! "Evangeline" is heartbreaking. "My True Body" is a blood-pumping, galloping wonder. "New City In the Future" has this slowly building rage...amazing. This one easily stands alongside the best Swans albums. And I love the cover photos of Gira's mother and father. This is on Uploaded.net. I hope nobody minds. I just want this done.
THE ANGELS OF LIGHT SING OTHER PEOPLE Download
This is over on Uploaded. I missed putting it up on Zippy. This is a sparkly, lovely album.
WE ARE HIM Download
The last Angels of Light album, and it shows that Gira and co. were heading back toward the sound of Swans.
----Solo Stuff-----
MICHAEL GIRA - DRAINLAND Download
Gira's first solo album, and an awesome continuation of where Swans was going...
MICHAEL GIRA - I AM SINGING TO YOU FROM MY ROOM. Download
This one you can thank me for. Just saw that a copy of this limited edition goes for $250 on Amazon!
From what I can tell of it, it is solo acoustic versions of Angels of Light and solo songs.
JARBOE - SACRIFICIAL CAKE Download
Jarboe's first solo album, and she even does different versions of some of her Swans songs. The spare arrangements really help show what she brought to Swans.
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NEUROSIS & JARBOE Download
This collaboration is unexpected, but amazing. I mean, having fucking Neurosis (!) as your backing band? Wow. And this shows that Jarboe can still howl with the best of them.
There you go, guys. There's an album or two missing, but everything essential is here
Jarboe's first solo album, and she even does different versions of some of her Swans songs. The spare arrangements really help show what she brought to Swans.
NEUROSIS & JARBOE Download
This collaboration is unexpected, but amazing. I mean, having fucking Neurosis (!) as your backing band? Wow. And this shows that Jarboe can still howl with the best of them.
There you go, guys. There's an album or two missing, but everything essential is here
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What a tremendous effort, thanks Brian for all the hard work and I KNOW it IS hard work.......
let's hit this hard and learn about Swans' extenisive catalougue, this is of course a labour of love, and THOSE are the ones we want to see/hear, please give it a try, it's great! Thanks again Brian, and PLEEEEEESE do not be a stranger!