Children of God (Swans album)

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.

Children of God
Studio album by Swans
Released	October 19, 1987[1]
Recorded	February–March 1987
Studio	Sawmills Studios, Golant, England
Genre	Noise rock[2] gothic rock[3] blues rock[4] industrial[5]
Length	71:13
Label	Caroline
Producer	Rico Conning, Michael Gira
Swans chronology
Public Castration Is a Good Idea (1986) Children of God (1987) Love Will Tear Us Apart (1988)
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]

Release history

Children of God was re-issued along with the World of Skin compilation (minus the covers) on CD in 1997 as Children of God/World of Skin. On this re-release, the original album version of "Our Love Lies" was replaced with the version included on the Love Will Tear Us Apart EP. Also, the re-release added "Damn You to Hell" and "I'll Swallow You" (under one title as "I'll Swallow You") from the New Mind single as a bonus. Also, "Sex, God, Sex", "Beautiful Child" and "Children of God" were shortened by several seconds with earlier fade-outs and "Trust Me" faded 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.[12]

Track listing

Original release[13]

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[14]

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[15]	3

References

1. "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.
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 / Feel Good Now (Remastered 2020)". Young God Records. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
13. "Swans - Children Of God". Discogs (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-09.
14. "Children of God / World of Skin". Spotify. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
15. 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)