Children of God (album)

Children of God
Studio album by Swans
Released	1987
Recorded	February–March 1987 at Sawmills Studios, Golant, England
Genre	Noise rock[1] gothic rock[2] blues rock[3]
Length	71:13
Label	Caroline
Producer	Rico Conning, Michael Gira
Swans chronology
Holy Money (1986) Children of God (1987) Love Will Tear Us Apart (1988)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]

Children of God is the fifth studio album by American post-punk band Swans. It was released in 1987, through record label Caroline.

Background

The album marks a change in direction from Swans' early work. More tracks utilize acoustic guitars and more melodic vocals. The lyrics also focus more prominently on religious themes. Michael Gira has stated in multiple interviews that this album is a comment on the practices of religion and the Catholic Church.

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.

Track listing

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

1997 re-release Children of God/World of Skin^[5]

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)	4:31
4.	"Sex, God, Sex" (edit)	6:37
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" (edit)	4:59
11.	"Real Love"	6:21
12.	"Blind Love"	7:45
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)	4:16

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

Additional personnel

• 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"
• William Barnhardt – piano on "Blackmail"

Technical

• 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[6]	3

References

1. Morse, Erik (2009). Spacemen 3 And The Birth Of Spiritualized. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857121049.
2. Terich, Jeff (September 26, 2013). "Beginner’s Guide: Swans". Treblezine. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
3. Pattison, Louis. "Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". BBC. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
4. Raggett, Ned. "Children of God – Swans : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
5. https://play.spotify.com/album/05EPYrhpLLfk98xtO9Ib7l
6. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links

• Children of God at Discogs (list of releases)