Love of Life (album)

Love of Life
Studio album by Swans
Released	February 24, 1992
Recorded	October–December 1991
Genre	Neofolk psychedelic rock[1]
Length	53:58
Label	Young God
Producer	Michael Gira
Swans chronology
Body to Body, Job to Job (1991) Love of Life (1992) Real Love (1992)

Love of Life is the eighth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1992 on Young God Records.

Background

Like its predecessor, Love of Life was out of print for a long time and had not been reissued until December 2015.^[2] Six of the eleven songs appear on the Various Failures compilation, and a further four appear on the Forever Burned compilation. These two compilations therefore contain all the material on this release, except the Jarboe composition "She Cries (For Spider)" and the untitled segue parts.

The cover art is a painting by Deryk Thomas.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Michael Gira, except "She Cries (For Spider)", by Jarboe, all music composed by Gira and Jarboe.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"(---)"	0:17
2.	"Love of Life"	3:41
3.	"The Golden Boy That Was Swallowed by the Sea"	4:32
4.	"(---)"	0:37
5.	"(---)"	2:06
6.	"The Other Side of the World"	4:40
7.	"Her"	5:24
8.	"The Sound of Freedom"	4:34
9.	"(---)"	0:34
10.	"Amnesia"	4:19
11.	"Identity"	4:31
12.	"(---)"	1:02
13.	"In the Eyes of Nature"	4:42
14.	"She Cries (For Spider)"	4:57
15.	"God Loves America"	3:43
16.	"(---)"	1:20
17.	"No Cure for the Lonely"	2:56

2015 bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Amnesia (Long)" (from "Love of Life/Amnesia" single)	7:42
2.	"Song for Dead Time (MG Version)"	4:34
3.	"You Know Everything" (from "Celebrity Lifestyle" single)	4:25
4.	"Mother's Milk (Live)" (from Omniscience)	4:37
5.	"The Child's Right" (from Ten Songs for Another World by World of Skin)	3:36
6.	"Love of Life (Short)" (from "Love of Life/Amnesia" single)	3:20
7.	"Unfortunate Lie (Inst. version)"	2:18
8.	"No Cruel Angel" (from "Saved" single)	4:29
9.	"Black Eyed Dog" (from Ten Songs for Another World by World of Skin)	3:48
10.	"Love of Life (Long)" (from "Love of Life/Amnesia" single)	6:07
11.	"Picture of Maryanne" (from "Love of Life/Amnesia" single)	4:22
12.	"Amnesia (Live)" (from Omniscience)	6:20
13.	"Dream Dream" (from Ten Songs for Another World by World of Skin)	5:32
14.	"Please Remember Me" (from Ten Songs for Another World by World of Skin)	4:37
15.	"Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes" (edit, from Ten Songs for Another World by World of Skin)	1:18
16.	"The Unknown (Live)"	6:45
17.	"Blood on Your Hands (Live)" (from Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room)	3:11
18.	"A Young Girl Needs (Live)" (from Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room)	2:35

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[4]

Trouser Press wrote, "Not as stunning in its passion as the band's best work, Love of Life is still an often beautiful, haunting record."^[5] AllMusic wrote, "Love of Life unsurprisingly proves to be yet another Swans masterpiece."^[3]

Personnel

Michael Gira – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, samples, production, sleeve artwork concept and design Jarboe – vocals, keyboards, backing vocals, mellotron Clinton Steele – guitar, acoustic guitar Algis Kizys – bass guitar Vincent Signorelli – drums Jenny Wade – bass Ted Parsons – drums Troy Gregory – bass guitar Larry Seven – bass guitar, guitar Adam Jankowski – narration on "Identity"

Technical Martin Bisi – engineering, additional programming Howie Weinberg – mastering Mark Richardson – additional recording Deryk Thomas – front cover illustration Larry Lame – sleeve photography Patricia Mooney – sleeve artwork and layout

References

1. Lariviere, Aaron (November 9, 2012). "Swans Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
2. Young God Records staff. "WHITE LIGHT. . . + LOVE OF LIFE (LTD ED VINYL BOX SET / 3CD RELEASE)". Young God Records. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
3. Raggett, Ned. "Love of Life – Swans : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
4. "Swans". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
5. Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Kenny, John; Frampton, Peter. "trouserpress.com :: Swans". trouserpress.com. Retrieved March 2, 2013.

External links

• Love of Life at Discogs (list of releases)