Fantastisch! (5. Januar 2005)

Ein wiklich repräsentativer Überblick über das Schaffen der Künstler. Finster, melancholisch, provokativ, hoffnungslos und messerscharf. Auch die Qualität der Aufnahme ist durchweg akzeptabel, was von vielen KÜnstlern dieses Genres beileibe nicht behauptet werden kann. KAUFEN!!!

Seductive & Timeless Music (27. April 2003)

This 2-disc compilation draws from the Swans albums Burning World (1989), Love of Life (1991) & White Light from The Mouth of Infinity (1991) plus the EP single Love Will Tear Us Apart (1988), as well as Ten Songs for Another World (1990) by the side project World of Skin. It also includes a few previously unreleased tracks. The music is spread over two discs:

RED DISC

This one opens with Michael's harrowing Failure and is followed by Identity, another strange one with a little boy reciting a weird spiritual poem over riffs rife with minor-chords and snatches of distorted male vocal.

Breathtaking is the word for their interpretation of Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home, hypnotically and spookily sung by Jarboe over eerie instrumentation. Jarboe's version of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart is a further masterpiece.

The haunting Jarboe track Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes is the poem To Celia by Ben Jonson (1573-1637) set to hymnal music. A cursory glance at Jonson's lyrics reveals nothing overtly spiritual; the theme seems to be romantic love. Still, there are ambiguities and the melody undoubtedly originates from the Olde English Hymne tradition. This version has lost its Lord's Prayer ending

One of Michael's moments of extremity is the devastating God Damn The Sun, where he out-Cohens Leonard on a slow, meandering ballad with an achingly beautiful tune. On the previously unreleased Picture of Marianne, he gently interprets this poignant and gentle ballad.

This disc also has Jarboe in oneiric mood appearing as the angel of morphia, luring you into the other-world of the melodious Dream Dream. More of her work with Swans & World of Skin is available on the Mystery of Faith album.

The red disc's total running time is 78:02.

YELLOW DISC

Here one finds the chilling interpretation of Nick Drake's Black Eyed Dog with Jarboe's howling vocals as hair-raising as on Mother Father from The Great Annihilator. Eerie breathing and disembodied electronic barking add another layer of unease; this song makes your hair stand on end. If the Edvard Munch painting The Scream was given a voice, this is exactly what it would sound like.

For merciful contrast, there are gentle ballads with beautiful melodies like The Golden Boy that was Swallowed by the Sea sung by Mike and Jarboe's The Other Side of the World and the achingly beautiful I Remember Who You Are where her voice excels as a vehicle of tenderness, empathy and hope.

On the eerie number Her, Michael's lullaby like introduction is followed by a harsh, atonal & intrusive rock riff that gives way to the voice of a teenage girl talking about summer, her boyfriend Charlie, the Atlanta International & Monterrey pop festivals, musicians like Janis Joplin, The Who, Johnny Rivers and The Grateful Dead, with period radio commercials and static noise in the background.

Michael sings The Child's Right, a desolate ballad about death and decay with hints of religious imagery and Blind that sounds like a take from the Burning World sessions. A moving melancholic ballad, it deals with one of his favorite subjects, alcoholism in lines like" "Because when I'm drinking, I'm out of control/No I was never young, and nothing has transpired/And when I look in the mirror, I feel dead, I feel cold, I am blind."

This much abbreviated version of The Most Unfortunate Lie is deceptively titled "instrumental," as it does contain a few lines of Michael's vocals and the spectral children's voices.

This disc's total running time is 75:52.

The fold-out leaflet contains the lyrics to all the songs plus 5 full-color illustrations by Deryk Thomas. I have deducted one star for important omissions. Various Failures is an impressive achievement but imperfect archive since a few of my favorite songs from the period have been omitted: Saved from The Burning World, The Sound Of Freedom from Love Of Life & Everything For Maria from the 3rd World of Skin album.