The Gate (Swans album)
| The Gate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art of one of the copies | ||||
| Live album by Swans | ||||
| Released | October 1, 2015 | |||
| Length | 148:09 | |||
| Label | Young God | |||
| Producer | Michael Gira | |||
| Swans chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Gate is a 2015 limited-edition live album by American experimental rock band Swans.[1] The album was released on October 1, 2015 on band leader Michael Gira's Young God Records. Limited to 2500 copies, the album served as a fundraiser for The Glowing Man.[1][2]
Background
The Gate was offered in a double-CD format. The album features six live recordings, with four of them being previously unreleased tracks set to be included in the next studio album. The other two recordings are the live versions of "A Little God in My Hands" and "Just a Little Boy," both from Swans' 2014 album, To Be Kind. The album additionally includes five "rough, crudely recorded demos," that will be re-recorded for the upcoming album.[3]
The album also includes a DVD documentary on Swans' To Be Kind tour. Similar to the previous fundraising live albums, each CD copy came with a personalized cover art by the band, featuring a cardboard cover drawn by Michael Gira.[3]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| PopMatters | 7/10[4] |
In her review of the album for PopMatters, Natasha Gatian wrote, "It lacks some of the momentum and surprise of Swans’ studio work, but then, that’s one of the possible pitfalls of a live album. Diehards will appreciate hearing Swans in the wild, but casual fans might be better off sticking with album cuts before crossing The Gate’s imposing threshold."[4]
Track listing
| Disc one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Frankie M." | Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo | 29:25 |
| 2. | "A Little God in My Hands" | Michael Gira | 13:13 |
| 3. | "Apost / Cloud of Unforming" (Performed on preceeding tour as "The Apostate / Cloud of Unknowing") | Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo | 33:41 |
| Total length: | 76:19 | ||
| Disc two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Just a Little Boy" | Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo | 16:40 |
| 2. | "Cloud of Forgetting" (Performed on preceeding tour as "I Forget") | Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo | 11:34 |
| 3. | "Bring the Sun / Black-Eyed Man" ("Black-Eyed Man" performed on tour as "Black Hole Man" and later to be renamed "The Glowing Man") | Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo | 28:16 |
| 4. | "When Will I Return?" | Michael Gira | 2:58 |
| 5. | "New Rhythm Thing" (Later to be titled "The World Looks Black") | Michael Gira | 1:59 |
| 6. | "People Like Us" | Michael Gira | 3:54 |
| 7. | "Red Rhythm Thing" (Later to be titled "The World Looks Red") | Michael Gira | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Finally, Peace." | Michael Gira | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 71:51 | ||
Personnel
- Michael Gira – guitar, vocals
- Christoph Hahn – double lap steel guitar, guitar
- Thor Harris – drums, percussion, vibes, clarinet, melodica, violin, Gizmos
- Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, Gizmos
- Phil Puleo – drums, Appalachian dulcimer, Gizmos
- Norman Westberg – guitar
References
- 1 2 "Swans Detail Live Album The Gate, Michael Gira Will Paint a Portrait of You to Raise Money for New LP". Pitchfork. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ↑ Brodsky, Rachel (July 23, 2015). "Swans to Release Live Album, 'The Gate'". Spin. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- 1 2 Adams, Gregory (September 2, 2015). "Swans Detail 'The Gate' Live Release, Offer Update on "Final" Album". Exclaim1. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- 1 2 Gatian, Natasha (October 26, 2015). "Swans - The Gate". PopMatters. Retrieved October 27, 2015.