The Gate (Swans album)
| The Gate | ||||
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| File:Swans - The Gate.jpg
Cover art of one of the copies
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| Live album by Swans | ||||
| Released | October 1, 2015 | |||
| Length | 148:09 | |||
| Label | Young God | |||
| Producer | Michael Gira | |||
| Swans chronology | ||||
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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 serves as a fundraiser for the band's next and final studio album of this iteration of the band.[1][2]
Contents
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
All songs written and composed by Michael Gira.
| Disc one | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Frankie M." | 29:25 |
| 2. | "A Little God in My Hands" | 13:13 |
| 3. | "The Apostate / Cloud of Unknowing" (Titled on this release as "Apos / Cloud of Unforming") | 33:41 |
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Total length:
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76:19 | |
| Disc two | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Just a Little Boy" | 16:40 |
| 2. | "Cloud of Forgetting" | 11:34 |
| 3. | "Bring the Sun / The Glowing Man" (Titled on this release as "Bring the Sun / Black-Eyed Man") | 28:16 |
| 4. | "When Will I Return?" | 2:58 |
| 5. | "The World Looks Black" (Titled on this release as "New Rhythm Thing") | 1:59 |
| 6. | "People Like Us" | 3:54 |
| 7. | "The World Looks Red" (Titled on this release as "Red Rhythm Thing") | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Finally, Peace." | 3:26 |
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Total length:
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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
