The Gate (Swans album)

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]

The Gate
Cover art of one of the copies
Live album by
Swans
ReleasedOctober 1, 2015 (2015-10-01)
Length148:09
LabelYoung God
ProducerMichael Gira
Swans chronology
Oxygen
(2014)		 The Gate
(2015)		 The Glowing Man
(2016)

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]

Variant album art of the Swans album The Gate.
Each copy of the album has personalized cover art by the band.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
PopMatters7/10[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.TitleMusicLength
1."Frankie M."Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo29:25
2."A Little God in My Hands"Michael Gira13:13
3."Apost" / "Cloud of Unforming" (First part from "The Apostate", later recorded as "Cloud of Unknowing")Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo33:41
Total length:76:19
Disc two
No.TitleMusicLength
4."Just a Little Boy"Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo16:40
5."Cloud of Forgetting" (Performed on preceding tour as "I Forget")Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo11:34
6."Bring the Sun / Black-Eyed Man" ("Black-Eyed Man" performed on tour as "Black Hole Man", whole piece later recorded as "The Glowing Man")Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Kristof Hahn, Michael Harris & Philip Puleo28:16
7."When Will I Return?"Michael Gira2:58
8."New Rhythm Thing" (Later to be titled "The World Looks Black")Michael Gira1:59
9."People Like Us"Michael Gira3:54
10."Red Rhythm Thing" (Later to be titled "The World Looks Red")Michael Gira3:04
11."Finally, Peace."Michael Gira3:26
Total length:71:51

Personnel

References
  1. "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.
  2. Brodsky, Rachel (July 23, 2015). "Swans to Release Live Album, 'The Gate'". Spin. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  3. Adams, Gregory (September 2, 2015). "Swans Detail 'The Gate' Live Release, Offer Update on "Final" Album". Exclaim1. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  4. Gatian, Natasha (October 26, 2015). "Swans - The Gate". PopMatters. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
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