The Body Lovers "Number One of Three" Young God / Atavisitc Rccords YG 05 / ALP103CD 1998 (73:31)
1. (13:56)
2. (5:32)
3. (10:00)
4. (6:13)
5. (5:01)
6. (5:20)
7. (3:53)
8. (8:51)
9. (8:58)
10. (5:40)
The Body Lovers are M. Gira with Jarboe, Phil Puleo, Bill Bronson, James Plotkin, Kurt Ralske, Birgit Staudt, Bill Rieflin, Kris Force, Norman Westberg and Thomas Dodd with sonic contributions from Panasonic, Origami and Deathprod.
Overall impression: absolutely brilliant. I had very high expectations for this disc, and I can truthfully say that they were completely blown away. I've had this cd for only 12 hours and it's already impossible for me to imagine life without it. Michael Gira has taken the first bold step from out of the shadow of the SWANS moniker. This disc, the first of three, exemplifies the instrumental skills of Gira and friends which have been foreshadowed on the last several years of SWANS' discs. The entire spectrum of sound is covered throughout: drones, horns, samples, keyboards, piano, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, viola, violin, subtle and furious percussion, etc and a brief stanza of lyrics on 1 track. The disc is meant to be one continuous listening experience, but track id points have been added where the music drastically changes. I love the whole thing, but tracks 8 - 10 are really incredible, especially 8 ... simply the most beautiful piece of music committed to tape I've heard in many, many years (and quite emotionally uplifting with each listen). I was actually surprised at how subtle and beautiful the majority of the disc is ... there are moments of abrasiveness, but on the whole the disc is very melodic. I consider this disc a brilliant step forward for MG and friends, they've really outdone themselves and hopefully the SWANS name will not hinder it's rightful recognition. The artwork (drawings by Nicole Boitos, packaging design/concept by MG) is, as always, excellent. I'm really looking forward to the accompanying "Body Haters" piece and parts 2 and 3 now. Highly recommended to any SWANS fan or anyone in search of first class instrumental music. Essential listening for 1998 and many years to come ...
For a track by track review, go here.