This simple little CD housed in a tray insert can sell for up to £140 on Discogs, which is, in all honestly, absolutely fucking retarded. I'd always had it marked down as another piece of Michael Gira discography that I could never get because of silly hipsters with too much time and money on/in their hands. I could have kissed the merch guy at the recent Jarboe gig in Bristol when I saw this little gem shining out of a maze of various Jarboe records. I felt like a bit of a dick going to a Jarboe show and leaving with only a Swans t-shirt and a Michael Gira CD (hahaha) but hey...she was selling them!
The quality on this CD isn't the best in the world, I will be honest. You can even hear people talking over the mix. I don't really know the story behind the need for Jarboe's "emergency medical fund" but it looks like to me that Gira rounded up a bunch of his music-making pals for a gig in New York to raise a bunch of money; a quest that was furthered by the release of this CD. It is my understanding that a lot of the musicians here went on to become involved in The Angels of Light (and the resurrected incarnation of Swans in the form of Phil Puleo), and that results in some interesting live versions of classic Gira/Swans songs. "God Damn The Sun" sounds particularly haunting with an Angles of Light vibe, it's just a shame it's spoilt by beret-wearing (a wild assumption) pricks who feel the need to talk through fucking gigs.
I will end with simply saying that I don't think there's any need to buy this unless your a Swans/Gira/Jarboe super-fan or a collector hell-bent on getting all their stuff. I'm just happy I managed to get it for a reasonable £10, although to be honest I didn't really need to pay that to be reminded of how much I hate cunts talking over music.
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