Skin (2) – The World Of Skin

My copy has it where you can ever so slightly see light through the disc. Very neat!

The World of Skin compilation combines Skin’s first, Jarboe-sung album Blood, Women, Roses with the second Skin release titled Shame, Humility, Revenge where Gira is supported by Jarboe’s backing vocals. The sonic architecture of these two albums differs markedly. The first has Jarboe in gospel blues mood on quietly intense keyboard/piano ballads while the second sees Gira’s baritone taking up tunes and narrative lyrics with spectacular results.

The alternating tracks by Jarboe and Gira work surprisingly well. The tone and texture of Skin remain highly distinctive against all the explorations and directions pursued by Swans. One cannot claim that ‘there’s nothing quite like it’ as there are similarities to the style pioneered on the 1987 album ‘Children of God’. Even so, the classical musicians and the more prominent use of classical instruments articulated Swans’ melancholia in a singular manner.

Jarboe’s styles encompass twisted torch, mystic hymn and ritualistic chant. Her performances display ingenious arrangements entwined in a broad spectrum of delivery, from soulful wordless intonations through spectral choirs to a type of gospel, and making excellent use of spoken word, whisper and chant. Jarboe enhances Gira’s lead vocals with the same set of voice formations and techniques.

The avant-garde flavor of the music in no way detracts from its tuneful beauty. The songs are melodious, rhythmically compelling and constantly engaging also by virtue of a texture accommodating juxtaposition and varied forays of expression. Tenor plays a pivotal role throughout; ambient sounds, imaginative instrumentation and evocative harmonies are skillfully calibrated to conjure haunting moods.

The spellbinding atmosphere of songs like Breathing Water, Blood On Your Hands, Turn To Stone, Still A Child, Center Of Your Heart, Red Roses and One Small Sacrifice arise from overwhelming regret, ominous foreboding or psychic distress, this latter often accompanied by uncanny undertones. When none of these three is at play, pure mysticism is the muse as on One Thousand Years performed by Jarboe.

Skin’s memorable music from 1986 sounds fresh today. Time has confirmed its genius and heightened its relevance.

This is a very rare cd of swans project- (1988) It took me a long time before I could get my hands on a copy of this masterpiece.

World of skin music transmits creepy and hypnotic atmosphere, there is addictive melancholic feeling that accompanies the whole album, Jarboe and Michael Gira extraordinary vocals connect perfectly with the experimental synthesizers sounds and to the dark folk ,the music and the vocals create an atmosphere of Horror Western movies in tracks like
(Cry Me a River ,Breathing Water, One Small Sacrifice, I Want To Be Your Dog).

Favorite tracks:- Cry Me A River .Breathing Water. Nothing Without You. We'll Fall Apart . One Small Sacrifice. The Center of Your Heart.

(all the tracks appear also on the double album
Children of god / world of skin - remastered version 1997