From their emergence in the experimental 80s to their split and rebirth in the 00s,Swans have always fascinated John Doran. Here he explains why the reissue of two classic albums is reason to rejoice rather than lamentThis week sees the reissue by Young God records of two classic early-90s Swans albums as a vinyl box set. White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity and treasure Of Life have both been remastered and come in with an extra CD of outtakes, rarities and contemporaneous live recordings, and as well as two “scarce posters”.
“So what?” I hear a lot of people mutter. And,to be just, Cult Band From Yesteryear Who Split Then Reformed Gets Reissue Treatment By Music Industry Circling The Drain And Desperate For One Last Pay Cheque is hardly hold-the-front-page news. It seems that in 2015 every single underground band you dimly remember/recall reading approximately from the 70s, and 80s and 90s (as well as plenty you’ve never even heard of before) have recently reformed and had their entire back catalogues remastered and reissued on the kind of weighty,expensive 180g vinyl you could beat a woolly mammoth to death with.
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Source: theguardian.com