Public Castration Is A Good Idea (2LP)

This long out-of-print semi-official bootleg, given a formal re-release in 1999, succeeds admirably at its goal of capturing live Swans in excelsis as avatars of destruction, corruption, and domination.

Recorded at a series of English dates in support of Holy Money, Public... covers tracks from both that album and Greed, plus a stomping, almost ritualistic version of "A Screw" where things get all that much more vicious by the second, especially when the introduction of huge amounts of echo and background feedback kicks in, leading to Gira's final anguished roars of "Holy! Holy!" again and again.