Customer Reviews

Faust - Impressions

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This DVD is a selection of familiar Faust pieces (plus a few new ones) that have been remixed with much deeper, driving percussive elements that really refresh the songs. The sound is superb. The images, created by Faust's own Zappi Diermaier, are a raw montage of flowers, animals, ice, people, machines etc, intended to add a visual mood to accompany the music. It's not a series of video clips.
For me, the imagery, plus the extra sounds, have really enhanced the old material. There are a few new pieces as well, the most notable being D-machine -- a remarkable audio/visual experience.

My very first krautrock DVD I've ever had. The long running German ensemble we know as Faust has put together a collection of tastefully done videos and conceptual clips. Just a few of these snippets that I thought I'd describe here are, for example "D-Machine" that shows band members dining with an unidentified person dressed in a bear costume, "Skin" is a two-minute clip showing a rather large bald man in the buff {we'll call him Bubba} jamming to the song; most humorous and "Desert" is a very cool instrumental showing a passenger's view of sailing down a city river. Another one is "Icy Rain" which is actually the track "Rainy Day" off the Faust IV lp, a simply awesome krautrock gem employing some wonderful swirling images. Then you get a four track mini-CD from Faust charter member Zappi-W-Diermaier, 'I Spin' is very much in the Avant Garde direction. The disc's final cut "Reality" is the best song. 'Impressions' is truly a must-have.

Sorry about the pun. I could not think of another way to begin this particular review. I had wondered why the first Faust DVD should be entitled thus until it dawned on me...Faust transposed into First. Ha.

I am very excited about this DVD not merely because recorded material by Faust is so few and far between because it is a new medium for them which hopefully will yield more productive areas for the band to explore.

In the terms of the venacular, Faust were/are one of those path breaking groups of people which have some cult status among a relatively small group of fans. In a lot of ways Faust were/are progenitors of industrial music although I am fairly confident that they would eschew such description due to their reluctance to be pigeonhold.

There are no easy ways to describe faust music other than it being performed and or recorded or both by the group Faust. This DVD collection of their music covers the entire career and is reamstered in Dolby Surround 5.1 and with video images to accompany the music.

It is the combination of the two which sets this DVD out from the crowd. I remeber seeing the first Tangerine Dream tour where the band were inconspicuous by their prescence such as it was under a huge round screen upon which images were projected. This is very much a case of letting the music speak for itself. Faust, being Faust, have taken this to a more logical conclusion. The band are not part of the video, the images, the patterns are complementary to the music. They are as much a work of art as the music is and the video is an integrated whole. It is not the band that is important it is the whole sensual experience. Music for the head and the heart.

The great thing about this music is that it cannot be categorized, there is no style or repetitious theme. There is progression and variety and much like a work of abstract art it speaks to the consumer in different ways. There are sound structures here which are more formalised than others and there is much spontaneity besides. This work is emotive yet has stark contrasts with objectivity. It is music which is sometimes harsh and sometimes mellow which very much makes it the music of the streets and of the people.

Faust is revolutionary music. It is challenging music. It is music which expresses a whole gamut of emotions, and it is music which was conceived, born and developed in the city.

As you may have gathered I love this DVD. In fact I am ecstatic about it and it's release. The trouble is that I want more, more Faust, more of their music. I have put the albums in my car so I can play them going to work and I am playing Prodigy as well.

This has to be my DVD of the year so far. It is going to take some beating.

like the previous reviewer, i was excited to see this movie. i love faust and wanted to see some kind of visual document of their music. unfortunatly, this video is just a series of amateurish digital video montage pieces set to faust music. there is about 30 seconds of footage of the band playing (with a polar bear)

the only saving grace of this movie is the intro, which had me quite enticed and excited for more - a hilarious and bizarre short film about a polar bear who likes faust and goes to play with the band in hamburg. this is the only worthwhile part of the movie - and its about 4 minutes long - i was only to be dissapointed as i sadly learned what the rest dvd was.

the music is fine, but it is impossible to pay any attention to it with such visual garbage flying around the screen. i can't even describe how boring and lifeless these videos really are. and combined with faust's hypnotic music, its deadly. again, i will say that the music is good, but i would much rather just put on a record and not have to watch such drivel.

do yourself a favor and spend your money on the records