Customer Reviews

Faust/Faust So Far

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, this is just as strange/trippy/wild as the other reviews say. It is also - and this is important to note - very, very funny. Except for "Mamie is Blue" on _So Far_, which may be the most frightening thing ever recorded. The wah-wah feedback bird chirping "Louie Louie" about halfway through "Miss Fortune" make it all better, though, as do the mutated Wagner tubas getting buried under the incredibly loud oscillator sound on "No Harm."

These two recordings represent the most irresponsible use of electronics ever put on tape, and deserve to be cherished for that, if not for their occasional lapses in technique (just how long did they have to play that funk beat before everybody found his place?). It doesn't exactly rock, but who said everything has to? This is party music from another planet. Docked one star only because _So Far_ should have been called _Too Short_.

This CD is the excellent reissue that combines Faust's first two albums, their self-titled release and _So Far_. Both albums are masterful, comprising some of the finest experimental music to date. Recorded in the 70s, I'm completely blown away by how they remain so original and fascinating. It also ranks as some of the tastiest ear candy I've indulged in.

Up first is _Faust_. Combining the usual rock lineup with tape manipulation, electronics, and plenty of diverse styles, the self-titled album is three songs of godly experimental music. The 10-minute "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" begins with a harsh electronic drone before plunking in a sample from the Rolling Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". There is plenty of satisfaction to be found here, though. What follows is a montage of trance-inducing marching rhythms, odd ball lyrics, weird cosmic zone-outs, strange circus-sounding themes, and distorted vocal noises that fade in and out. Transitions between movements are quite herky-jerky, but remember: a lot of this stuff was arranged by slicing and connecting different sections of tape. I find it very hypnotic the way the music flows. "Meadow Meal", song number two, comes off the melodious ending of "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" with an array of industrial plinks and clanks, before evolving into a pastoral guitar melody, fierce rock, a brief episode of musique concrete (a storm), and finally a lulling organ spot. "Miss Fortune" (hee hee) would take up all of side 2 on the original LP. This is a strange one. Lots of effects and textures, interesting percussion -- very avant-garde and amazing. I wish I could describe it better, but my review title applies nicely here. Some other choice adjectives are: entrancing, remarkable, and pukka (yes, that's a real word).

With _ So Far_, the band applies their avant-garde style with slightly more conventional structure and weird pop hooks. You still get some very avant-garde stuff, like the primitive noise of "Mamie is Blue". On the other hand, there is also the pretty "On the Way to Abamae", just light acoustic guitar and an ethereal flute synth. "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" takes a constant, tribal 4/4 drum beat and puts different instruments on top of it -- synthesizer, jangly guitar riffs, piano, saxophone, and a darn catchy vocal line. "So Far" is an amazingly groovy, smoky jazz shuffle. "I Have My Car and My TV" has a childish vocal introduction which cuts into a careless, brisk keyboard (or guitar?-- their tones are so weird and cool) line that is Evil-Catchy, overlain with guitar and saxophone solos. "No Harm" is amazing, from the heralding melody at the beginning to the bacchanalia of guitar jamming and the wildly crazy shouts of "Daddy take a banana | Tomorrow is Sunday". Uh, yeah.

These albums are amazing and timeless. If you have any interest at all in experimental music, you are insane not to have this. It is a deserving classic.

All right, enough from me. Hit the "Add to shopping cart" button now.

Here is a reissue of Faust's self-titled FAUST (1971) album, and SO FAR (1972) put on one disc.

Some of the wildest, weirdest, trippiest, scariest music can be found on this disc. The band even admits in the liner notes that they were using marijuana while creating this music. However, no matter how bizarre it gets, there manages to be an element of fun running throughout. The band makes extensive use of the tape manipulation technique which was used by Zappa in 1967, and even earlier by 20th Century composers like Stockhausen and possible others. The cut-and-paste technique employed here makes the music sound strange, but it doesn't take away the bizarre charm this music possesses.

We'll start with the self-titled disc first.

To be quite honest, I get a strange feeling that this album was, more or less, a parody of the 60s: the musicians (Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Frank Zappa, etc.), the lifestyle, the beliefs - they all seemed to be poked at in a snide, humorous and entertaining way. "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" starts off with some abrasive proto-industrial noise, shortly followed by a snippet of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which is then followed by a snippet of The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Before you know it, you're thrown into a world of classicalesque piano, hospital machine-like noises used as music, then a blast of New Orleans-like music fronted by some jolly vocals. And the last track "Miss Fortune" certainly goes out with a bang: a 16-minute number which starts out with an elongated psychedelic rock jam, and loads of wah-wah (or what I call 'wow-wow') pedal effects. Near the end, is what I consider the most ridiculous thing on this self-titled disc: a Chimpmunk-like effect which springs from what sounds like a super-sped-up wah-wah pedal, squeaking out these vocal-like effects. When hearing this, you could swear you were listening to the singing of the long-lost brother of Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

SO FAR seems to be more song-oriented than the first disc, but that doesn't make the music any less experimental or strange. "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" is a cute, charming extended catchy kraut-pop tune. The fast, hybrid guitar picking found here can recall the technique of Pete Townshend (The Who), while "On The Way To Abamae" is a beautiful, melodic, serene classical guitar piece - the kind of thing one wouldn't have expected amongst the dizzying experimentation crammed throughout. "No Harm" seems to resemble classic prog-rock with it's atmospheric arrangements - for the first three minutes, before turning into an extended frenzied-rock rush. Elsewhere, "Mamie Is Blue" is a dark, strange, menacing industrial number to evoke a prototypical Nine Inch Nails, to an extent. Sounds less like music, and more like machines, engines and other devices, and "I've Got My Car and My TV" is a short, playful, whimsical number featuring some child-like voices singing the lyrics, while backed up by some goofy grown-male vocals.

Closed-minded or faint of heart listeners need not apply. For fans of avant-garde, adventurous and wildly experimental music, you'd be missing out if you don't pick this up.

This band just didn't give a f*#k!! You will not hear many records that sound like this one. I have to hand it to Sony for putting this one out. This CD compiles the first two albums of Faust, released originally in 1971 & 1972. My personal favorite is the self-titled first one. It is anarchic, schizophrenic, surrealistic, intense and even melodic in places. The instrumentation is not your typical guitar/bass/drums lineup - it is much weirder than that. The emphasis is less on technique and more on imagination. It is one of my favorite albums ever. In a word, uncompromising. The second album, So Far, almost had what could be construed as "song-like" structures. They are NOT conventional "verse-chorus-verse" songs. "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" starts with an unsubtle, pounding tom beat and doesn't let up for about 8 minutes. Some of the other selections start out somewhat normal but quickly morph into strange and disturbing explorations in sound. Yet some passages are oddly tranquil. I'm telling ya, this CD runs the gamut. Be prepared. There was no musical precedent for this when it reared its demon head in the early 70's. Somewhere, someone is experiencing the frightening and idiosyncratic aural world that is FAUST.

In my humble opinion,this HAS to be the best 2-lp's on 1-CD released in maybe the past ten years.These two titles were previously available ONLY on some high-priced Japanese label pressing with each title,of course on a seperate disc.Total of twelve tracks and a duration of 74 minutes is what sort of aural pleasure the listener(s) are in store for.The first self-titled lp,'Faust'('71)has just three cuts and is intensely melodic but more than anything,just downright weird for the most part.Check out the freakish "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" and the 16-minute mind scrambler "Miss Fortune".'So Far'('72)is a bit more toward the like of a traditional lp.Tunes like "It's A Rainy Day,Sunshine Girl" and "I've Got My Car" is a fine example of how a band like Faust is able to change their tone from one album to the next.Suberb reissue of an essential classic full blown krautrock title that is a must-have.Will appeal to fans of Neu!,Kluster,Can,Harmonia and Silver Apples.

Two formerly rare Faust albums on one disk has to earn 5 stars. The mother-lode gem here is Faust's first album. Otherworldly noise combined with hippy jam music, classical, piano, horns, New Orleans on acid, strange vocal harmonies, echo/reverb drenched sound effects - it's a mind-blower. If you like trippy, unpredictable music, you'd be hard pressed to beat FAUST in that catagory. The avant-garde stuff is bursting out in all its glory on the first two songs (comprising the first side) while the second side provides a long, hypnotic jam that eventually dissolves into more out-there experimentation.

SO FAR begins with "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" (track 4 on this CD) which is appealing for its V.U. repetitive stomp, followed by a virtually pure classical guitar and flute piece. There are plenty of instances of wild experimentation on this album as well, with more of an emphasis on actual songs than on FAUST (or, at least, something approximating songs appear in the middle of the chaos at times). Some songs have rather comical qualities and sound like they came from a circus. Faust finishes the set with some very strange tape manipulation combined with a sort of vaudville number. This is original music in the extreme.

Look, I won't kid you - Mariah Carey fans need not apply. (...) Fans of song structure/formalism/anything-you've-ever-heard-on-the-radio need not apply. Nevertheless, this album is something truly remarkable - an important evolutionary step in the history of rock music. I'm a recent convert to Faust, and Krautrock in general; Can was my point of entry, and to anyone reading this that hasn't heard Can, BUY "FUTURE DAYS" AND "TAGO MAGO" NOW!!!. Then move on. "Faust" is mind warping in the best sense. Do yourself a favor and forget what you think music is supposed to be before you listen. You'll find elements of Cage-ian chance music, Stockhause-ain music-as-process, and, yes, the Beach Boys, in what you find here. There truly is a "wonderful, wooden reason" behind everything on this record. Remember how Keanau Reeve's reacted to Larry Fishburn's sky-scraper leap in "The Matrix" ("Whoa..."). That's sort of the reaction this album will provoke.

"So Far" is hardly more conventional, despite what you've read/heard, and hardly less entertaining, either.

This stuff is fun, not just enlightening. Get it (a two-fer, no less), but be forwarned: this isn't your dad's (or mom's) head music.

All of the previous reviews are quite accurate. So, I'll just submit this caveat; DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS WHILE ON HALLUCINOGENS.

This compilation from Collector's Choice brings together the eponymous debut (1970) and So Far (1971) by avant-garde rock group Faust. This stuff is pretty interesting and I can see several connecting threads that can be drawn to contemporary musical styles - Industrial for example. Indeed, of the German experimental groups, I think that Faust may have been the most influential.

The early music of Faust, like many of the German experimental groups, builds upon the more "out there" aspects of 1967-1968 Pink Floyd, not to mention the European avant-garde composers. The approach to composition relies heavily on electronic experimentation, atonal dissonance, ragged vocals, found sounds, sections without a metric center (it is all over the place), psychedelic "garage rock", and sections that are somewhat tonal - even classically influenced. I personally enjoyed the bleeps and blurbs on the mellotron that pop up here and there, along with the pastoral acoustic sections played on flute/piano/guitar, and the psychedelic rock the most. Of the two albums, So Far is a little bit more conventional musically but still makes for a very interesting listen.

All in all, this is a good package that brings together two influential albums from Faust. Recommended to adventurous prog-heads along with Faust IV (1973) and Sov Gott Rose Marie (International Harvester, 1969), another avant-garde rock group that covers similar ground.

of all the mainstays of 'krautrock' this, to me, is the high point of avant-fun. no other album has made me smile or feel as light-headed & dopamine-saturated as this one right here. not until the boredoms came ripping merrily down the pike did any other band band come close to such mad psychedelic buoyance asfaust have captured on just about every song herein.