a r t i s t : Faust
t i t l e : Faust IV
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Virgin
g e n r e : Progressive Rock
r l s. d a t e : May/2007
t r a c k s : 16
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 148,9 MB
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Faust IV Reissue
Jennifer Hor
Sound Projector, Jan 2005
Black sheep in an otherwise distinguished lineage this album
may be (yeah - but only if you don't bother to listen to it -
ed), and many tracks admittedly aren't good, but this last
original Faust 70s recording has survived the ravages of time
pretty well compared to some of its 1973 contemporaries - I
mean, apart from tragic UK music monthlies like Q and Mojo,
who remembers that Tubular Bells recording (Well I do I
suppose, since I mentioned it.) And after three albums which
many consider landmarks in the history of experimental rock /
pop, Faust were entitled to, er, relax and have a bit of fun
with the fourth - advice they apparently took too much to
heart, since it was probably during the Faust lV recording
sessions that they spent a night in the slammer for running up
a debt. Some of that carefree spirit breezes through this
album which is lacking in more recent releases and reissues,
some of which also carry the stench of someone trying to cash
in on the Faust reputation.
Without a doubt, the highlight is Krautrock, certainly the
first and last and only word in combining shimmering guitar
noise textures and a hypnotic rhythm and the track that, in
the manner of Helen of Troy, launched a thousand careers in
avant-garde music. Of the other pieces, the standard falls
away - Jennifer has a hint of glorious showering guitar
debauchery which ends all too quickly (I have heard Mike
Morley's (Gate) version of this song by the way and apart from
the honky-tonk piano coda I remember it as a mostly
heavy-handed demolition job); Picnic on a Frozen River,
Deuxieme Tableux, a reworking of a piece from Faust So Far, is
a three-parter where the first movement is not bad, the second
jazzy movement is good but the third movement (the reworked
piece) disappoints due to a mundane guitar improvisation after
we've just heard Krautrock and Jennifer; and Just a Second
(Starts like That) is a stream-of-consciousness track that
becomes quite unhinged with near-deranged piano and searing
guitar blasts in the background amid other unsettling effects.
Missing from the CD is a lyric sheet and English language
translations of the French lyrics on a couple of tracks which
would have helped to gauge how much of Faust's preoccupation
with the alienation of modern industrial life actually made it
onto the record under Richard Branson's regime. (Virgin
Records is well-named, that's for sure!)
The album points in a more commercially acceptable if slightly
dissident direction (a path well-trodden by others) for Faust
had they continued past 1975 and in that sense could be
considered historically important despite its patchy quality.
Those of you who already have The Wumme Years set and want TWO
CDs with Krautrock (the track features on one disc in the set)
are certainly welcome to Faust lV as are first-time visitors -
a thousand more (hopefully good) careers in avant-garde music
are certainly needed.
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CD1
01-Krautrock [11:49]
02-The Sad Skinhead [02:37]
03-Jennifer [07:13]
04-Just A Second [03:36]
(Starts Like That!),picnic On A Frozen River,deuxieme T
05-Giggy Smile [07:47]
06-Lauft...Heisst Das Es Lauft Oder Es Kommt Bald...Lauft [08:08]
07-It's A Bit Of A Pain [03:09]
CD2
01-The Lurcher (John Peel Show, BBC 1st March 1973) [07:52]
02-Krautrock [11:44]
(Aka Krautrock, A 70's Event, A 70's Event (Edit))
03-Do So (Aka Stretch Out Time, Stretch Out) [02:34]
04-Jennifer (alt) [04:50]
05-The Sad Skinhead (Alt) [03:21]
06-Just A Second (Starts Like That!) Extended [10:33]
07-Piano Piece (aka Das Meer, Meer (alternative)) [05:59]
08-Lauft...Heisst Das Es Lauft Oder Es Kommt Bald...Lauft [04:14]
09-Giggy Smile [05:55]
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