TONY CONRAD & FAUST: OUTSIDE THE DREAM SYNDICATE

3.5 stars. Tony Conrad was an experimental violinist in the 60's from the USA so it seems like the perfect match that he would hook up with FAUST and record his first solo album in 1972. He flew out to northern Germany and over 3 days at this farm they recorded "Outside The Dream Syndicate". I'm reviewing the original album which consisted of two side long tracks both over 26 minutes.

"From The Side Of Man And Womankind" is mostly Tony and his droning violin along with the FAUST drummer. This is a tough listen. I mean 26 minutes of repetitive droning with drums that play the same speed and style throughout. Man that must have been hard, discipline is the word for that drummer. This is a low 3 star track in my opinion. The violin actually changes some before 19 1/2 minutes or maybe I just dozed off there. So repetitive!

Track two is "From The Side Of Machines" and features the FAUST guys leading the way this time. They actually change the tempo and sound in this one and make it somewhat interesting even though this too is repetitive. Still we get bass and synths along with the violin and drums here. Some powerful moments too as this plods along. This is a 4 star song and 3.5 stars is my rating overall for this album. Yeah I might get some hate mail for this one but even the ones giving 5 stars talk about how monotonous it is(haha). Minimalism is the word, especially for that opener. Droning is another. One reviewer said about this album "Behold the glacier with an amplified pulse". I like that one. So a very good second tune but the opener keeps me from giving this 4 stars.