FAUST / SO FAR

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This reissue of the first two Faust albums on one disc is superlative value for money and a perfect introduction to probably the most challenging experimental rock music of the 1970s. It also shows two very different sides of the band's character.

'Faust' came like a bolt from the blue in the 1970s - the transparent outer sleeve showed an x-ray of a fist (the name means fist in German), the transparent sheet of liner notes contained a couple of apparently random newspaper stories and the information that producer/manager Uwe Nettelbeck liked the Beach Boys and the record itself was on transparent vinyl. All this seemed positively normal compared to the music, which made Zappa's Lumpy Gravy sound like Abba. The two lengthy pieces on side 1 were the result of painstaking work in the band's studio. They are dizzying collages of sounds and musical styles that reveal new subtleties every time they're heard. The side long Miss Fortune is an edited version of a drunken/stoned studio jam session that went further out than rock improv had ever gone before.

'Faust So Far' arrived in a black sleeve with paintings inside which apparently corresponded to each of the tracks. The album opens with the stomping, primal beat of 'It's A Rainy Day Sunshine Girl' - Roxy Music used a similar pattern on 'Bogus Man', and Brian Eno identified as one of the essential beats in 70s music. Following this outbreak of near-normality, the dream logic of the first album reasserts itself with abrupt shifts in sound and style. Acoustic interludes of almost classical formality are contrasted with electronic freak outs, and there are passages on this album which sound almost conventional. Of the two albums, this is the more readily accessible but also the more experimental - having mastered their studio technique, Faust created a seamless, otherworldly sequence of musical events that owes little to anything that had gone before but which was to have an influence out of all proportion to their album sales.

Faust are one of the legends of underground music, and these are the albums that the legend is based on. Essential listening.

This collection is absolutely essential for anyone interested in progressive music. Faust were some of the most daring Krautrock pioneers, and nowhere is that better displayed than on their debut, which consists of three long chunks of sound collage that will take your breath away.

Swirling feedback fuzz opens the album, followed by a sample of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as if to say "This is what you're not going to hear." The next thirty minutes would be difficult to describe in detail, so let me just say that it's a combination of Rock, Jazz, Classical and Musique Concrete at its best.

The second album, So Far, is much tamer and not as good, in my opinion, but there is still plenty to love about it. "It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl" is a masterpiece of rather minimalist pop, gradually adding elements to a simple beat and melody until the dramatic saxophone climax. There are also so inspired jams and a whirlwind of stylistic shifts, that will keep you on your toes the entire time. If you're going to buy only one Krautrock CD, this should probably be it.

Faust / So Far is a compilation album by German Krautrock/ avant garde/ psychadelic rock act Faust. The album comprises of the first two albums by the band on one CD. The debut Faust (1971) and the second album by the group So Far (1972). The compilation was released on CD in 2000 through Collectors Choice.

Both albums are excellent Krautrock/ avant garde/ psychadelic rock albums. Innovative and unique. The debut album Faust is a very experimental avant garde rock album with lots of electronic sound manipulations and other weird experiments while maintaining a memorable element. So Far sees the band going in a more accessible direction with more structured songs featuring more ordinary rock instrumentation. The latter album is still an experimental album though with lots of enjoyable and intriguing elements.

This compilation is a very recommendable purchase and a great way to get access to two excellent albums on one CD by an outstanding act. 4 stars are more than deserved.