KRAUTROCK

The band is still on the run apropos, playing on diverse festivities - however nobody from the 'Touch Of Music' line-up is active anymore today. Okay - back to the album. The Nice respectively ELP reminiscences are coming up when listening to the second song All You Need which belongs to the better tracks. Here we have some sacral moments caused by organ, violin and the vocals. And then Werner Breinig's guitar is taking action for the first time with the straightforward rocking song Return From The War - Wolfgang Bode with a playful bass work should also be mentioned.

The rest of the songs are not really remarkable - except the closing mini epic Come Back which brings back a progressive orientation based on a more complex structure and exceptional flute contributions. The bonus tracks are from a single production released one year before where, enforced by their label, the band name temporarily had changed to 'Blackbirds 2000'.

If there is something special to emphasize then I would mention the rather winsome keyboard work which is very dominant here. Anyway - there have been a lot of bands which were more experimental and tricky in those times. All in all this sounds way too simple to me as if they try to stay in a safe place in most cases - 2.5 stars.

'One Morning' is quite shorter, but more unified than first track. Here's nice piano, it really strokes my soul. Once upon a time I played the piano ...

'Watchin' You' has simple and short, but good guitar solo, I enjoyed it. Vocals are quite mad, I don't like an idea they're watching me in some dangerous, dark street.

'Like a Place in the Sun' ... this is reason, that's why I don't wanna give 5*... it's not bad, but there's sometimes more speaking than singing, this song is quite annoying for me.

'Feel the Wind Blow' , it really reminds me a wind. Slow, dreamy music ... that's my way, go on, go on ...

'Coc'o Mary' ... it's not about me (heh, really not), but it sounds like me, like my opinions, my nature ... here's hypnotic drums ... and crazy flute, again. I know, Ian Anderson plays it better, but this sounds good, too. And unidentified instrument for me, like a xylophone, probably it was synth. Never mind, my hearing is failing.

Songs are sometimes full of unexpected twists. From silence to simply noise and back. That's not my cup of tea, but I feel good. Psychedelic shadow is more than evident.

Good 4*, I advise it for long nights, when you can't sleep and counting sheep is boring for you.

The new approach is most justified on the opener 'Its a Rainy Day...' which begins with a quick tempo, hypnotic drum beat and slowly adds piano, guitar, organ, harmonica and finally calminates with a lovely sax cresendo. The album continues with the simple classical guitar piece "Abamea' and then lurches into 'No Harm' which is an excellent jam blending the best of both new and old Faust. The title track is a nice, mellow groove great for cruising down the highway and is followed rather naturally by the hard, industrial sound of 'Mamie Is Blue'. The rest of the album however is comprised of mediocre snipets snoozable at best, skippable at worst.

Overall, So Far lacks the unity of its powerful debut and thus it is rated lower in my book. Ill admit though, if your a beginner who prefers to dip their toe in Faust's alluring waters rather than jump right in, this is the place to start.

That's the most concise statement that can be made about this most mythical of albums. Rightly considered to be the quintessential krautrock album; it is the innovative, radical and disciplined statement that showcases the genre in its purest most distilled form. Like the skeletal hand on the jacket, this is music exposed to its core: noise, raw sound. Arbitrarily divided into a trio of tracks, it is best to view these as movements in one giant sound collage which combines dissonant rock, the spoken word and avant-garde experimentation which is really light years ahead of its time. Its greatness rests on its daring and unwillingness to compromise with what pop music was typically thought to consist of. I think its safe to say that if you realize that music can transcend the sugar-coated 3 min. sound byte you'll appreciate the profound beauty of what Faust has trying to achieve here. In that sense, all progheads can potentially admire this album.

There can be no half measures with Faust. You either get it or you don't. You either acknowledge its brilliance or treat it with disdain. I unabashedly fall in the former category.

Excellent cosmic blues from this obscure German band which reformed briefly in the early `90s. Both tracks can be found on the LP "First" Dies Irae`s one and only studio LP, original pressings of which, like this single are almost impossible to find and fetch high $$$$$$. Unless you`re a serious collector, I would go for the LP which is also available on CD.

'Viva' is a stomping opener; 'White Overalls' a strident, funny, dumb and exhilarating romp that could have been a great lost punk single. In fact the single was Rheinita, a reflective and melodic river journey throught the urban-nature interface; it's terrific. 'Vogel' is indeed a short interlude of bird songs before the fabulously angry and infectious groove of 'Geld'. The final track, 'Cha Cha 2000', was the whole of the original side two and has two voices, the familiar and much-loved industrial auto-groove followed by a reflective and delicate piano part which, though pretty, does mean that the album finds a more pastoral energy when fans might have preferred a whole side of La Dusseldorf crashing into a disused factory.

Overall, a solid album and a great testament to the 'raise a finger' attitude of Klaus Dinger ? an attitude that never obscured his romantic yearings.

RATING ? Vision & Innovation: 24/30; Playing & Composition: 22/30; Listener Enjoyment: 26/30; X-factor [Cover, Motorik adjectives, Reviewer bias] 8/10. Total: 80/100 -> 4 Stars.

Father Cannot Yell is another example where these Germans have written rock history: droning rhythms, dissonant guitars, weird sonic experiments with organs and electronics, and the anti-tuneful but affecting croon of Malcolm Mooney. The influence of this sound would spread through all following decades. Starting by infecting early Hawkwind in the 70's, then post-punk and avant-rock like Sonic Youth in the 80's, then both post-rock and drum and bass in the 90's and many many more.

Mary Mary is entirely different. It reveals the Velvet Underground as one of their main influences. It's a more melodic track that doesn't sound at all like the anarchistic opener. Outside My Door is another peek at their origins: the psychedelic rock from 66-67. Interesting to hear where they were coming from and where they ended up when the track gradually evolves into their own sound: harsh, anarchistic and aggressive.

The main beast on this album is evidently You Do Right. With its 20 minutes it further expands the groundbreaking aspects of the opening track. Even though it's not easy to enjoy, it's essential to work your way through some Can albums. And this one should definitely be one on the list.

Serpentine, November and Seven Days Awake are emblematic for this albums problem. They are ok instrumentals but don't add anything to the superior stuff on Inner Space. And certainly nothing at all if you consider the whole Can oeuvre. Pauper's Daughter is more interesting, at least it features a vocal line that is quite different from what they had done before. Almost a soul croon.

If you can find the album release where it is paired to Inner Space in a second hand store, you shouldn't hesitate. At least if you like the more polished funk and electronic Can sound from the end of the 70ties.

The remainder of the album leaves me completely untouched. Chain Reaction is a jumble of wild ideas that only rarely reveals a flash of inspiration. The first half of Quantum Physics isn't any different. The second half is better, with some ambient avant-garde noise and fine percussion.

Hearing this in 2009, it's quite obvious they wanted to do something entirely different than the stadion-prog of their era. The result is hard to digest. So, mission accomplished I guess?