Faust..........

Faust-Self Titled-1970
Krautrock, Experimental, progressive.

















Well kids, what to say about Faust? They can be considered in the top tier of the german progressive movement in the late 60's and early 70's, a genre deemed by the english press at the time as "Krautrock". This being one of my favourite genres and favourite bands, Faust's eccentricity, creativity and originality set them apart from anything else before them and have influenced a huge range of bands since. A mix of electronic, rock, industrial noise, acoustic and editing techniques, it's truly original, a musical revolution of sorts. This is the first of the 4 top quality canon albums in the 70's, the self titled album is composed of 3 songs.

The first song "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" is a semi electronic affair with great usage of tape editing, it also samples some of the eras great bands with lines from "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "All You Need Is Love", with feedback and mesmerizing jingles throughout, its a mixed up affair. Its like sticking Mozart in a blender and playing whats left through a broken record player, whilst hoovering, listening to the radio and making a cup of tea.
Separated from the anglo-american rock scene, Faust and the other early Krautrock bands such as; CAN, Amon Duul II, Tangerine Dream etc(I'll feature these later.) were free to do as they pleased, and what they did is certainly pleasing.

The 2nd song on the album "Meadow Meal" starts as feedback before breaking into a starkly ominous industrial sound-scape (pardon my french), it is then interupted by a group mantra. A riff of unsettling simplicity then carries the song until a organ finally closes a superbly imaginative track, a real experience indeed.

The album closer Miss Fortune is a 16 minute epic beginning with a more rock orientated start reminiscent of beach boys only distorted and edited out of comprehension with what sounds like a oscillator and looping. The album is not for the faint of hearted and will take a few listens to understand it. At some points it sounds incredibly foreign for those who are used to more standard rock, and even those who look for something different.

Faust's selftitled is stunning album for anyone willing to devote some attention to it. The ethos of "Krautrock" is just that, to listen to and experience the music to absorb it live, not for a catchy memory to weaken itself through over play. Check out "So Far", and there other masterpeice "Faust IV" if you like this....
More krautrock to come soon-any requests welcomed.
jamscoopa

Please buy at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Faust/dp/B00005KKB6/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250819916&sr=8-15 UK
http://www.amazon.com/Faust/dp/B000006YNH/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250820011&sr=8-45 USA
Or please delete after 24 hours:
carrots