Faust - Faust IV [UK Bonus CD]

Title: Faust IV [UK Bonus CD] Artist: Faust Release Date: 1973 Re-Released On: 7/18/2006 Label: EMI Music Distribution UPC: 094635636222 Genre: Rock Styles: Experimental, Kraut Rock, Experimental Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Art Rock Moods: Freewheeling, Irreverent, Meandering, Quirky, Trippy, Ambitious, Brash, Cerebral, Messy, Playful, Volatile, Complex, Detached, Difficult, Fiery, Gritty, Hypnotic, Intense, Provocative, Reserved, Clinical, Visceral, Wintry Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 2 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 2

1. Krautrock
2. The Sad Skinhead
3. Jennifer
4. Just a Second (Starts Like That!)/Picnic on a Frozen River/Deuxieme Tab
5. Giggy Smile
6. Läuft...Heisst das Es Läuft Oder Es Kommt Bald....Läuft
7. It's a Bit of a Pain

1. The Lurcher
2. Krautrock
3. Do So
4. Jennifer [Alternative Version][Alternate Take][#]
5. The Sad Skinhead [Alternative Version][Alternate Take][#]
6. Just a Second (Starts Like That!) [Extended Version][#]
7. Piano Place [#]
8. Läuft...Heisst das Es Läuft Oder Es Kommt Bald...Läuft
9. Giggy Smile [Alternative Version][Alternate Take][#]

Year Type Label Catalog # 2006 CD EMI Music Distribution 356362

No other editions were found for this album.

Coming on the heels of the cut-and-paste sound collage schizophrenia of The Faust Tapes, Faust IV seems relatively subdued and conventional, though it's still a far cry from what anyone outside the German avant-garde rock scene was doing. The album's disparate threads don't quite jell into something larger (as in the past), but there's still much to recommend it. The nearly 12-minute electro-acoustic opener "Krautrock" is sometimes viewed as a comment on Faust's droning, long-winded contemporaries, albeit one that would lose its point by following the same conventions. There are a couple of oddball pop numbers that capture the group's surreal sense of whimsy: one, "The Sad Skinhead," because of its reggae-ish beat, and another, "It's a Bit of a Pain," by interrupting a pastoral acoustic guitar number with the most obnoxious synth noises the band can conjure. Aside from "Krautrock," there is a trend toward shorter track lengths and more vocals, but there are still some unpredictably sudden shifts in the instrumental pieces, even though it only occasionally feels like an idea is being interrupted at random (quite unlike The Faust Tapes). There are several beatless, mostly electronic soundscapes full of fluttering, blooping synth effects, as well as plenty of the group's trademark Velvet Underground-inspired guitar primitivism, and even a Frank Zappa-esque jazz-rock passage. Overall, Faust IV comes off as more a series of not-always-related experiments, but there are more than enough intriguing moments to make it worthwhile. Unfortunately, it would be the last album the group recorded (at least in its first go-round). [The 2006 edition features an additional CD of bonus material.] ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Name Credits Gunther Wusthoff Cover Art Kurt Graupner Special Electronics, Engineer Paschal Byrne Digital Remastering Uwe Nettelbeck Producer, Mixing, Cover Art