Faust 4 [Original recording remastered]

Hats off to EMI/Virgin for giving us what we wanted, namely all there is from the troubled final chapter of Faust's initial assault on the world before they disappeared in a flurry of unpaid bills and fell into obscurity. Their peak period in the confines of an empty school/studio is masterfully documented on the boxed set `Faust:The Wumme Years' released on Recommended Records, but this excellently represents the brief flirtation with the fledgling Virgin Records just after the money ran out in Wumme. This was not a clean break and the basis of Faust IV has origins in the last (kidnapped ?) tapes recorded in Wumme, as evidenced by overlaps between this and the aforementioned boxed set.

So what do you get here ? A bargain priced double CD comprising a beautifully remastered version of the original album and a second disc of fragments which went to make up the original whole. The artwork has been restored to the original scale, such as it is being blank sheet music, and the sleevenotes are notably improved. There are no massive musical finds here apart from a hugely enjoyable 10 (count `em!) minute version of `Just A Second' which totalled only 1'30" on the album, and as with all Faust experiments they never run out of ideas, they just keep playing until the tape stops (Can I just point out here that the extension `Starts Like That!' to the aforementioned title is an anomaly from the initial dodgily researched CD release from the early 90's and obviously refers to the instructions on the cue sheet to the mastering engineer .... it was NOT titled this on the original LP. These things are important to us afficionados !)

The original LP is followed by disc two which begins with the fabled Peel session, but again things are not straightforward as it is actually a tape supplied by the band after turning up at the BBC studios to find that their custom built electronics could not be given enough power supplies. So what you get is a custom made tape comprising the unique `Lurcher' which seques into `Krautrock' in an identical version to the eventually released piece on Faust IV. As this Peel Session is already on the Recommended box it's nothing new. (I also think that both Virgin and Recommended could have bothered to find out that the original session sheet stated the titles as the following: Just A second/Ask The Cleaning Woman She Knows The Subtitle/Foam Rubber. It's a bit of a shame that these inspired faustian titles have been lost in the mists of rewritten history.Hey Ho)

The rest of disc two comprises largely of different mixes rather than different versions of the tracks from the Faust IV album, but they are sufficiently different to justify a purchase.Treat it like an extra LP to be heard as a piece and you won't be disappointed. The extended version of `Just A Second' and the great remastering is worth it at this price. Vive le Faust !

If you're a seasoned Faust-head buy without hesitation, if you're a newbie buy because of the price and dive into the boxed set if you like what you hear here !

Can we now expect EMI to delve deeper into the early Virgin catalogue and give us some Tangerine Dream remasters done with the same attention and mastering technology ? There is the small matter of TD's largely unreleased music for `Oedipus Tyrannus' languishing in the vaults which I'm certain would recoup the small investment in a work of such value which you already own.

The music Virgin released in the early seventies will continue to prove itself for a good while longer, so please send your librarians back into the vaults. Music like this will never be made again !

Like Virgin's recent reissue of Scott Walker's 'Climate of Hunter', a new version of 'Faust IV' is more than welcome - like the initial Can cd issues on Grey Area, this sounds less enjoyable than the vinyl original. Added to that, the sequencing on the cd was sloppy confusing listeners regarding what tracks were what. The tracklisting on this reissue is now:
1. Krautrock
2. The Sad Skinhead
3. Jennifer
4. Just a Second (Starts Like That!)/Picnic on a Frozen River/Deuxieme Tableux
5. Giggy Smile
6. Lauft...Heisst Das Es Lauft Oder Es Kommt Bald...Lauft
7. It's a Bit of a Pain

So now it's possible to hear 'Faust IV' as intended and sounding better than the previous CD issue that I am more than happy to replace.

The LP itself is fantastic, from the 11-minute opening instrumental 'Krautrock' - whose title was an ironic pi**take that became the label for a genre best defined in Julian Cope's out-of-print 'Krautrocksampler'- to the epic 'Just a Second-Picnic on...-Deuxeme' and the closing joy of '...It's a Bit of a Pain' which does fit well alongside things like Kevin Ayers & Robert Wyatt. 'Krautrock' was most definitely an influence on the Steve Hillage (Gong) produced work of Simple Minds 'Sister Feelings Call' & 'Sons & Fascination' (both 1981)- a cursory listen to it will reveal the sound SM adopted on songs like 'Theme for Great Cities', 'Love Song' & 'League of Nations.' The way it builds and builds and builds is wild...the template for something like 'The Private Psychedelic Reel' by the Chemical Brothers/Jonathan from Mercury Rev? 'Jennifer' is a 7-minute plus joy whose sound was borrowed for an early Killing Joke song whose title eludes me (it's on 'Laugh?...I Nearly Bought One!'). Though 'The Sad Skinhead' is more of a favourite, opening with a scary holler before slipping into Weimar-reggae - like Can's 'Spoon' it is most definitely a pop-song (could Girls Aloud or Sugababes cover it please?). The guitar sounds like wild glam stuff, only reached since by early Bernard Butler and Doggen from Spiritualized/Brain Donor/Julian Cope. 'Faust IV' is one of those great eclectic albums from a great act - file next to '...20 Jazz Funk Greats' by Throbbing Gristle, 'Oedipus Schmoedipus' by Barry Adamson, 'baader meinhof' by baader meinhof, 'Lodger' by Bowie, 'Jehovahkill' by Julian Cope, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel, ...in "Jane from Occupied Europe" by Swell Maps & 'Future Days' by Can.

This reissue now reportedly comes not only with a proper tracklisting & superior sound, there is a bonus-disc featuring a three-track BBC session ('Krautrock', 'The Lurcher', 'Do So) and six mixes/versions from 1973 ('Jennifer', 'The Sad Skinhead', 'Just a Second...extended', 'Piano Piece', 'Lauft...' & 'Giggy Smile'). Really, it would be rude not to - though if those folks at Virgin would like to send me a free copy they're more than welcome!

Trippy kosmische musik convulsions combine with Barret-esque whimsy. The result is a somewhat of a radical, yet more focused (albeit less experimental) departure from their groundbreaking debut. This record grows on you with each listen as increasingly its complexities and subtleties are revealed. I rank this as one of the 50 greatest albums of all-time.