| Faust | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover for the original 1971 German pressing | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 21, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Studio | Wümme (Bremen, Germany) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:07 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Uwe Nettelbeck | |||
| Faust chronology | ||||
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Faust is the debut studio album by German rock band Faust. It was released in 1971 through Polydor Records. Although it was never a commercial success, Faust has garnered much retrospective acclaim from rock critics.
In 1970, German record producer and music journalist Uwe Nettelbeck negotiated a deal with Polydor Records to assemble a new musical ensemble that could rival leading Anglo-American rock acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and Small Faces. To this end, Nettelbeck merged two regional Hamburg and Bremen groups — Nukleus and Campylognatus Citelli — to form the experimental collective that became Faust. [1]
Polydor financed the construction of a recording studio in a converted schoolhouse in the rural village of Wümme, near Hamburg, where the band lived and worked communally with Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner. This isolation allowed for complete creative freedom and a radical approach to recording that combined long improvisations, tape loop experiments, found sounds, and the use of self-built electronic instruments. [2]
Before completing their debut, the group sent cassette tapes to Polydor containing not only studio experiments but also fragments of domestic or environmental sounds — including, famously, recordings of someone washing dishes. These playful provocations reflected Nettelbeck’s conceptual strategy of testing the label’s limits and the band’s fascination with the boundary between noise and music. [3]
Faust (1971) is widely regarded as one of the most radical and experimental albums of its era, marking a defining moment in the emergence of krautrock and the transformation of the recording studio into a compositional instrument. The album combines elements of electronics, rock, acoustic instrumentation, and musique concrète within an unpredictable framework that merges avant-garde theory with the spontaneity of rock improvisation. [4]
Faust’s creative process was deeply studio-oriented, relying on extended improvisations that were later fragmented and reconstructed through tape loops, found sounds, and collage editing. This method reflected a deliberate rejection of traditional song structures and drew on the influence of experimental composers such as Edgard Varèse, John Cage, and the Fluxus movement. [5] The resulting music oscillates between dissonance and melody, with abrupt juxtapositions of rhythm, noise, and silence creating a sense of perpetual tension and surprise.
The album’s sonic landscape incorporates distorted guitar improvisations, abstract piano passages, electronic oscillations, manipulated speech, and fragments of mechanical or environmental noise, often assembled through sudden cuts and loops. These contrasts produce a surreal mixture of rock energy, theatrical absurdism, and experimental sound collage that challenges the listener’s perception of musical form. [6] [7]
Critics have often described the album as a surreal and theatrical experiment in sound collage, in which humor, chaos, and subversion coexist within an artistic framework reminiscent of Dadaism. Contemporary scholars have emphasized its importance as a bridge between sound art and popular music, interpreting it as a seminal exploration of sonic disruption and creative deconstruction that would influence generations of experimental rock artists. [8] [9]
Overall, Faust fused psychedelic rock, electronic collage, and conceptual art into a unified aesthetic of experimentation. Its audacious use of editing, humour and texture positioned the group as pioneers who redefined what a rock album could be—neither conventional performance nor pure abstraction, but an immersive work of sonic art.
The opening track introduces Faust’s surreal and collage-based approach to composition. Built from layers of tape edits, found sounds, and fragmented improvisations, the piece begins with bursts of static, brass fanfares, and snippets of popular radio tunes—including fragments of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” and The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” These references, manipulated through distortion and repetition, parody pop-music clichés while simultaneously paying homage to them. The result is both humorous and unsettling, aligning with the group’s Dadaist spirit and producer Uwe Nettelbeck’s anti-commercial vision for the project. [10] Musically, the track blends rock instrumentation—guitar, bass, and drums—with musique concrète techniques such as reversed tape, dislocated voices, and mechanical loops. The Guardian described it as “a chaotic sound collage that exploded pop from the inside out.” [11]
The second track offers a contrasting structure: a mixture of folk-inspired passages and bursts of distorted improvisation. It opens with gentle acoustic guitar figures, layered vocals, and organ drones that evoke a pastoral calm before abruptly descending into abstract chaos. AllMusic described it as “a hallucinatory journey between folk serenity and industrial noise.” [12] The lyrics—half-sung, half-spoken—convey surreal imagery suggestive of dreams or subconscious associations. Instruments are frequently detuned or recorded at inconsistent speeds, producing a warped sense of time and tonality. Critics have noted that the song’s sudden dynamic shifts anticipate later post-rock and industrial aesthetics, particularly the contrast between organic textures and mechanical soundscapes. [13]
The 16-minute closing track, “Miss Fortune,” acts as a summation of the album’s experimental ethos. Structured as a suite, it alternates between jazzy improvisations, spoken passages, noise loops, and drone sequences. The composition begins with sparse piano chords and rhythmic pulses before unfolding into a collage of disjointed performances and tape manipulations. Trouser Press characterised it as “a miniature avant-garde symphony,” combining rock, free jazz, and musique concrète into a fluid continuum. [14] In its final section, a spoken voice recites surreal phrases (“In the night / we shall go / into the night…”) while electronic drones dissolve into silence, closing the album on a cryptic and poetic note. OndaRock interpreted the finale as “a descent into dream logic and abstraction, where the idea of song collapses into pure sound.” [15]
The original LP record was on clear vinyl in a clear cover with an X-ray of a human fist silkscreened on the outer sleeve (Faust is German for "fist"). It also included a transparent plastic sheet with the lyrics and credits printed in red.
Faust was originally released in late 1971 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and West Germany. [16] The first pressing was packaged in a distinctive transparent sleeve with a clear vinyl LP inside. Although it sold poorly upon release, the album later became a collector’s item and a touchstone of the krautrock movement.
The record was reissued several times over the following decades. Virgin Records re-released it in 1973 as part of the double-album compilation The Faust Tapes promotion campaign, helping the band reach a broader audience in the UK. [17] In 1986, Recommended Records (ReR) issued a remastered version on vinyl and cassette, followed by CD reissues on ReR in 1992 and 2001. Gronland Records released a high-quality 180-gram vinyl remaster in 2009 and later a deluxe 2×LP edition in 2021 for the band’s 50th anniversary. [18] [19] Most reissues retain the original tracklist and artwork, though some digital and vinyl editions include early demo versions and alternate takes from the Wümme studio sessions.
| Year | Label | Country | Format | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Polydor | West Germany / UK | LP, clear vinyl | Original transparent sleeve with X-ray fist image | [20] |
| 1973 | Virgin | UK | LP reissue | Re-release to promote The Faust Tapes | [21] |
| 1986 | ReR Megacorp | UK | LP, cassette | First official reissue after band reformation | [22] |
| 1992 | ReR Megacorp | UK | CD | Digitally remastered version | [23] |
| 2001 | ReR Megacorp | UK / EU | CD reissue | 30th anniversary edition | [24] |
| 2009 | Grönland | Germany | LP, 180-gram | Remastered from original Polydor tapes | [25] |
| 2021 | Grönland | Germany | 2×LP, deluxe edition | 50th anniversary remaster, includes bonus demos | [26] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [27] |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.0/10 [28] |
Initial sales of Faust were minimal, and contemporary listeners found its mixture of noise, collage and absurdist humour alien and impenetrable. Yet over time the album gained recognition as one of the most daring statements of the krautrock era. AllMusic critic Archie Patterson lauded the record as “a revolutionary step forward in the progress of rock music,” adding that “the level of imagination is staggering, the concept is totally unique and it’s fun to listen to as well.” [27]
In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork awarded the album a score of 9.0/10, describing it as “an anarchic and visionary debut that still feels dangerous and new.” [28] The Guardian called it “a radical blueprint for avant-rock, a gleeful dismantling of pop conventions that anticipated punk’s irreverence and ambient music’s textural thinking.” [29] The Wire later ranked it among the “100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening),” highlighting its pioneering use of editing, humour and anti-commercial sound design. [30]
The record’s legacy extends far beyond krautrock circles. Brian Eno cited Faust among the key inspirations behind his work with David Bowie on the so-called Berlin Trilogy. [31] Artists from Cabaret Voltaire to Sonic Youth, Throbbing Gristle, and Radiohead have referenced the album’s radical studio techniques. Radiohead’s OK Computer (1997) drew on the record’s abstract production and collage logic, which guitarist Jonny Greenwood described as “music that sounded assembled from dreams rather than takes.” [32]
Faust is now considered a cornerstone of experimental and avant-rock, influencing post-punk, industrial, ambient and post-rock movements. Louder Sound described it as “a time capsule of pure sonic invention,” while OndaRock called it “the definitive encounter between Dadaism and rock.” [33] [34]
By the early 2000s, Faust had been canonised as a landmark in experimental rock, regularly appearing in publications such as Mojo , Uncut , and The Wire among the most important albums of the 1970s. Its influence remains audible in 21st-century acts exploring the boundaries between rock, electronics, and conceptual art.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Why Don't You Eat Carrots" | Faust | 9:31 |
| 2. | "Meadow Meal" | Faust, Rudolf Sosna | 8:02 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Miss Fortune" | Faust | 16:35 |
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