Faust IV
Encyclopedia
Faust IV is a 1973 album by the pioneering German
krautrock
group Faust
.
The opener "Krautrock" is a drone-based instrumental where the drums kick in only after seven minutes, whilst later tracks such as "The Sad Skinhead" and "Jennifer" employ more conventional songwriting techniques. The closing track "It's a Bit of a Pain" combines both styles, utilising noise during its chorus. At a point late in the song, following the chorus a woman's voice speaking in Swedish is heard. The message spoken goes "Den enkla sanningen är att den del män är håriga och andra inte är det. En del kvinnor har mycket hår, och andra har det inte. Olika raser har olika mönster för hårets fördelning. Den virilaste av alla mänskliga varelser - den långa negerhanen - har nästan inget kroppshår alls", and is translated into; "The simple truth is that some men are hairy, and some are not. Some women have lots of hair, and some don't. Different races have different patterns for the distribution of hair. The most virile of all men, the tall negro male, is almost entirely lacking body hair".
The album was recorded at the Manor Studios
in England. As the sessions took too long to complete, producer Uwe Nettelbeck
opted to complete the album with material that was recorded at previous sessions in Wümme, Germany. These additions include "Krautrock" (previously aired on the John Peel
show) and "It's a Bit of a Pain" (previously released as a single in Germany).
.
Side one
Side two
(the current owners of Virgin Records
). The first CD contains re-masters of the original eight tracks, while the second CD has the following bonus tracks:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
group Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
.
The opener "Krautrock" is a drone-based instrumental where the drums kick in only after seven minutes, whilst later tracks such as "The Sad Skinhead" and "Jennifer" employ more conventional songwriting techniques. The closing track "It's a Bit of a Pain" combines both styles, utilising noise during its chorus. At a point late in the song, following the chorus a woman's voice speaking in Swedish is heard. The message spoken goes "Den enkla sanningen är att den del män är håriga och andra inte är det. En del kvinnor har mycket hår, och andra har det inte. Olika raser har olika mönster för hårets fördelning. Den virilaste av alla mänskliga varelser - den långa negerhanen - har nästan inget kroppshår alls", and is translated into; "The simple truth is that some men are hairy, and some are not. Some women have lots of hair, and some don't. Different races have different patterns for the distribution of hair. The most virile of all men, the tall negro male, is almost entirely lacking body hair".
The album was recorded at the Manor Studios
The Manor Studio
The Manor Studio was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. It was the first residential recording studio in the UK...
in England. As the sessions took too long to complete, producer Uwe Nettelbeck
Uwe Nettelbeck
Uwe Nettelbeck was a German record producer, journalist and film critic. He was best known as the creator and producer of the German krautrock band, Faust, and changed the face of German rock music in the early 1970s...
opted to complete the album with material that was recorded at previous sessions in Wümme, Germany. These additions include "Krautrock" (previously aired on the John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
show) and "It's a Bit of a Pain" (previously released as a single in Germany).
Track listing
The track titles and times are from Faust-pages.com as there are errors on both the LP and CD editions of the album. All the tracks are written and performed by FaustFaust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
.
Side one
- "Krautrock" – 11:45
- "The Sad Skinhead" – 2:33
- "Jennifer" – 7:09
Side two
- "Just a Second (Starts Like That)" – 3:35
- "Picnic on a Frozen River (Deuxième Tableau)" – 7:53
- Includes "Giggy Smile"
- "Läuft...Heißt das es läuft oder es kommt bald...Läuft" – 3:35
- "Run" – 3:37
- "It's a Bit of a Pain" – 3:08
Personnel
- Werner "Zappi" Diermaier – drums
- Hans Joachim Irmler – organ
- Jean-Hervé Péron – bass
- Rudolf Sosna – guitar, keyboards
- Gunter Wüsthoff – synthesiser, sax
Sound and art work
- Kurt Graupner – engineer
- Uwe NettelbeckUwe NettelbeckUwe Nettelbeck was a German record producer, journalist and film critic. He was best known as the creator and producer of the German krautrock band, Faust, and changed the face of German rock music in the early 1970s...
– producer, cover artwork - Gunter Wüsthoff – cover artwork
Re-releases
Faust IV was re-released on two CDs in February 2006 by EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
(the current owners of Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
). The first CD contains re-masters of the original eight tracks, while the second CD has the following bonus tracks:
- "The Lurcher" (BBC Peel Session)
- "Krautrock" (BBC Peel Session)
- "Do So" (BBC Peel Session)
- "Jennifer" (alternate)
- "The Sad Skinhead" (alternate)
- "Just a Second (Starts Like That!)" (extended version)
- "Piano Piece" (aka Das Meer)
- "Läuft...Heißt das es läuft oder es kommt bald...Läuft" (alternate)
- "Giggy Smile" (alternate)
External links
- Faust IV at faust-pages.com.
- News of Faust IV re-release at faust-pages.com.
- Faust IV Virgin Records (V2004) LP release at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
.