Faust

Although part of what made Faust's first two albums so revolutionary was their packaging (the transparent vinyl and sleeve of their debut and the complete black packaging of the follow-up), having both available on CD makes a much more reasonable purchase than hunting down the original collectors vinyl. Faust was not the first of the German progressive rock bands to make their mark, nor were they the most influential. They did, however, play a key roll in breaking "Krautrock" outside of Germany through some clever marketing. It is interesting to note that three original members reformed in the '90s and continue to make inspired music today, but back in 1971, they were the studio creation of music journalist cum producer Uwe Nettelbeck, who brought them together. These two recordings from '71 and '72 are packed full of capital "A," art rock ideas, combining spoken word, tape cut ups, classical guitar, abrasive noise, subtle ambience, motoric rhythms, sweet melodies, funky grooves, chanted vocals and progressive rock riffage. So Far is more song-oriented than the purely experimental debut, but on both records, multi-part song structures and intoxicatingly heady jams provide highlights that stand up brilliantly 30 years later.