Studio: Hit Thing Records
Video: 1.33:1 full frame
Audio: DD 5.1, DD Stereo
Extras: Commentary on Audio Tracks (10-30 seconds)
Length: 69 minutes (Main DVD); 5 minutes (Intro DVD); 28 minutes (CD)
Rating: **** (For those who love experimental video/music), *1/2 (everyone else)
This DVD is a first for Faust and includes 11 classic tracks from 1971
to 1994 with three of them being previously unreleased.
Zappi-W-Diermaier has created a wild range of images to go along with
the music to make these “music videos.” In addition to these
tracks, there is a 5 minute long vintage video from 1971 starring Koll,
a white polar bear. The bear is a fan of the band and takes a
trip to Hamburg to spend some time with the band and take a shot at the
drums. Picture quality of this video is like that of a home movie
of the 70s. The normal tracks (if they can be called that)
contain music that is a fusion of free-form progressive rock,
Euro-electronica (Kraftwerk comes to mind), and might be considered the
early stages of industrial electronic music. The video is a
montage of seemingly random images that are overexposed; color washed,
reverse photographs, sketches, and close-ups on a multitude of objects
and/or people. They range from food to trains, to flowers, to
furniture and are song dependent.
The surround channel information has been added in and was not present
in the original material. Because of this it has a tendency to
sound more detached than most multichannel mixes. The insert and the
commentary on the disc give some information on each of the tracks
included in this set. The way the disc is set up is very
confusing. The videos are not sequential by chapters, nor are
they sequential by title. As the title to the songs isn’t shown
over every tune, it is easy to get lost. Ice Rain is one of a few
songs that is not an instrumental and is what people may call early
punk (so is the other music that contains lyrics). The bonus CD
has four tracks that are a mix of ambient and experimental music.
The second track even has a lively accordion section. These will
be included in the forthcoming DVD “I Spin”—a solo project by
Zappi-W-Diermaier.
It is easy to imagine walking into the Museum of Modern Art and seeing
one of the exhibits playing this DVD—it is that kind of
presentation. For most it will be interesting, but perhaps not
something to be actively enjoying over a long period of time. An
acquaintance who came by while I was watching it said, “This is the
kind of thing that will make people freak out if they watch too
long.” I know he didn’t mean it as a compliment, but perhaps, in
a strange way, it is! Songs included: D-machine; Ice Rain
(previously unreleased); Breakfast; Waiting for Eternity; Video Skin;
Desert; Component; Listen (previously unreleased); We Need You; Irena
(previously unreleased); Kraut (DVD); Back of China; Hamburg Walzer; I
Spin; Virtual Reality (CD).
-Brian Bloom
