Faust IV (1973)

Faust IV is the fourth studio album by the German krautrock band Faust, released in 1973 by Virgin Records. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, where it is described as a "krautrock classic".

The album was the last to be released by the original line-up of Faust. Following its completion, the band recorded a fifth album, sometimes referred to as Faust V, at the Manor Studio in early 1975, but Virgin Records rejected the tapes and dropped the group from its roster. The group disbanded shortly afterwards.

Faust did not return until 1994, when a new incarnation of the band, led by founding members Jean-Hervé Péron and Werner Diermaier, released Rien on Table of the Elements.

Background

In 1973, Virgin Records head Richard Branson was seeking an avant-garde act to complement the label’s roster. Impressed by Faust's prior work, Virgin offered the band a new recording contract and released The Faust Tapes at the budget price of 49 pence, a marketing gamble that sold over 50,000 copies in the UK and made Faust briefly successful. The commercial surprise of The Faust Tapes provided the budget for Faust IV, which would become both their final album for Virgin and the last recording by the original line-up.

Following the success of The Faust Tapes, Faust relocated from their self-built studio in Wümme, near Bremen, to The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England, to record their fourth album. Jean-Hervé Peron claimed the album was recorded at the same time Mike Oldfield was recording Tubular Bells. The closing track "It’s a Bit of a Pain" had previously appeared as the B-side to the single "So Far" in Germany.

Critical reception

Faust IV was released in June 1973. In 2007, Pitchfork described it as "a subtle dismantling of rock structure, where beauty and absurdity coexist without hierarchy." The review highlighted the contrast between the opener "Krautrock" and the song "Jennifer," calling the latter "further proof that the band were capable of writing actual songs." AllMusic stated the album "comes off as more a series of not-always-related experiments, but there are more than enough intriguing moments to make it worthwhile." Spin described the record, as the band's "handsomely failed attempt to sound normal," and noted the opening track "Krautrock" as "hypnotic guitar-drone".

Record Collector described "The Sad Skinhead" and "Jennifer" as a "sabotaged mixed bag of defaced whimsical ditties," while noting the album "a still-intriguing snapshot of a band about to implode under its extreme internally combusting weight."

In popular culture

Madlib sampled "The Sad Skinhead" in 2013 for his album Rock Konducta, Pt. 1 on the track "Far Faust".

Personnel

• Werner "Zappi" Diermaier – drums
• Hans Joachim Irmler – organ
• Jean-Hervé Péron – vocals, bass
• Rudolf Sosna – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Gunther Wüsthoff – synthesizer, sax

Sound and art work

• Kurt Graupner – engineer
• Uwe Nettelbeck – producer, cover artwork
• Gunther Wüsthoff – cover artwork