One of the key bands in Germany's Kraut-rock movement of the 1970s, Faust took concepts from the experimental avant-garde (sound collage, ambient synth, music concrete, improvised noise, et al.) and applied them to a rock framework. 71 MINUTES... collects tracks from two unreleased albums recorded in the early-to-mid 1970s, RETURN OF A LEGEND and FAUST PARTY. And while this is not an immediately easy set to enjoy, if given the time there is a tremendous amount to be gained from it.
Nothing here comes off as straightforward, though elements of fuzz rock ("Don't Take Roots"), ambient ("Das Meer"), and proto trance and techno ("Munic-Yesterday) all appear in brilliantly mutated forms. 71 MINUTES OF is experimental music in the purest sense of the word: though Faust certainly had inspirations, there was simply no previous attempt to put such styles together. The band mixed and matched disparate sounds both new and old, fixed what wasn't broken, and expected nothing from the mainstream. Inspiring.
Professional Reviews
Q (8/96, p.132) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...(a merger of two long deleted albums) is more placidly organic but just as challenging [as THE FAUST TAPES]..."
