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Faust, "Od Serca Do Duszy"
This double live album documents the group's first foray into Polish territory. The sound quality is vastly superior to last year's In Autumn box set of live recordings. Each little noise right up to the mightiest clamour is captured quite clearly; it is almost possible to smell the sweat.
Faust open with a new song called "Sex," an improvisation leading on from a recording of a man speaking about sex in German (referring to the act, not the number). This piece sets a high standard for the rest of the album, the raw power of the band is like a truck hurtling out of control and heading straight for where I am sitting. "We Are Not Here…" raises the bar again in terms of sheer brute musical beauty. Although I unfortunately must experience Faust live only through these second hand experiences, on Od Serca Do Duszy it is possible to feel the danger and excitement that the group are renowned for.
It is not all flexing muscles and battering sheet metal into smithereens; the gorgeous "Our Soul to Your Ears" provides a welcome breather amidst the raucous din. Here Jean-Hervé Péron urges the crowd to shut up and (amazingly!) they do. The band then use this almost blank canvas to sketch out a delicate piece of music that proves that they are not just living off the glory days of their youth. This is only the eye in the storm as the peace quickly gives way to "Ist Rund Schoen?" I have never been big on this song in any of its previous incarnations but Poland must have brought something great out in Faust as it is a cracker here.
The second disc sees Faust in improv mode, half of this disc is given up to two wild tracks of jamming. "Impro: Krakow I" is the kind of song that would make Acid Mothers Temple extremely jealous. An encore of their signature tune ("Rainy Day Sunshine Girl") is the icing on an already sweet cake. It is as vivid an image of an instant in time as one could hope for. Indeed, as live albums go (and live Faust recordings for that matter), Od Serca Do Duszy is a decent stab at capturing a band in the moment.
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