Faust – The Faust Tapes

Sorry, I can't imagine that this hasn't been discussed here in these reviews previously - but as a HUGE fan of the 1970s version of Faust I thought I'd add my 2 cents (an American term, for sure!)
I was in high school in the late 1970s, and when I first heard and fell in love with the music of Faust. To say that their albums were tough to come by in the US back then is an understatement. And in high-school the best I could do back then is trade cassette tapes for copies of their albums.
But then in 1978 I entered college and eventually was able to score copies of their first 3 releases on Recommended Records (which I still have in NM condition).
Then, soon after, I found in a used record stores NM original UK Virgin copies of "The Faust Tapes" and "Faust IV" for about $5 each.
Well, skip to 2025 and the prices of these 2 Virgin Records album's first UK pressings' prices are relatively astronomical!
It's bad enough that I had to pay $5 for "The Faust Tapes" that was sold in the UK for 50p! But that's nothing when one looks at the asking price for it now!
I'm one lucky Faust Fan now, as I still have those Recommended Records versions of their first three LPs, but also have Japanese LP copies of all three! But I've never found Japanese pressings of "...Tapes" or "IV" but at least I have these UK originals on Virgin to enjoy!
Don't worry - when I'm called back to my home planet my wife will sell ALL my LPs for pennies on the dollar if she doesn't just give them away - first come first serve! Here's to Faust!

I have a signed copy by the line up that played The Marquee 1990

Faust's White Album. Words w w w w w w

My copy of this album has a labelling error. Both side one and side two have 'Side One' labels.
Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, stamped, variant 1): VC 501 A-1U
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, stamped, variant 1): VC 501 B-1U

Everyday I wake up and am glad that Faust never actually became the 'German Beatles'.

Very influential album which still sounds innovative to this day. Haven't heard the represses but this OG sounds fantastic.

Don’t waste your money on this repress that has digital steps when you can get the original for a great price and know it’s AAA. https://discogs.sitiodesbloquea.com/release/223803-Faust-The-Faust-Tapes

At 49p this was £2 cheaper than my usual new Harvest issue back in the day. Played it to death, but didn’t take great care of it due to the price tag. Bought this reissue, now £20 more than those original Harvest albums. It’s still brilliant, with its effervescent mix of beautiful ballads, trance, found sounds, psychedelia and noise. This release is superbly mixed with excellent notes on the inner cover and an actual track listing (not that that matters!). Brilliant, noiseless sound.

I was surprised to learn that Faust invented Hip-Hop.
Well, they did, second track first side, less than a minute long. Honestly, how can this be there?

This is the version I believe I own, but there are some discrepancies. In the above "Notes" section, regarding the labels, it states that side B listed "Side a". I believe this may be a mistake. On my copy, side B is listed as "Side 2", but the way the digit "2" is written, it could easily be mistaken for an "a", or maybe it is an "a", and I've mistaken it for the digit "2" . . . but I believe it is a "2". Under "Barcodes and Other Identifiers" section, it is stated:
Matrix / Runout (Side A, hand-etched runout): FAUST-A-R.R.A. SIX. I-I
Matrix / Runout (Side B, hand-etched runout): FAUST-B-RRASIX I-5

My copy varies slightly, it reads as follows:
Side 1: I - 5 FAUST-A-R.R.[scythe symbol] SIX
Side 2: FAUST-B-RRA SIX

So, do I just happen to own a version that has yet to be listed on this website's database, or what is the deal???

Groundbreaking album in every respect which, like Lumpy Gravy before it, employs all manner of tape splicing and studio trickery to achieve thrilling results. Early Faust bears little to no resemblance to other Krautrock bands of the day like Kraftwerk, Neu or Can for instance. While more groove-oriented people like Can, I prefer the far-reaching experimental brand of music Faust proffered forth on their first three albums in general, and this one in particular. An absolutely timeless and influential record, predating the industrial sound by several years.