"Minimalist pioneer Tony Conrad and notorious Krautrock progenitors Faust met just three times: in the studio to record the ground-breaking Outside the Dream Syndicate in 1972, and twice on the concert stage in the mid-1990s. This recording documents their third and final encounter, at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, February 18, 1995. The difference between the original session and this live event is astonishing. While Conrad's aggressive string sound was tamed in the studio by producer Uwe Nettlebeck (Conrad has complained that the mix made him 'sound like a hippy'), here it is full of menace and ferocity, and in tandem attack with the equally belligerent violin of Jim O'Rourke, it conjures a raging wall of sound. When the Faust rhythm section finally kicks in, no one is in the mood for restraint, and the whole thing bolts on a merciless, scorched-earth gallop. Bassist Jean-Herve Peron plays with such fury that he snaps a string (no easy feat on a bass guitar), shreds the flesh on his fingers, and is soon covered in blood; meanwhile drummer Werner 'Zappi' Diermaier pounds away, standing, in his inimitable, robotic style. After a relentless 40-minute onslaught, Peron signals the set's abrupt conclusion by smashing a brick with a sledgehammer, while Diermaier destroys his drum kit a la Keith Moon. At this point the elegant atmosphere of Queen Elizabeth Hall thoroughly disintegrates, and the antagonized crowd nearly riots. Hecklers and supporters continue to shout each other down -- until they're drowned out by a rollicking encore. The booklet contains brief interviews with Conrad and Peron." |