Category: Music Films

Faust “Connections” DVD

A new Faust has been born, fusing Zappi & JHP from the original line-up with Ulan Bator members Amaury Cambuzat and Olivier Manchion. This DVD allows you to witness the birth of this new line-up. We begin with the plane containing Amaury & Olivier landing and then you get their first session. Unrehearsed, spontaneous music with no overdubs.

It’s a brave move for a band to release a DVD of their all-new line-ups first ever session but, let’s face it, they all know how to play and the results are nothing short of exciting. 6 new, spontaneous songs that let you know a brand new Faust is coming.

As you would expect, the visuals are as disorientating and entertaining as the music. Sometimes words scroll across the top of screen. At times they seem to be translations of the lyrics, at others times they appear like invocations on the themes of the lyrics.

Zappi really is a hell of a drummer and Jean-Hervé the perfect foil to his power. These 2 have a musical bond built up over years, so it’s incredible to hear the new members finding their place in the music immediately.

As fun as it is fascinating, “Connections” is a very well produced DVD and definitely one that I’ll be watching again and again.

LOOKING AT GOD’S PENIS

AMON DUUL II – “PHALLUS DEI” DVD

I mistakenly believed the only German cosmic DVD around was the “Can DVD” but when I spotted this one on Piccadilly Record’s website, my heart leapt – another live kosmische DVD? So, I went into the shop when I was in Manchester and took a look. £17 for a DVD of Amon Düül II performing the title track from their debut album “Phallus Dei”. That’s it. Mind you, as the track clocks in at nearly 25 minutes and Wim Wenders was one of the camera crew, I decided to go mad and buy it.

The film captures the band, before they released their debut album, playing a frenzied live session of “Phallus Dei”. Let’s begin with the negative points first. The sound and picture quality are not of today’s standards. There’s a noticeable hiss in the sound and the film is grainy. Still, it’s an underground film from 1969, not bloody Star Wars, so what do you expect? Let’s concentrate on the positives here and there’s plenty to chew on. Firstly, “Phallus Dei” is one of my favourite Amon Düül II tracks and this live rendition explodes with energy. The cinematography is defiantly different. A mixture of the band playing live, sunrise, sunset and even a few blackouts. The band footage doesn’t zoom or pan, but band members wander in and out of the frame.

There can be no doubt that this DVD is a little bit on the expensive side but it is a fantastic historical document – a collision of pioneering greats of both music and film. Sure, it may lack the razzle-dazzle of the “Can DVD”, it’s is still well worth getting your mitts on it. It stands up well to repeated viewings and if you buy & support this, who knows what other DVDs may come out of the woodwork?