Faust – 1971-1974

I hope Bureau B will make Momentaufnahme I & II available individually!

My Pre-Order of the CD box set never arrived and Importcds refunded me after many months. I had emailed Bureau B months ago asking if they would do a second press of the box which they won't, but they said they would probably release Punk't seperately (which they have now) and maybe Momentaufnahme as well.

I can only hope they will since my Pre-Order evaporated into thin air.

Fwiw, member cidrolin posted the following to the Steve Hoffman forum in a thread titled New Complete Faust Set:

"About four months ago I asked Amaury about the technicals on the Faust Mailing List.
He received the digital files of Clear / So Far / Tapes / IV directly from Bureau B.

Regarding the rest of the box he wrote:

Punkt and Momentaufnahme (I & II) were mixed from analogue tapes transported on digital files.
This is a completely transparent transition from original reels to files.
There were two-track recordings (on 1/4 inch tape) as well as eight-track recordings on two inch tape.
Jean-Hervé and I sorted and selected from hours of music! :)
I then worked digitally in my DAW using analogue effects (compressors, EQ, reverb) as well as some good plugins.
So for some time now I have been working with a hybrid system that mixes analogue and digital.
Same thing for the mastering, I use analog effects and some plugins.
For each album I did a mastering for the vinyl pressing and a second one for the compact disc."

When is the USA vinyl Box set Going to come out

How is the sound quality of the CDs? I have many Bureau B releases, and many of them are sourced from vinyl and you can hear pops and clicks on the CDs. Are there any pops and clicks on any of the CDs in this boxset? I'm afraid to buy it. Quality control at Bureau B seems to be nonexistent.

OK, musical content and sound quality aside, the usual gripes remain about Bureau B box sets: no download files, no ribbon to help remove the records efficiently (you almost have to tip the box upside down...), the booklet could have been more informative (and why is it smaller than 12" x 12"?), and the outer and inner sleeve stock is pretty thin (the inners split as records move around, and the 2 x 7" are floating around, the records slipping out in transit....)

At least they reproduced the original sleeves (unlike the Cluster box set), although the artwork for the unreleased LPs is pretty basic.

Compare Bureau B box sets to similar re-issues by Groenland (Harmonia, Neu, Rother...) and you can see the additional care and attention by the latter.

As for the unreleased LPs, I'm still not sure if this material is based on any of the other "missing" LPs - Munic, Last LP and Faust Party Three...

Why the Hell limit something like this to so few copies? 🤬

CD box is limited to 1000, while vinyl box is limited to 2000. Source: I own both boxes, and these numbers are mentioned at the back of each box.

Groupe incontestable mais quelle manœuvre est mise en place par certains pour acheter des lots au prix de base autour de 80€, somme correcte pour la version cd et les revendre entre trois à six fois plus cher. Vive la grande famille du rock... qui ne permet pas aux plus infortunés un achat qui vaut un quart de SMIC😞😠

Was disappointed that no download supplied with the vinyl box. I have all original vinyl versions, CDs & Wumme box already so a bit pricey for barely 3 'new' LPs. Oh well, the joys of being a completeist ! Just now need to get the CD version...

So I have a theory having heard all the unreleased stuff....they have been cagey about where and when it was recorded.
I think they found/recovered/restored the whole cache of multitracks from the Munich Sessions, and this is where it all comes from.
We know Tracks 1 and 3 on `Punkt' are remixed from their previously issued versions (Munic A & B on `Munic and Elsewhere').
Seeing as we have all the Wumme stuff courtesy of Chris Cutler's 2000 boxed set, and the Faust IV out-takes from the 2CD issue, I think it's quite a good thing we now have this last batch, although we have been somewhat forced in buying the
core albums again. The box booklet seems to suggest some of it might be from the Manor Sessions too
but I'm not so sure, given that they had to rely on the previously released `It's A Bit Of A Pain' and revisit `Picnic On A Frozen River'
to fill out the time on that LP as it was. Happy to have the new stuff, and ultimately final pieces of the jigsaw, and happy that all the ex members appear to be getting a decent pay day. We could have been given a lot LESS new material, so ultimately a winner I think. Those with a bit more patience than me will probably find that they will release the new stuff seperately in the fullness of time.