FAITH NO MORE – “From Out of Nowhere” (1990 Slash records 3 track 7″ single)
When I was beginning to seriously collect Faith No More in 1991 onwards, I had no idea what was out there. I found the UK 7″ single for “From Out of Nowhere” at a record show in Guelph. There are different versions of this single out there with “Cowboy Song” on the B-side, but that track can also be found on Live at the Brixton Academy. The UK single on Slash/London has two live tracks you can’t find anywhere else, recorded by the BBC on March 2 1990. Shortly after “Epic” was released as a single, but before it went mega.
The problem is, with 10 minutes of music squeezed onto the B-side, this single sounds horribly thin and is ridiculously quiet. Tons of surface noise too. The A-side, which spins at 45 rpm, is better. Have a look at the unaltered waveform in Audacity for comparison.
Faith No More didn’t truly make it big until the end of the (first) vinyl age. The album version of “From Out of Nowhere” was always an excellent song; one of their most “mainstream” if you can call it that. The keyboard hook is the main angle, and Patton’s notable for using that clean nasal voice he discontinued not long after. An excellent song, and a cornerstone of any nutritious Faith No More collection.
The B-side, the exclusive live recordings, rotates at 33 1/3 rpm. Captured in Norwich, “Woodpecker From Mars” is Faith No More’s instrumental classic led by a keyboard violin voice by Roddy Bottum. There is a different performance on a home video called You Fat Bastards (which is the complete Brixton set) but nothing else on audio. “Epic” is disappointingly edited by the BBC. They obscure the line where Mike Patton naughtily sings “get down on it and fuck it some more.” The band sound fresh and almost green with enthusiasm for the song, playing it a bit more straight than they would later on.
On the plus side, this single comes packaged in a gatefold sleeve, a rarity for 7″ release. Inside Mike Patton is givin’ ‘er live on stage. Some kids probably taped this to the wall as-is.
In short, the music is great. The vinyl is not.
2.5/5 stars
mikeladano.com 
“Cornerstone of any nutritious FNM collection…”
Did you just rewatch Pulp Fiction or something?
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Don’t think I’ve ever heard of a single that rotates at different speeds on different sides. Interesting.
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Jack White may have done something like this before, seems like something he would do.
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I’ve got a few – just a way to fit more music on, as you point out though, often at the expense of hi-fidelity.
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But folks like you and I don’t need fidelity, either low or high. We just need a head to bang.
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Bang that head that doesn’t bang Mike.
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Bang on, good sir. Bang on.
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Ooh! Gatefold single…that is cool. And sounds like the only thing cool about it.
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Their music is pretty good.
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I was really disappointed when I got it. I didn’t have any way to make it sound louder or better back then. Only now can I at least get the volume to match.
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45RPM on one side and 33 1/3 on the other is bizarre!
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They should figure out a way to change it by song just to really screw with people. First song is 33 1/3, second is 45 RPM, then 78 RPM, etc. It’d keep the listener involved having to get up and screw with their speed settings every single song.
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How bizarre? How bizarre.
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