Guru Guru - Live

Formed in 1970, Guru Guru was a German prog rock outfit whose largely instrumental work set the group squarely within the boundaries of Krautrock. While guitarist Ax Genric, Uli Trepte, and keyboardist/drummer (and Cluster collaborator) Mani Neumeier remained the core of the band throughout its ten-year existence, a number of other musicians passed through the band's ranks, including Cluster co-founder Hans-Joachim Roedelius, who played keyboards on 1976's Mani und Seine Freunde, and keyboardist Ingo Bischof, who assumed increasing control of the group until its 1979 dissolution following the release of Hey Du, recorded under the name the Guru Guru Sun Band.

This is the bonus disc in this reunion package and is something to get excited about. It comes from a 1971 fan tape of the band in Frankfurt, and is one of the few boots of the band in it’s prime. There are three tracks on it, all of them long jam tunes -- "Bo Diddley," "Babycakewalk," and "Oxymoron." This is so far ahead of its time it is unbelievable. Each song flows with the wildness of an extended Hendrix solo, while retaining a sense of heaviness and sloppy rock’n’roll parts. Completely drug fueled free jazz musicians playin’ the blues. What is better than that? If there was one rock band Sun Ra should’ve gotten together with, it was these guys. Any fan of early Hawkwind, and even the Greatful Dead (in their trippier moments) should definitely check this out. The dynamics, spontaneity, and sheer craziness that this band was capable of in their true 1971 prime is pure excitement. The other 2 discs are basically reunion schlock and totally useless so I’m saving your ears and disc space by avoiding them.

gurulive