GURU GURU Mani Und Seine Freunde (CD)

(MIG Music) 10 tracks, digisleeve, incl. booklet

For almost 58 years, Mani Neumeier, the enfant terrible of German rock music, and his band Guru Guru have been among the most consistent and innovative groups in German rock history. Far removed from the mainstream, Guru Guru have always gone their own way with their synthesis of experimental rock, avant-garde approaches, jazz variations, and world music influences. This is also the case on the album “Mani und seine Freunde” (Mani and His Friends).

It was 1974, and Mani Neumeier had actually already disbanded his Gurus at the end of the year. But shortly afterwards, the energetic drummer and singer found himself in the studio with a few friends to record a quasi “solo album,” which was eventually released under the Guru Guru label. Mani made a call, and the “who's who” of the German Krautrock scene answered his call: Dieter Moebius and Achim Rodelius from Harmonia, Ingo Bischof and Tommy Goldschmidt from Karthago, Helmut Hattler, Jan Fride, and Peter Wolbrandt from Kraan, former Guru Guru guitarist Ax Genrich, guitarist Sepp Jandrisits, bassist Jogi Karpenkiel, who would be part of the next Guru Guru lineup, and—somewhat outside the norm—American blues singer and pianist Champion Jack Dupree.

In keeping with the large number of musicians involved, “Mani and His Friends” is stylistically very diverse. It ranges from light-hearted, funky jazz rock à la Kraan – most of the pieces were written with the collaboration of Hattler and Wohlbrandt – to balanced ethno jazz rock and Mani's pun-filled rock “Chicken Rock,” which was celebrated on “Tango Fango” just under a year and a half later. The centerpiece of the album is the percussive long track “From Another World.” After that, “1, 2, 3, 4, Marsch'n'Rock” lifts the mood enormously. The track transitions into a radio broadcast of Champion Jack Dupree's “Drink Wine,” thus concluding a very successful album.