Guru Guru - 1973 - Guru Guru

Guru Guru
1973
Guru Guru

01. Samantha's Rabbit (3:02)
02. Medley: Rocken Mit Eduard / Something Else... (13:30)
03. Woman Drum (4:02)
04. Der Elektrolurch (9:48)
05. The Story of Life (12:08)

Ax Genrich / guitar, vocals
Mani Neumeier / percussion, drums, keyboards, vocals
Conrad Plank / guitar, keyboards
Bruno Schaab / bass, vocals

I have never thought progressive rock'n roll could be possible, until i heard this album. Actually, it is a mix of slightly bluesy progressive rock'n roll with krautrock elements: both are clearly distinct. The musicians put together many catchy inspirations from miscellaneous popular rock'n roll bands of the 60's & early 70's, like The Yardbirds, a less hard rock Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, and even Elvis Presley himself! The result is quite interesting, since the matching is really succeeded and the airs are often changing in an elegant, accessible and pleasant manner. The well played electric guitar sound is pretty sharp for the year, and the solos are quite down to earth, while not being minimalist. The drums are quite elaborated, and they sometimes fall into an experimental krautrock style a la Can. The lead singer has a typical rock'n roll voice, with a slightly marginal touch. The credits mention the presence of keyboards, but it really sounds like there are no keyboards on this record. Unfortunately, the 2 last tracks "Der elektrolurch" and "The story of life" contain disappointing krautrock elements: the first 4 minutes of "Der elektrolurch" is an interesting part of sophisticated bluesy rock'n roll, but the mid part is just a boring manifestation of the dull krautrock style: insignificant guitar sounds and vocals effects. However, the last couples of minutes come back with a more accessible part, slightly reminding Billy Idol's early stuff, at least the Steve Stevens' style on the electric guitars. "The story of life" is really more mellow and less rhythmic: the krautrock style emanates from it, in a bearable way, at least much more than their cousins Can. Since the krautrock parts on this record are less dominant than the progressive rock'n roll ones.