GURU GURU 88

This is a wacky one and just like the previous 'Jungle' features a female vocalist, Lysa Kraus, an amalgam of Nina Hagen and The B- 52s. Really. This is the Guru Guru of the late 80s so don't expect the early Krautrock experiments or tripped out jazz-rock blowouts of the seventies. Head Guru Mani Nuemeier had spent most of the eighties on individual projects and was trying out new things with the newly reformed Guru Guru. Released on the German Casino label that was better known for jazz/techno/dance artists, the contemporary craze. It features the late Hans Reffert who was the most recent guitarist/composer for Guru Guru so we do get some really interesting well produced stuff here. The 8 tracks are quite different from one another but as a whole Guru Guru '88 is very psychedelic. The biggest surprise is a spooky electronic instrumental track titled 'His Time' which is dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe, author of the strange and macabre. Probably the most bizarre cover version of 'Batman' ever recorded appears here and is barely recognizable save for the Batman hyena screeches and includes Mani Nuemeier silliness or else it would not be a Guru Guru album, would it?. The groovin' 'Work', 'Take It All' and 'Jim Jimmy' are straight off the dance floor. On the funky 'Dig That Fun' Lysa Kraus flaunts her impressive R&B panache.The instrumental 'Long Ago' tacquires a more vapourous jazzy feel.. Finally, 'Guru Guru Shake' is a catchy Carib/East Indian world beat fusion with a guest drummer Master Paramashivam Pillal.

I have been a fan of Guru Guru since the early seventies so this esoteric 1988 album or EP ( running time clocks in at just over 30 minutes ).didn't faze me. My only problem here is that the development potential on some tracks was not exploited to the fullest. It is nonetheless a half an hour of some really fun stuff. from one of the most 'out there' bands ever.