Guru Guru - Don’t Call Us (We Call You) / Wah Wah / Shake Well

Follow the second Guru along the path to true enlightenment…

Guru Guru formed in 1968 and, like Soft Machine, blended improvised jazz into their psychrock formations, giving early albums such as UFO an exciting edge. The previous batch of Guru reissues were most welcome, especially the phenomenal Hey Du from 1979. This new crop commences with 1973’s Don’t Call Us (We Call You), which, like 1974’s Dance Of The Flames, featured the power trio of Ax Genrich (guitar), Hans Hartmann (bass) and Mani Neumeier (drums/ keyboards). It is, in many respects, prime space-rock, with the likes of 200 Clichés and Das Zwickmaschinchen still sounding fresh and inventive.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Wah Wah and Shake Well. By this time the band were Gurus in name only, producing mildmannered rock that has its moments, but does nothing to trouble the Richter scale. Indeed, on Shake Well, their version of Mystery Train is something of a musical low point. So, fans of Krautrock should buy the first of these reissues, and only buy the second two if their devotion to their Guru is total. That said, as with all Revisited’s reissue CDs, the packaging and liner notes with rare photographs are all first class, and, as always, there are bonus tracks.

SPV/Revisited | SPV 305322 / SPV 305342 /

Reviewed by Ian Shirley
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