AMG Review of Space Ship (The Best of Guru Guru, Pt. 1)

Mike DeGagne
All Music Guide

The heavy, acid-grind sound of German progsters Guru Guru sprouted in the late '60s and early '70s alongside bands such as Amon Duul, Can, and Faust, but were never regarded with as much acclaim. Sounding more penetrable, more bleak, and even more off- the-wall and experimental, Guru Guru soon became an underground Krautrock group, but still carried the bass-heavy riffs and eerie guitar surges to ignite a slightly larger-than-cult following. Space Ship: The Best of Guru Guru, Part 1 covers their early material, when the band was in their most exploratory stage. Growling bass and electric guitar runs combine to create a weighted down, progressive groove that sounds like it's coming from the depths of space. Drummer and vocalist Mani Neumier is the band's mainstay, coming to life on the 11-minute "Ooga Booga" and again on the uncanny sounding "Der LSD-Marsch" from 1971. The thick and sluggish pace of their music, coupled with the bizarre rhythms and unbalanced song structures, makes Guru Guru one of the most extraordinary bands to evolve from the progressive scene. Ending with the spaced-out chords of "Der Elektrolurch" from 1974, this compilation is an intriguing and mysterious trip through one of the most eccentric bands to evolve from its respective genre.