Brand new career-spanning set compiled by Guru Guru founding member Mani Neumeier and bandmates. Over three hours of music, divided into "Rock", "Space", and "World", on a journey through time and space from the 1960s to the 2000s. Stunningly packaged as a 3CD boxset or as an excellent gatefold, 180g multicolour splattered vinyl 2LP set with insert! Fully remastered!Formed in 1968 by drummer, singer and visionary Mani Neumeier, GURU GURU has been an institution for over five decades. Their own brand of "acid rock", often labelled as krautrock, has played an important part in musical history, not only in their native Germany but the world over, especially in the USA and Japan. With an ongoing musical career of 54 years, over 40 albums, more than a hundred radio and TV appearances, they have performed over 5,000 live shows to date. What they brought to the stage in the 1960s may well have been seen as shocking. Fusing free jazz with rock'n'roll, GURU GURU experimented with Asian and African rhythms and styles, incorporating these into their own brand of psychedelic cosmic rock. The musicians lived under the same roof as a commune, enjoyed hallucinogenic drugs and shared their political views on a regular basis, reading out statements during performances. Their live shows were - and still are - experiences, with the band surprising audiences, for instance when they released live chickens into the respectable Grugahalle in Essen, Germany. To this day, Mani Neumeier still performs their song "Elektrolurch" in a newt costume. As well as pioneering their own musical genre, GURU GURU were the first German band to perform at the legendary WDR Rockpalast show in 1976, and played a lead role in the German TV crime show Tatort (German for crime scene) the same year. In 1972 they performed a memorable show at the Germersheim festival (Germany) after Pink Floyd in front of an audience of over 100. 000. They co-founded the annual Finkenbach festival (Odenwald, Germany) in 1977, together with the Finkenbach fire department, regularly headlining until 2019. * Fun fact: in 1996, Mani Neumeier was the first German musician to have his own wax figure in Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Tokyo. Despite countless line-up changes, and more than a half century after the band's creation, today GURU GURU still shine with exuberance, as alive and active as ever, performing around 40 live shows a year. In anticipation of the band's forthcoming new studio album, Repertoire Records are releasing 3 FACES OF GURU GURU, a 3CD-box set also available on double vinyl, featuring 37 songs, handpicked by Mani Neumeier and his fellow bandmates, divided into the chapters "Rock", "Space" and "World", showcasing the musical spectrum of this iconic German band. 3 FACES OF GURU GURU is a must-have for collectors and fans, as well as newcomers to Mani Neumeier's musical cosmos, taking the listener on a journey through time and space from the 1960s to the 2000s, with over three hours of music. Welcome to the universe of one of the most outstanding contemporary musical groups. The "Psychedelic World Beat" or "Cosmic World Rock" of GURU GURU, or simply the GURU GURU Groove
P**N
Good compilation
Very good compilation, if you like the later Guru Guru.
C**D
Never a dull moment on this superb vinyl retrospective!
I was a little wary about ordering vinyl by post, but needn't have worried, as this came perfectly secured in a rigid pack, which ensured both disks and the magnificent gate-fold sleeve arrived in pristine condition.If you're a fan of a band, the value of any retrospective collection depends on the selection of tracks and how many of them you already own. Guru Guru have been a remarkably prolific band, with some 35 albums to their name. I already owned 4 of them and only have one track duplicated in this collection (Der LSD Marsch), which is so good, I certainly don't mind owning it twice).So, what to make of the Three Faces of Guru Guru? If the cover art is taken as a clue, you get some spaced-out material, some down-to-earth jazz/rock and a hefty dose of ethnic vibes. And that's pretty well spot-on. The jazz-orientated origins of Guru Guru are very evident here on tracks like Moroso and the irresistible rocking riffs on Jet Lag are sure to get your feet tapping. There is plenty of cosmic psychedelia here too - check out Space Baby and Jupiter God. And I absolutely love the tribal, vaguely shamanistic stomping vibe of Dark Blue Star, which reminds me of Vágtázó Halottkémek/Galloping Coroners. As a huge fan of the original Der Elektrolurch double album, I was delighted to find that this double set ends with a live performance of Elektrolurch Mutation - reprising the original bass riff but with a host of improv instrumentation accompanying it. Every track is held together by drumming legend Mani Neumeier's intricate tribal percussion.The presentation is wunderbar - the two disks are in satisfyingly heavy vinyl and you gotta love that trippy splattered finish! The gatefold album sleeve contains photos and illuminating sleeve notes about the history of the band in both German and English.Only thing to be aware of is that, not surprisingly, this vinyl version of this album contains fewer tracks than the CD triple album. You can always check out the additional tracks online but, believe me, the pick of the bunch is contained on this double vinyl version (with the possible exception of the brilliant Ooga Booga, which I already own on another Guru Guru album).It's albums like this that remind me how I fell in love with vinyl all over again!Absolutely superb!Danke für die Musik Mani (nicht zu vergessen deine Freunde)!
M**S
Mani Neumeier und Zeus B. Held mit ihrer Werkschau auf "splattered" Vinyl; Grossartig!
Was diese Krautrock - Helden mit Schweizer Wurzeln in über 60 Jahren aus ihren Hüten zauberten ist schlichtweg erstaunlich und grossartig.
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