Dance Of The Flames

Following Ax Genrich's departure, Guru Guru added Eiliff's Houschäng Nejadépour on guitar, releasing the histrionics of Dance Of The Flames. It's a great record, combining guitar-heavy, instrumental fusion with the band's usual goofiness. "Dagobert Duck's 100th Birthday" contains the typically quirky Guru Guru melody; but here, a heavy arrangement dominates, with Hans Hartmann's bass up in the mix. "The Girl from Hirschhorn" and "The Day of Timestop" showcase Nejadépour's exceptional guitar playing, with the latter even charting Mahavishnu Orchestra territory. The title track covers similar ground—except for Neumeier's backwards drumming! The band gets acoustic for the next few tracks; "Samba Das Rosas" is just that, while "Rallulli" is ethnically percussive. Nejadépour's solo acoustic guitar track "At the Juncture of Light and Dark" leads into the electric fireworks of "God's Endless Love for Men," reprising the promise of the first side. But it wouldn't last; despite a brief interlude with Gila's Conny Veit, the band broke up in 1974. Neumeier would spend the next year or so doing session work, as part of Genrich's Highdelberg project and, most notably, on Harmonia's Deluxe album. He then worked with Conny Plank to record a solo album for Atlantic in 1975, Mani Und Seine Freunde. Featuring members of Kraan, Karthago, Kollektiv and Harmonia, it wrapped up his post-Guru Guru work experience, while musically-with its funky, up-tempo and Zappa-esque lunacy on "Chicken Rock" and ethereal tribal rhythm on "From Another World"-it pointed to Neumeier's future.