Wah Wah

by Thom JurekWah Wah is a 1995 recording that follows this band's stretch and includes the replacement of guitarist Razem Rübel with Dieter Bornschlegel, who is another rock classicist and a solid role player in a larger team setting. Wah Wah is less predictable, spacier, and a little more unsettling than its predecessor. It also rocks considerably harder. Drummer, vocalist and leader Mani Neumeier sounds less like Geddy Lee here in his phrasing, and is more out and out weird (and yes, that is a good thing). There are some bad funk indulgences such as "Iddi Killer (West)," with its horns and faux-rap vocal, but it's not a detriment. Check out the Hendrix lift from "Foxy Lady," in "Radstafari In Bayuaari," and the hyper drumming and percussion in "Wunder." The completely rockist title track with flipped-out guitar heaviness is the album's touchstone track, and is almost worth the price of purchase alone. All in all, though Guru Guru were no longer the Krautrock unit of old, they certainly rocked.