Ax Genrich "Helicopters"

Ax Genrich Psychedelic Guitar CD (ATM Records, 1994)

Ax Genrich was the ax slinger in the most vital era of the krautrock trio Guru Guru: UFO Hinten Känguru Guru Guru Don't Call Us, (We Call You) Admittedly, I've not heard a ton of what followed, but a good deal of what I've heard has been stinky. The relatively recent albums In the Guru Lounge and 30 Jahre Live (a triple CD set!) are enjoyable, however; I regret buying neither. After leaving Guru Guru, Ax put together a lil' supergroup under the name Highdelberg and released one eponymous album in 1976. Honestly, it's pleasant but forgetable; I'm listening to it as I type this, and despite owning it for probably close to a decade, the songs don't really sound familiar. I'm not sure what he did for the next couple of decades, but in 1994 his first proper solo album appeared, Psychedelic Guitar. Today's selection comes from it, in fact! It was followed in 1995 by Wave Cut. Both are pretty great, imo. A decade later, he did a couple of live jam albums with Mani Neumeier (also from Guru Guru) on drums and Dave Schmidt (no clue who he is) on bass. I need to hear them!