Starring Rosi by Ash Ra Tempel: the definitive trip into cerebral space land

With Understanding Comes Appreciation

Yes, this album sounds nothing like any other Ash Ra Tempel album. Yes, this album is light and frolicking. And yes, this is one of my favorite AT albums, and it's so good! Almost 10 years ago, I discovered this LP on other hot day. What a summer album! Is it because of the cover? The lively intro? I have no idea. The music is fascinating. A far cry from Krautrock, which is at times somewhat dull, with its endless jamming and guitar thumping. Here, structures shine through the summer evening freshness. The guitars shimmer here, acoustic and electric. The Wah Wah pedal has to do its job faithfully, the drums are airy, loose and lightly beaten, they even swim in milk. The synths drone their way through the undergrowth and support the string instruments wherever they can. The bass stays discreetly in the background but is still present. Rosemarie Müller with her crisp voice does the rest.

The bases were loaded with their previous albums and this little gem here just hit a Grand Slam for the fans.

Including more vocals (from guest Rosi Mueller) than any early Ash Ra LP, Starring Rosi spans guitar-virtuoso experimental rock (on Laughter Loving) fairy-tale acoustic pop (on Day Dream), and cosmic philosophy (on Interplay of Forces). Though it smacks of a school lesson or kind of (with Göttsching showing off his skills in a number of different styles), the album holds together surprisingly well, to the point that has become one of my fav albums not only in the Krautrock scene, but in the whole Prog-Rock realm.

Unlike their previous work, as can be seen, this album is made of shorter tracks that don't venture directly off into space but instead present a range of styles, in shorter not always very developed tracks that possess song-structure characteristics to mild and varying degrees. A broader variety of instrumentation here (sometimes acoustic guitar, synthesizer, female and male vocals, hand drums and shakers, psychedelic effects, mellotron...) and a generally mellower sound as well. Drums are not always present and jam qualities are less overt, though they do permeate the album. Definitely worth a listen for fans of Krautrock, and different in interesting ways from their so called "better albums" Schwingungen, and Ash Ra Tempel.

Let's take a look at the content & credits.

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Laughter Loving (8:00)

2. Day Dream (5:21)

3. Schizo (2:47)

4. Cosmic Tango (2:06)

5. Interplay of Forces (8:58)

6. The Fairy Dance (3:07)

7. Bring Me Up (4:33)

Total Time 34:52

Line-up / Musicians

- Manuel Göttsching / electric & acoustic (6- & 12-string) guitars, bass, electric piano, Mellotron, synthesizer, congas, vocals, producer

- Rosi Müller / voice & vocals, vibraphone, concert harp

With:

- Harald Grosskopf / drums

- Dieter Dierks / bass & percussion (7), chorus arrangement (2)

Starring Rosi is Ash Ra Tempel's 5th album, and a departure from the density, cerebral, complexity and intensity of the previous 3 studio albums as well as the drugged out live Seven Up outing. Göttsching recruited Dieter Dierks (Scorpions, a million others) not only for his usual superb production ability, but also for bass guitar duty. As well, Kosmische Kourier / Wallenstein standby drummer Harald Grosskopf makes his presence felt (and would later join Manuel in his Ashra trio format of the late 70s and early 80s). As stated in the premise, the album's contents are completely different from the emotional workouts of their previous studio offerings. The mood is light and carefree but arguably more sophisticated and refined. And it appears as if Manuel and Rosi are just having a fun date here (she does glow radiantly on the album cover, one must admit). The guitar style shown on the latter half of Join Inn's Freak N' Roll makes its presence on Interplay of Forces and Laughter Loving. Schizo recalls the intensity of the earlier albums but is sadly all too short. Through it all we have Rosi's lovely spoken voice (in English verse the German of Join Inn) and a bit of ill-advised singing from Manuel (something he fortunately gave up quickly).

The album sounds a bit like a precursor to some Ashra albums (Blackouts and Correlations) in guitar/melody territory, and indeed the only instrumentalist present on any of the other Ash Ra Tempel albums is Manuel Göttsching (Rosi Mueller, Göttsching's girlfriend, did provide vocals on Jenseits on Join Inn). Only Day Dream, Schizo and Interplay of Forces really contain much resemblance to prior albums, and while generally less accessible than the rest of the music on this album, they are much more accessible than earlier material, so this could serve as an excellent entry to the music of Ash Ra Tempel —accessible yet complex.

My favorites are Interplay of Forces (a nice melodic rhythmic kraut jam) and Schizo (a sad and compelling spacey almost Jane-like trip out). Interplay of Forces is actually my favorite Ash Ra Tempel song —it is psychedelic, spacey, melodic, rhythmic, jamming, and varied and I'd have to listen to the whole of their s/t or Join Inn to get all that I get from these 9 minutes. The piece starts with an ethereal and acid introduction, while Rosi recites some esoteric psychedelic lyrics on an inspired tone, alternately in English and German language, creating a fascinating atmosphere. Then it takes off with a stunning drum /guitar flight. This piece is an absolute gem of the genre, sublimated by fantastic sound quality on this very piece.

Manuel Göttsching shows his impressive guitar skills throughout the album, like in the excellent first piece, Laughter Loving, a joyful opener with stunning acid and fluent guitar parts. All the short pieces feature solid rhythmic and excellent guitar. A very good album, ranging from lively pieces to space cosmic rock summits. Ash Ra Tempel's Starring Rosi is a definitive trip into cerebral space land. Starring Rossi is a clash of Space & Psychedelic influences and is one of the most accessible spaced-out recordings of all time. Featuring the original space-guitar compositions of Manuel Göttsching smothered in the female narration of some cosmic chick named Rosi. An excellent album from start to finish and in my opinion an essential album.

By the way, there are good news for Ash Ra Tempel fans and newcomers; since the digital and streaming era began a couple of decades ago, the discography of Ash Ra Tempel wasn't available in any plataform until few months ago. Fortunately, Apple Music for the first time, offers the music of the band in lossless resolution at 44.1 kHz/16 Bits (CD Quality) including Starring Rosi. Unfortunately, as far I know, it is the only streaming platform offering most of the catalog of the band.