For all the love I give the first three Ash Ra Tempel releases (the self-titled one, Schwingungen, and Join Inn) Starring Rosi is another record that came out in ’73 (along with the aforementioned Join Inn and the Ash Ra/Timothy Leary collaboration Seven Up) that is worthy of a listen. Recorded by the venerable Dieter Dierks and released on a subsidiary of Ohr called Kosmiche Musik (the infamous label run by RU Kaiser), it heavily features Rosi Muller on vocals.
Two years removed from the first Ash Ra Tempel album, Starring Rosi marked a turning point in the band’s (well…Manuel Gottsching’s) sound. Instead of having two side-long, epic psych jams, there are seven tightly-structured songs. Without Harmut Enke or Klaus Schulze in tow, Gottsching played pretty much every instrument except for drums. Those were provided by Harald Grosskopf of Wallenstein. When you hear this record in relation to both Join Inn and 1975’s Inventions For Electric Guitar (sometimes simply credited as a Manuel Gottsching record) the transitional sound is more readily apparent.
Described by Julian Cope in Krautrocksampler as “an entirely different direction, more accessible and very commercially successful. I find it of no use at all after what Ash Ra Tempel had come to represent, but at least Gottsching was still alive.” I wouldn’t be so dismissive, but then again what the fuck do I know. I’ve never written a book on the genre, and even if I did I’m sure most people would prefer Cope’s opinions to mine.
Ash Ra Tempel
Starring Rosi
(Kosmiche Musick, 1973)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Laughter Loving [MP3]
02. Day-Dream
03. Schizo
04. Cosmic Tango
05. Interplay Of Forces
06. The Fairy Dance
07. Bring Me Up
