With Understanding Comes Appreciation
Yes, this album sounds nothing like any other Ash Ra Tempel album. Yes, this album is light and frolicking. Yes, I love a lot of ART's other albums. But yes, this is my very favorite and it's just so fucking good! Almost 15 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 always 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, 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 kosmische 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.