01	Freak 'n' Roll						19:14
	02	Jenseits						24:13

Klaus Schuize - Drums, Keyboards, Electronics
Manuel Gottsching - Synthesizer, Guitar
Harmut Enke - Bass, Guitar
Rolf Ulrich Kaiser - Producer

Rosi: Stimme

Recorded December 1972 during the production of the LP "Tarot" at Studio Dierks.

Rerelease 1991 Tempel, Spalax Music, Paris, France

ASH RA TEMPEL
Along with Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel (later Ashra) was one of the first bands to convert the trippier side of late-'60s psychedelia into the kosmische rock of the 70s. Most Ash Ra titles were solely the work of Manuel Gottsching, plus any other additional players who happened to be around during the recording of his ten albums. Gottsching trained in classical guitar and studied improvisational music plus electronics at school. In 1970, he formed Ash Ra Tempel with no less than Klaus Schuize (fresh from a brief stint in Tangerine Dream) and Hartmut Enke. After a self-titled album in 1971, Schuize left for a solo career; Gottsching continued on with a variety of band-members and guests, including Timothy Leary on 1973's Seven Up (and Schuize again, for Join Inn). By 1975, Gottsching had released his first solo album (Inventions for Electric Guitar) and though Ashra returned the following year, the next two records by the "group" were Gottsching-only albums, the brilliant New Age of Earth in 1976 and Blackouts one year later. For the 1980s, most Ashra LPs were band-setting albums (with the assistance of guitarist Lutz Ulbrich and drummer Harald Grosskopf) while Gottsching solo records (like the landmark E2-E4) were, truly, solo records. He also reunited with Schuize to work on Alphaville's 1989 LP, The Breathtaking Blue. JOIN INN Ash Ra became a working power-trio for Join Inn, with Gottsching on guitar, Hartmut Enke on bass and space-rock hero Klaus Schuize on drums, organ and synth. The title of the A-side ("Freak 'N' Roll") sums up the music quite well, while the B-side "Jenseits" is a prescient kosmische jam with occasional voicings from Rosi Mueller. - John Bush

JOIN INN
(released by: ASH RA TEMPEL)

Year Of Release: 1973
Overall rating = 9

Late night jam session by a bunch of avantgardists. Boy, what a hangover...
Best song: FREAK'N'ROLL

I realize that Join Inn is not the best way to be introduced to the wonders of the Kosmische Rock of Germany's second-trippiest band (the first one, of course, was Tangerine Dream), but unfortunately this is the way I was introduced to their music, and we'll just have to deal with it. While this is a regular Ash Ra Tempel release, it's a little odd because most of the music on here was recorded after Manuel Goettsching and Hartmut Enke spent an entire day working on a side project with lots of other musicians. Then they kinda went into an artistic state of affairs, you know how it happens, and stayed up late at night together with former band member Klaus Schulze and Manuel's girlfriend that goes by the name of Rosi (and looks pretty beautiful and Gothic in a Teutonic kind of way in the inner sleeve) to commit their inspiration to tape. So anybody who'd want to slam Join Inn for ugliness, idleness and simplicity will be in a stupid position. The best argument is "why did they agree to release it?", but even that one can be beat with a "this is specially intended for diehard fans" response.
So I'll try to evade strong expressions here: I give the record a pretty low (but not too low) rating, and that's that. Otherwise, it's just two jams. Well, actually, only the track that occupies the first side can be called a "jam". If 'Freak'n'Roll' actually reminds me of anything, that'd probably be the live performances of Cream: a power trio that goes off in all directions, where each member is trying to prove his total independence from the others. Goettsching keeps pumping the wah-wah pedal and gives off all kinds of jazzy solos, sometimes favouring blues intonations, sometimes Eastern ones, sometimes just freaking out. Enke displays his best Bruce-style bass chops, never playing a straight bass rhythm, always improvising and finding new clues every five seconds. And Schulze bashes out all kinds of convoluted rhythms and polyrhythms. The only difference from Cream is that Cream would play it dirtier - Bruce would put up some fuzz, Clapton would throw in some distortion, and Baker would just kick the bass drum two times where Schulze only kicks it once, and he would never stay away from the cymbals while Schulze sometimes does. Add some dirtiness, and you could easily paste this stuff into the middle of 'Spoonful' and nobody'd notice.
It's a cool jam, though, as far as technique is concerned. I like it when their improvisation occasionally carries them over to the point where the whole band just goes mad, especially that moment right near the beginning, at about 2:20 into the song when Manuel gets wilder and wilder and Klaus seems to be deliberating on whether he should follow or he shouldn't follow and then he finally makes his decision and starts playing faster and faster and Enke follows them and Goettsching decides it's time to speed up and bring it all up to the boiling point and then he leads the band higher and higher and they all produce a hell of a noise and then it all kinda falls apart and nothing like that ever happens afterwards because the moment of musical orgasm has already passed and you know it takes time to gather your forces after the first orgasm, right?
The second part, called 'Jenseits', couldn't be further away from Cream, though. This time it's a piece of cosmic ambient meditation, notably better than anything Tangerine Dream had earlier performed on Zeit, but not much better. Enke and Goettsching are just about absent here (although I do hear a steady bassline here and there and maybe some of the sounds I take for synths are actually guitar-made), and the scene belongs to Schulze. He hauls out the organs and synthesizers and builds up an atmosphere; actually, I remember reading somewhere that on certain spots on the track he even plays synthesized drums, but you sure couldn't tell. Anyway, this is just music to relax to. Rosi, the girl, adds some impromptu wordings throughout the first half of the track; I can't make out the German words, but that's hardly important - you're only supposed to pay attention to the soothing, but dark sounds of her voice and that's that. It's not Nico or anything, although the mood is definitely Gothic. It's also good news that the mood of the track isn't 'disrupted': it flows along just like any ambient music is supposed to flow. Which makes me wonder - whoever it was who said Brian Eno invented ambient? This is just as ambient-ish as anything Eno would record (not to mention that it's actually prettier than, say, Music For Airports), and maybe more. Eno was still letting out the warm jets at the time. Not that I have anything against Eno - he's a great composer, innovator, and populariser, but let's get our originality priorities straight. (Not that I'm implying Ash Ra Tempel invented ambient, but this is the earliest pure ambient track I've heard, without traces of industrial-schmindustrial or anything like that).
In any case, Join Inn was just a little 'divertissement', so don't you make my mistake and don't get acquainted with the band through this album. But on a cold dark night when there's nothing like a game of Russian roulette to cheer up your spirit and your trusty board of nails had gotten rusty, Join Inn is truly one excellent way to drive away the gruesome thoughts of everyday routine and petty common problems. Just turn on, tune in, you know the rest.


Ash Ra Tempel - "Join Inn" (1973) The original line- up of the band were re- united for the recording of the 4th Ash Ra Tempel album. And believe me, it's not hard to hear that this is the same line- up as on the debut- album. Just as the debut- album, this album consists of two tracks where the first is a energetic jam while the last is a atmospheric and floating track dominated by keyboards and electronics. As the title may suggests, "Freak'n'Roll" is the rocking track. As always, Gottsching contributes with great and spacey guitar playing, and the whole track is a quite inspired improvisation. But personally I like the electronic side of the band best, and "Jenseits" is no exception. Wonderful, dreamy, spacey, mystic and VERY atmospheric track that takes you to a far away and dreamy place. The track also featured some lyrics which was spoken by Gottsching's girlfriend Rosi Moller. The track would have fit onto any of Klaus Schulze's 70's albums. I just can't get enough of stuff like this! Wonderful! This, and the first album are probably Ashra Tempel's best albums.




Ash Ra Tempel
AKA: Ashra, Manuel Gottsching

Discography

Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
Schwingungen (1972)
Seven Up (1973)
Join Inn (1973)
Starring Rosi (1973)
Inventions for Electric Guitar (1975)
New Age of Earth (1976)
Blackouts (1977)
Correlations (1979)
Belle Alliance (1980)
E2-E4 (1984)
Walkin' the Desert (1989)
Dream & Desire (1991)
Tropical Heat (1991)
Le Berceau di Cristal (1993)
Private Tapes Vol. 1-6 (1996)
Sauce Hollandaise (1998)
@shra (1998)
The Best of the Private Tapes (1998)
Friendship (2000)
Gin Rose at Royal Festival Hall (2000)

Comprehensive Gnosis Ash Ra Page http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/ashra.htm

County Of Origin: Germany
Established: 1970
Styles: Krautrock




| Reviews
Biography

One of the most formidable of the German Krautrock groups, Ash Ra Tempel were a powerful force led by guitarist Manuel Gottsching, and whose ranks also included (former Tangerine Dream) drummer Klaus Schulze at various points as well as, later on, former Agitation Free guitarist Lutz Ulbrich. The group was heavily based around Gottsching's fiery guitar work, and creating a number of albums that stand as some of the ultimate space-rock classics ever. Their self-titled debut in particular is widely recognized as one of the most monstrous displays of sheer cosmic force ever put to record, while their second, Schwingungen is nearly as good. The third album, Seven Up, is a collaboration with LSD guru Timothy Leary, but is unfortunately supposed to be something of a let down, though I haven't heard it myself. Thankfully, Join Inn is nearly as good as the first two, featuring the return of Schulze behind the drums, though the album would unfortunately be his final appreance with the group, as he went onto a prolific solo career. Gottsching's later work varied between solo albums and those within a group format, although I personally haven't ventured past 1973's somewhat mediocre Starring Rosi quite yet. - Greg Northrup [September 2001]

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Ash Ra Tempel (1971)

Never has the term "monster" been used to more adequately describe an album than in the case of Ash Ra Tempel's classic debut. Without a doubt one of the absolute pinnacles of the Krautrock movement, this album is a thundering masterpiece of unrestrained experimentalism and absolutely searing atmospheres. Ash Ra Tempel is a completely instrumental work, and makes use of furious percussion, droning keyboards and guitars, and masterful use of repetitive tension as well as dense, mysterious atmospheres before releasing into explosive solo guitar licks courtesy of Gottsching.

The album is made up of two tracks, the furious "Amboss" (perhaps one of the finest guitar freak-outs ever put to record), and the more varied "Traummaschine", meaning "Dream Machine" in German, which incidentally gives a pretty good idea of how it sounds. "Amboss" opens with some droning keyboard riffs before gradually building up behind Schulze's unrelenting percussive attack, and then exploding into a cataclysmic orgy of blazing guitar, crashing cymbals and rumbling bass. The song builds and releases in this fashion constantly throughout its 19 minutes, yet without a second wasted. "Traummacshine" takes its time building up, beginning with cosmic synthesizer drones, after which a repetitive guitar line drifts in. Before you know it, ten minutes have passed, and soft percussive pulses have entered the mix. By then, the build up has become tangible, gradually becoming faster and more intense, above which huge droning echoes rumble through the speakers like howling solar winds. The song builds and releases constantly, with the entire bottom falling out occasionally, leaving only wandering guitar notes or a lone bassline amidst the swirling ambiance. Overall, this album propels the listener into the furthest reaches of desolate space like few others. A clear cut masterpiece. - Greg Northrup [May 2001]


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Schwingungen (1972)
The follow up to Ash Ra Tempel's classic debut sees the departure of Klaus Schulze as well as the introduction of vocals, marking a slight change in the direction of the band. Nonetheless, their style is still tremendously intense and spaced-out, as always focused around the frenetic guitar work of Manuel Gottsching. The vocal style is extremely unique, almost like schizophrenic ranting, and does little to streamline the group's sound at all. The first two tracks are highlighted by this new vocal style, "Light: Look at Your Sun" is creepy, if somewhat sedate, but still introduces the atmosphere effectively. The real masterpiece on this album however, is the impossibly intense "Darkness: Flowers Must Die". Raging percussion and biting saxophone lines complement Gottsching's severe guitar assault. On top of it all are the madman vocals, screaming and ranting through a variety of voice effects and guiding the track through its numerous explosive climaxes. Words fail in attempting to describe the emotional urgency and sheer power of this track, often recalling the finer moments of the first album through its instrumental holocaust, but taking things to another plateau with its own uniquely chaotic approach. "Suche & Liebe" is an exercise in Tangerine Dream-ish ambiance, with heavy guitar effects and droning electronics. Successful to a point, but lacks the fiery guitar style that I listen to this band for. More dynamics such as on the debut's "Traummaschine" would have been enjoyed. Still, Schwingungen is another excellent album from Ash Ra Tempel, a step down from the first, but certainly no slouch in its own right. - Greg Northrup [May 2001]

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Join Inn (1973)

Yet another fundamental guitar oriented Krautrock album from Manuel Gottsching, and one that continues in the same basic style as the first two albums. Overall, Join Inn sounds a lot more mature and developed, yet on the other hand, a tad more restrained. The album sees the reinstitution of Klaus Schulze on drums and is structured almost in the same manner as the debut, with one side devoted to a guitar oriented jam, and the second to a more ambient, yet still quite dynamic, extended track. "Freak N' Roll" features a heavy percussive attack and slithering basslines beneath Gottsching's more delicate touch. The song even shows off a slight jazzy sensibility, and overall doesn't have the same deep space vibe as the previous two albums. Instead, its a lot more down to earth, much more mature, and playing is extremely tasteful and pleasant. The intermittent climaxes still rock hard, but don't approach the shuddering heights of the self-titled debut. "Jenseits" is another stab at an ambient, ethereal piece in the vein of "Suche & Liebe" from Schiwingungen, and is in my opinion a lot more emotional and dynamic. The vocals of Rosi Mueller are quite beautiful, and are perfect atop the developing bed of synthesizer and electronic drones and flourishes. Basically, Join Inn, along with the first two albums, are supposed to be the essential works from Ash Ra Tempel, and I certainly haven't been disappointed by any of the three. This would be the final album of the classic lineup, as the group would be reduced to basically Manuel Gottsching and his girlfriend, Rosi, as well as a revolving door of guest musicians. - Greg Northrup [May 2001]

1. Freak 'N' Roll - 19:15
2. Jenseits - 24:18

Manuel Gottsching - Synthesizer, Guitar
Harmut Enke - Bass, Guitar
Klaus Schulze - Percussion, Keyboards, Electronics
Rosi Mueller - Vocals

Spalax Music - 14246 - 1993

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Starring Rosi (1973)

This album is something of a disappointment for me in light of the band's prior achievements, and is definitely quite different from any of the previous albums. Klaus Schulze has departed for good, as has steady bassist Harmut Enke. Musically, the sound here is much lighter, upbeat and slightly jazzy. Basically, every song is written around Gottsching's still great guitar work, with his girlfriend Rosi adding her ethereal vocals on top. One problem however, is that the vocals are in English, which really doesn't work out very well, as they are heavily accented and feature simply embarrassing lyrics. Nonetheless, Gottsching's playing is still the highlight here, and despite flirting with shorter songs and more compact material, its still very good and displays his avant-garde mentality. His playing is perhaps more mature and tasteful than on any of the previous albums. Still, its pretty plain to see that Ash Ra Tempel are no longer the same apocalyptic force capable of unleashing the thundering power of classics such as "Amboss" or "Darkness: Flowers Must Die". As long as you keep the group's past triumphs out of your mind, Starring Rosi is a relaxing and enjoyable album, but not something I ever really pull out when I'm in the mood for Ash Ra Tempel. - Greg Northrup [May 2001]


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The Best of The Private Tapes
[2CD Archive - Purple Pyramid - 1998]

Originally published in Reels of Dreams Unrolled No. 6, September 29, 1998
Just as I had decided I liked Ash Ra Tempel one day recently, I encountered this new double CD of outtakes and rare tracks from this seminal German space rock band. These two CDs, released on the new and ubiquitous Purple Pyramid label are compiled from six separately sold CDs, collectively known as The Private Tapes.

This set reveals Ash Ra Tempel, Ashra and Manuel Gottsching (all one and the same, more or less) as being purveyors of 70s electronic music at its best, worst and everything in between. Here, one can find everything from bad Hawkwind-like, three-chord space blues ditties to long spacey synth-driven spaceouts similar to what made fellow Berlin School mates Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze (who played drums on the first Ash Ra Tempel album) famous. Fortunately, the long synth pieces outnumber the three-minute rock-n-roll tracks. Unfortunately, however, there is nothing on this set in the wonderfully heavy vein of Ash Ra Tempel's magnificent first album. Neither do the solo Manuel Gottsching pieces live up to the glory of his Inventions For Electric Guitar album. Most of the tracks are fairly simple and feature Gottsching's guitar solos over a bed of simplistic, repetitive synth sequences. Sometimes Gottsching wails and sometimes he simply plucks a couple mysterious notes over and over again. Most of the best music on this album is quite reminiscent of Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze, but it always falls just a little short in terms of creativity. Two of my favorite tracks are the wonderfully exhilarating "Hausaufgabe," and the creepy, early track "Gedanken." The first features Gottsching soloing over an unusually happy sounding foundation of organ, synth and a rather primitive sounding drum machine. It's not as cheesy as it may sound. Somehow it works. The latter track shows how avant-garde Ash Ra Tempel could be when they wanted to. It utilizes some veird volume swell techniques to create a slowly undulating atmosphere of cymbal washes, guitar and who knows what else. This is very much a product of German space music's early days when creepy was cool.

This album is a good purchase. About 75% of the tracks are enjoyable. Considering the uneven nature of this set, however, I would be afraid to hear the worst of The Private Tapes if this stuff is the best. - Scott Hamrick [September 1998]