STARRING ROSI

As the title suggests, this is Manuel Gottsching's "let's have my girlfriend talk or sing over all the tracks" album. That said, it's not too bad, but I certainly don't love all the songs here. The album opener, "Laughter Loving," begins with Rosi laughing obnoxiously into an echo effect, followed by a suprisingly cheerful guitar jam. Cheerful (to not call it loopy) for a guy who made some intense, brain-searing music just a few years prior. Anyway, the next track, "Day Dream," has grown on me in a big way: it features acoustic strumming and gentle electric soloing over which Manuel and his girlfriend sing quite pleasantly, in a call-and-response fashion. "Schizo" and "The Fairy Dance" are also winners, each summoning up a brief slice of classic Ash Ra atmosphere -- the sort of stuff he would explore at greater length on other releases. "Bring Me Up" is back in goofy-jam territory, but it doesn't bother me much and the guitar playing is quite good. All in all, fans of Gottsching's music will enjoy this album, but don't come looking for"Amboss."