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micky
Special Collaborator
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Joined: October 02 2005
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Topic: 2nd Round Class: Illus On a D.D. v. Waterloo Lily Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:31 |
next up is a intriqueing matchup between 2 great but rarely discussed albums around the forums. in this corner... Triumvirat!!!
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Symphonic Prog
3.92 | 288 ratings
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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
Rune2000
Special Collaborator Prog Metal Team
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Illusions On A Double Dimple is the masterpiece that ELP never released!
This is one of those albums that I recognized as a big favorite of mine
just after my first listening experience. It's been almost four years
since then and I'm still highly enthusiastic about this album which
hopefully means that it wasn't just one of those passing fads. The
comparison to the works of ELP is of course very hard to ignore by this
point of Triumvirat's development, but I'll try to spin it 180 degrees
and proclaim that Illusions On A Double Dimple is the Tarkus that just never got made.
As most of you know, Tarkus was an important album in ELP's career since it featured a side long genre-defining Tarkus
suite. There's really no denying that the 21 minutes of an epic is a
masterpiece which should not be overlooked by fans of progressive rock
music. The real problem comes up once we transition to side two of Tarkus
only to find it being filled by shorter and much less exciting
material. If you are like me and think this ruins some of the momentum
that was created on side one, chances are you might find Illusions On A Double Dimple to be a great improvement.
With the strategic replacement of Hans Pape with Helmut Köllen,
Triumvirat not only got themselves the needed support in the guitar and
bass departments but also a great improvement of the vocals! Jürgen
Fritz has definitely improved his songwriting since Mediterranean Tales
and the long jam interludes have now been substituted with smooth
transitions between the different sections of these two lengthy suites.
The music itself is Symphonic Prog music at its finest with the album's
title track being a great example of the balance that can be achieved
between great solo-spots and the melodic instrumental arrangements.
Unfortunately I have the feeling that some people won't be able to enjoy
this music solely because they'll be busy finding all the sections that
Triumvirat had taken from the U.K. scene of the time. After all, ELP is
not the only band that Triumvirat has taken their 'inspiration' from.
As much as I'm partially guilty of that same nit-picking, there's just
so much passion in these two compositions that I am able to overlook
most of the flaws and concentrate entirely on the excellent songwriting.
This is where Triumvirat was on top of their game and so they took the
occasion to show ELP just what those lads could have achieved if only
they expanded their Tarkus suite to the full LP size. Even
though Triumvirat's two compositions have taken a great deal from bands
like ELP and Yes, Fritz and his band still managed to make it sound
fresh and exciting which can sometimes be more than enough for a
masterful performance. ***** star songs: Illusions On A Double Dimple (23:24) **** star songs: Mister Ten Percent (21:37)
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and in this corner... Caravan!!!!!
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Canterbury Scene
3.75 | 411 ratings
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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
baz91
Prog Reviewer
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Let me make it very clear that this album is not the musical push-over that many prog fans seem to
believe it is. Nor is it 'the jazzy album' in the sense that there's an overwhelming amount of jazz
on here. The only reason that people see this as a jazzier album is because of the 10 minute
instrumental Nothing At All, but the other tracks are just as jazzy as the rest of the
Caravan catalogue. All in all, this is a grossly misunderestimated album, and with all the bad hype
about this album, I was astonished by just how good it was. Waterloo Lily is a fun song about... a prostitute! The artwork for the album suggests this
theme also. The cover art for this album is actually William Hogarth's 'Tavern Scene' from his
series of paintings known as 'A Rake's Progress'. This can be compared to the comical drawing of
Waterloo Lily in the inner gatefold. The song follows my favourite prog format of 'short vocal
section - meaty instrumental - short vocal section'. The instrumental is over 4 minutes long and has
many interesting twists and turns, turning this song into a Caravan classic. Nothing At All is simply a jazz work out. The first 5 minutes of this track sound the same
the entire way through, and besides some instrumental soloing, there is nothing very interesting
about it. The middle section, It's All Coming Soon, is a lot more interesting, as it seems to
have actually been composed, unlike the entirely improvised first section. You don't come away empty
handed after listening to this, but it's easy to agree that five minutes at the beginning is quite long. Songs And Signs is a short, quaint piece that is unfortunately rather forgettable. Some nice
melodies, but ultimately nothing to shout about. Aristocracy is a leftover from 'In the Land of Grey and Pink'. I really like the melody to
this song, and the 'Do do do' section. I first heard this track as a demo in the bonus tracks
to the previous album, and for this album they decided to crank up the tempo so that this track
loses most of it's sweetness. Also, in the demo, Pye sings with a higher voice which I found more
appealing. Nevertheless, this is a still a good Caravan track. The medley that is commonly known as The Love In Your Eye is undoubtedly the highlight of the
album. This album is clearly the next in line of songs like For Richard and Nine Feet
Underground. The first few minutes are augmented by a string section, and this section could
actually do very well as a standalone track. I really like the chorus, and it's a shame it doesn't
appear near the end of the song. After the first section, there are over 7 minutes of brilliant
instrumental music, with great riffs that flow into each other perfectly. This section is often
extended when played live. There is a brief lyrical section around the 10 minute mark before the
group launch into a rock and roll outro that will easily get you on your feet. While Nine Feet
Underground suffered from focusing too much on the keyboards, it seems that Caravan learnt their
lesson for this album, as it seems nearly every instrument gets it's own part. Jimmy Hastings once
again reprises on a Caravan album, with some more impressive flute work. I find The World Is Yours to be such a sweet, adorable song. In my opinion, this is the best
of Caravan's "love songs". The acoustic guitar has a melody that you'd expect to hear on a
children's show about the countryside. That's how adorable it is! For the more progressively minded,
the chorus in 10/4 might be of interest to you. For those of you who are new to Caravan, I think this album would be a wonderful place to start,
even if many people think this is too different from Caravan's normal sound. The replacement of
David Sinclair with Steve Miller did have an effect on their sound, but this was a positive effect
since Sinclair's keyboards did start to get quite repetitive on the last album. If you have listened
to a few Caravan albums, but are unsure whether to get this one, I say YES YES YES go for it! Unlike
quite a few prog fans on this website, I honestly don't see this album as a weak point in Caravan's
career.
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Tom Ozric
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15916
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:36 |
Apologies go to Presdoug - but Waterloo Lily whips Double Dimple for me !!
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GKR
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 22 2013
Location: Brazil
Status: Offline
Points: 1376
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:37 |
I hear little this two albums... go with Waterloo Lily.
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- From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:39 |
Holding my vote. Gotta give 'em both a better listening in the coming week.
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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
Joined: August 27 2006
Location: The Beach
Status: Offline
Points: 12938
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:53 |
Man this is very close for me but i'll give a vote for the Germans, for my buddy Doug.
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"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"
"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN
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zravkapt
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 12 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 6446
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 08:55 |
lily
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Magma America Great Make Again
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Nightfly
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: August 01 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3659
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 09:26 |
Ooooh....another tricky choice.....Caravan.
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Kirillov
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 03 2011
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 700
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 10:02 |
Very tough, I love both....ummmm.... Waterloo Lily!
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Atkingani
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: October 21 2005
Location: Terra Brasilis
Status: Offline
Points: 12288
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 10:09 |
Tough choice. I'm today in the mood for Illusions...
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Guigo
~~~~~~
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The Bearded Bard
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: January 24 2012
Location: Behind the Sun
Status: Offline
Points: 12859
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 10:17 |
Triumvirat for me.
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presdoug
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 24 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 8085
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 10:28 |
Go, Triumvirat, go!
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LearsFool
Prog Reviewer
Joined: November 09 2014
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 8620
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 10:39 |
Thinking Triumvirat today.
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Daysbetween
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 12 2006
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 1036
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 12:39 |
Easy pick for me and it's Waterloo Lily all the way.
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TeleStrat
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 27 2014
Location: Norwalk, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 9319
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 12:42 |
It was tough for me but went with Double Dimple.
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micky
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 02 2005
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 46828
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 14:39 |
come on ... no doubt man
Waterloo Lily it is!!!
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Nogbad_The_Bad
Forum & Site Admin Group
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team
Joined: March 16 2007
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Points: 20204
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 15:07 |
Two more that need a listen
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Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/
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Andrea Cortese
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: September 05 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 4411
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 15:49 |
Triumvirat without a doubt
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sleeper
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
Status: Offline
Points: 16449
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 16:30 |
Waterloo Lily for me.
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2005
Location: Mexico City
Status: Offline
Points: 13032
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Posted: July 11 2015 at 18:20 |
Waterloo Lily
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Follow me on twitter @memowakeman
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Meltdowner
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: June 25 2013
Location: Portugal
Status: Offline
Points: 10215
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Posted: July 12 2015 at 07:07 |
Triumvirat!
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