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Triumvirat debut-50 years on!
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presdoug View Drop Down
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    Posted: January 04 2022 at 20:57
This January marks exactly 50 years since the recording of German progressive rock band Triumvirat's debut album, "Mediterranean Tales", in January, 1972, which was released in April of that year. Hard to believe the music is that old, as it is still so fresh, invigorating, and as vital as it ever was, to these ears!
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Damn, what a milestone! All of those 1972 epics are turning 50 this year; insane to think we've had those albums for half a century. Prog truly is timeless! I'll throw this one on for a spin this morning.

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presdoug View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Frenetic Zetetic Frenetic Zetetic wrote:

Damn, what a milestone! All of those 1972 epics are turning 50 this year; insane to think we've had those albums for half a century. Prog truly is timeless! I'll throw this one on for a spin this morning.
Thanks! Yeah, 1972 sure was a great year for progressive rock; I can think of so many great records that still mean so much to us.
          The Triumvirat debut did not make much of an impact, initially, but remains to this day, an "underground classic". The band's sound did not really fit in as "krautrock" even though they were German, and the public and media in Germany were pretty good at ignoring Triumvirat, until with the release of their second album, when they were making a noticeable impact in the US, and one of the first German bands to do so. Then other areas of the world started to take notice, most notably Brazil, Argentina, and other parts of Europe.
           For me, the Triumvirat debut has stood the test of time, though, despite the band folded way back in 1981, and group leader Juergen Fritz has distanced himself from the group's lasting legacy for most of the time since then. 
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Jacob Schoolcraft View Drop Down
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I recall I was a teenager at the time of its release and busting my back trying to find a copy! Lol! I went crazy looking for it in the U.S. Jem Records listed it in their catalog...their sticker logo "Another Import From Jem". I can't recall how I managed to locate this album and actually obtain a copy, but I do remember being interested in it shortly after the band's performance on "In Concert" (Don Kirshner), and has that performance ever been issued on cd? If not...it should be.
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presdoug View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Jacob Schoolcraft Jacob Schoolcraft wrote:

I recall I was a teenager at the time of its release and busting my back trying to find a copy! Lol! I went crazy looking for it in the U.S. Jem Records listed it in their catalog...their sticker logo "Another Import From Jem". I can't recall how I managed to locate this album and actually obtain a copy, but I do remember being interested in it shortly after the band's performance on "In Concert" (Don Kirshner), and has that performance ever been issued on cd? If not...it should be.

Yes, it is available on several bootleg live cds, and is titled "ABC In Concert"; as Triumvirat only played about 11 and a half minutes of music on "In Concert" -the beginning of the Illusions On A Double Dimple suite-it is usually tacked onto some other, more lengthy live bootleg performances. Type in "Triumvirat live" on youtube and you will find it.
            The host of the show, the late Don E. Branker, introduced the band, but most audio of the show doesn't include his introduction. Branker told me that the video footage of Triumvirat from In Concert no longer exists, sadly.
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I think I’ll put on a Triumvirat record or two today. Was just deciding what to play next. Double Dimple it is! (I don’t have Med Tales but I have heard it).
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Jacob Schoolcraft View Drop Down
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Wow thank you Presdoug!!
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 I do like the debut although I think they peaked on the next album. Not such a big fan of what came after and I tend to feel they had a problem creating an identity for themselves and trying to buck the criticism that they were just an 'ELP copycat' band. 
1972 was a incredible year for prog with so many classics. It was just at that point were bands had the confidence to totally express themselves and the music was still fresh 'out of the box'.
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

 I do like the debut although I think they peaked on the next album. Not such a big fan of what came after and I tend to feel they had a problem creating an identity for themselves and trying to buck the criticism that they were just an 'ELP copycat' band. 
1972 was a incredible year for prog with so many classics. It was just at that point were bands had the confidence to totally express themselves and the music was still fresh 'out of the box'.
Hi, Richard,    I feel they peaked with the second album, and also Spartacus, which entered the top 30 album charts in the US, the tapes from that album were mixed by Geoff Emerick. Helmut Koellen was the best thing that ever happened to the band, I just wish he had stayed on for longer. Spartacus was a perfect companion album to Illusions On A Double Dimple, but, alas, the band's lineup would not last.

Edited by presdoug - January 08 2022 at 13:36
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IMO, Spartacus was definitely their peak. That's a classic. Old Loves Die Hard is nearly as good.

At this point, I don't really care for the debut, and the last time I listened to Double Dimple, it felt little more than a warm-up for Spartacus.
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Gave Double Dimple a spin last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. 
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Hi,

At the time, 1973/1974, both myself and Guy Guden has a lot of time spent on the artists that showed up listed in the "Breakfast Cereal" Ingredients by HARVEST. And within a year they were adding to their listing, and things like KAYAK and TRIUMVIRAT showed up and they were far out. And I remember listening to these things, and loving them, and the Harvest collection of artists was totally far out, and gave us such Incredibles as Roy Harper, Kevin Ayers, The Edgar Broughton Band, Capability Brown, The Third Ear Band, and so many others, that I still enjoy today and find amazing that anyone would do this AT ALL ... considering the miserable state of the music industry, SPECIALLY TODAY, with the fan-cista control of the work of many of these folks that are not "famous" or sell more than ten gazillion farts!

I much preferred some other things, but TRIUMVIRAT was very much appreciated on the local radio station, though I think that Guy Guden ended up concentrating more on Kayak, Supersister, and many other Harvest bands, many of which were still "imports", but that music ... yeah ... that MUSIC ... is all still very vibrant in my heart!
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richardh View Drop Down
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

IMO, Spartacus was definitely their peak. That's a classic. Old Loves Die Hard is nearly as good.

At this point, I don't really care for the debut, and the last time I listened to Double Dimple, it felt little more than a warm-up for Spartacus.

That's interesting as I struggle to connect the dots between Double Dimple and Spartacus. The latter is very bitty and the overly poppy vocals don't do much for me. Double Dimple is pure symphonic prog and, although I almost hate to admit it, they went that step further than ELP and other contemporaries of the genre. They and Refugee had it nailed down tight. Moraz v Fritz, that's a 'fight' I would pay money to see Wink
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

IMO, Spartacus was definitely their peak. That's a classic. Old Loves Die Hard is nearly as good.

At this point, I don't really care for the debut, and the last time I listened to Double Dimple, it felt little more than a warm-up for Spartacus.

That's interesting as I struggle to connect the dots between Double Dimple and Spartacus. The latter is very bitty and the overly poppy vocals don't do much for me. Double Dimple is pure symphonic prog and, although I almost hate to admit it, they went that step further than ELP and other contemporaries of the genre. They and Refugee had it nailed down tight. Moraz v Fritz, that's a 'fight' I would pay money to see Wink

That's an interesting take, because I don't rate DD anywhere near Brain Salad Surgery. Shocked
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richardh View Drop Down
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

IMO, Spartacus was definitely their peak. That's a classic. Old Loves Die Hard is nearly as good.

At this point, I don't really care for the debut, and the last time I listened to Double Dimple, it felt little more than a warm-up for Spartacus.

That's interesting as I struggle to connect the dots between Double Dimple and Spartacus. The latter is very bitty and the overly poppy vocals don't do much for me. Double Dimple is pure symphonic prog and, although I almost hate to admit it, they went that step further than ELP and other contemporaries of the genre. They and Refugee had it nailed down tight. Moraz v Fritz, that's a 'fight' I would pay money to see Wink

That's an interesting take, because I don't rate DD anywhere near Brain Salad Surgery. Shocked



just that BSS could have been better if certain tracks were taken out , notably BTB and Still You Turn Me On.
90% brilliance is great but it could have flowed better. Still enough for it to be my favourite album though.
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Jacob Schoolcraft View Drop Down
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Triumvirate work with Curt Cress. That guy is an amazing drummer! He is really different. He has a special style of his own. He is outstanding
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presdoug View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Jacob Schoolcraft Jacob Schoolcraft wrote:

Triumvirate work with Curt Cress. That guy is an amazing drummer! He is really different. He has a special style of his own. He is outstanding
That is interesting, the way you put it. Very true. I also love his work in Passport and Snoball.
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'Double Dimple proves the best representation of the band, but I really enjoyed the two album run with Barry Palmer on vocals.
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presdoug View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

'Double Dimple proves the best representation of the band, but I really enjoyed the two album run with Barry Palmer on vocals.
That is interesting; I agree on both counts. Surely Triumvirat did some great things with those later records with Barry Palmer. I enjoy them, as well!


Edited by presdoug - January 25 2022 at 20:02
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