Triumvirat-Spartacus

moshkito wrote: presdoug wrote: ...               That is interesting that your roomie played Triumvirat; I was kind of late to the party on this band, never having heard them until 1985, and it is fascinating for me to read and hear about what was going on with them in their hey day in the seventies.               I have never actually heard them on the radio in my entire life, which is a shame. Guy Guden (Space Pirate Radio) played the album the day it arrived at the station, as at the time, we were finding that the label HARVEST had a lot of interesting stuff, and now was spreading to other parts of Europe. I collected almost everything I could find on that label, and Kevin Ayers, Roy Harper, Edgar Broughton Band (for example), STILL are favorites of mine from that label. Their work is outstanding. The album would have been "Illusions on a Double Dimple" ... and that would be (I think) around Fall or slightly later in 1974. I wish we could tell folks how much of this music we talk about actually "made it" to radio, and through radio, at the time.Nowadays, radio is obsolete and should die, if they do not free themselves from corporate owners! At least new, and different music would get heard a bit more ... the internet is sounding like many of these corporate stations more and more each day ... witness most of the progressive stream anythings ... absolutely horrible mixes and terrible selections, not to mention the repetition, and we're not talking NEU or KRAFTWERK in their early days!

Illusions On A Double Dimple, called their "debut album" in North America, was released this side of the Atlantic, I think in the summer of '74. (initial release in Europe was in March/April of that year) It initially sold 180,000 copies in America, fueling the band's fall 74 tour opening for Fleetwood Mac.

the best album from them

moshkito wrote: Hi, Pres ... are you trying to lock me up into listening to these things again? At least, my roomie at the time actually played these albums on the air ... something that can not be said for most of the "progressive" wannabee's.

That, I am, mosh; if it will encourage yourself and other people on PA  to listen to Triumvirat, then I am doing what I set out to do.

Edited by presdoug - November 06 2018 at 12:04

Hi,

A treasured addition back in the 70s and I still go it often. Very often! The aura is spectacular, the playing is dizzying in technique and emotion. In my Top 10 all time . Enough said

Old Loves Die Hard charted in America in 1976, but just reached position 85 in the album charts. Under-rated, and a fantastic record, though.

verslibre wrote: presdoug wrote: Triumvirat were the first German rock band to make a strong impact in North America, with Spartacus cracking the Top 30 at position 27, and it is an example of how music is truly the universal language, and breaks down barriers between cultures and society.     That's awesome, but Kraftwerk beat them to the punch a year earlier when Autobahn (still regarded as a Krautrock record) reached No. 5 in the Billboard Top 200. I take no pleasure in saying that, nor in pointing out that Tangerine Dream, one of my all-time favorite bands, didn't mount a North American tour till several years after Kraftwerk's 1975 US tour (thanks to Phonogram backing them following the success of Autobahn).

Illusions reached the Top 50 in America the year before Spartacus, but just barely, so Autobahn wins out, thanks for verifying that, though.

I always loved "March to the City", which got a lot of airplay in Montreal back in the day.  So did the title cut, which I found a bit too frenetic but enjoyed it well enough depending on my mood.  I don't recall hearing the rest of the album, so I should give it a listen.  I did enjoy "Old Loves Die Hard" very much, as I felt it struck a pleasant balance between complex and accessible and I think it was more their own sound.  Doug, what do you think of Rolling Stone including "Illusions on a Double Dimple" in the top 50 prog albums of all time list?  It's great that they included Triumvirat but would you agree with that choice?