MEDITERRANEAN TALES (ACROSS THE WATERS)

Triumvirat was from Cologne, Germany and recorded their debut album Mediterranean Tales (Across The Water) in january, 1972, in just 3 days. It is heavily influenced by The Nice, no doubt about it, but since the very beginning they had a proper personality. Those guys who try to pin them up as a mere ELP clone really don´t know what they´re talking about. The group in general, and Jürgen Fritz in parituclar, had their own sound and quite distinctive. Ok, in Mediterranean Tales that sound was still a bit green, relying a lot in their early influences, and yet, their music is different if you pay a little attention.

The general sound is pleasant and interesting, showing some promises that were more than fulfilled by the time they released their second LP, the magnificent Illusions On A Double Dimple. Here the album is a little more dated, sounding a lot like many other keyboards driven bands of the time. Also it made clear that Fritz was no singer. Thank god the vocals duties are shared with bassist Hans Papen (who as not a great vocalist himself, but a lot better than Fritz!). The remaster version includes four extra tracks: two edit versions of Be Home For Tea and Broken Mirror, and two tracks recorded later that year and were only released as singles, Ride In The Night and Sing Me a Song. All four were released as A and B sides of singles at the time, the latter two a clearly attempt to reach a more pop market.

Conclusion: a good debut for an unknown act at the time. The music still stands, but sounds a little dated, something that would not happen in the next four albums Triumvirat recorded after this one. Good, but definitely non essential.