Triumvirat-50 Years On!

gr8dane wrote: presdoug wrote: progaardvark wrote: I discovered them late in my collecting adventures, maybe about 8 years ago or so. I very much enjoyed their first five studio albums (of which the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are my favorites), but haven't listened to or tried purchasing their last two studio efforts.  Happy 50th Triumvirat! Thanks! I remember seeing Illusions On A Double Dimple in used record stores in the early 1980s, and didn't pay any attention to it; then a friend lent me a copy of it in the spring of 1985, along with Old Loves Die Hard, and it was no turning back! Spartacus and Mediterranean Tales were bought about 2 years after, and then a year after that, Pompeii and A La Carte. Finally, Russian Roulette in 1990. I do like all but one of their records, with Illusions being my favorite, and Spartacus a close second. I consider the debut album to be rock's best debut, which I realise is pretty far into left field. I have heard their 2002 album The Website Story, and it did not do much for me at all, I'm afraid.  Long time fan, but interested in how you would compare Website Story,to the other albums sound/style wise.I think i listened to a couple of tracks on utube and felt the sounded like the very last 2 albums, which ehh, is not exactly great.

The Website Story only sounds remotely like one of the other albums, and that would be Russian Roulette. But even then; the style of TWS is even more updated and modern, and I chose Russian Roulette as a comparison because it qualifies as the most updated and modern sounding of the older Triumvirat albums. TWS has no seventies style or atmosphere to it whatsoever, and sounds kind of like movie music of the year it was finished (2002) The only thing progressive at all about it would be Fritz's keyboard noodlings; but they are in the context of rather mediocre music, so it doesn't hang together very well. The only song I could say I like from it is Just a Face, which is on youtube in part. The Website Story is a rather sad chapter in Triumvirat's history. It really is.

richardh wrote: Illusions is a stand up symph prog album . I enjoy that one a lot as well as the debut. After that it gets a bit patchy I think even though I realise that Spartacus is highly regarded. I actually prefer Fritz's solo album Hard To Be A God more than Spartacus. I think he should have released a lot more , wonder why he didn't?

Hi Richard; that is an important question. In the first two decades after Triumvirat split in 1981, Mr. Fritz was more involved as a producer than composer; I know he felt that even in their hey day, Triumvirat did not receive the attention they deserved, and then came his attempt to change their sound in a more "radio friendly" pop style with the last two albums, and that didn't really bring him a lot of success, either. My (somewhat) educated guess as to why there are not much recordings of his own post-Triumvirat is that the failure of these attempts to make Triumvirat a really big name probably put a bad taste in his mouth for recording his own compositions.  Have you ever heard 1991's Millenium-Dreams of Amadeus, a collaborative effort with Ralf Hildenbeutel? Though not quite Triumvirat, it is a lovely recording with keyboard themes of Mozart.

i friend lent me Spartacus, i was blown away thought it was elp stays my favorite top 10 in my collection.

Pretty much the same here, I love Illusions on a Double Dimple, Spartacus and Mediterranean Tales, with Pompeii next. Those are the only ones I have.

I discovered them late in my collecting adventures, maybe about 8 years ago or so. I very much enjoyed their first five studio albums (of which the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are my favorites), but haven't listened to or tried purchasing their last two studio efforts. 

Edited by progaardvark - February 15 2019 at 10:18