Triumvirat a La Carte

When i first heard it, it seemed so popish and watered down, and i guess i compared it to earlier classics like Spartacus, and it bored me to tears.
           Now, years later, i can actually listen to the whole record and it fits when i am in a more mainstream type of musical mood. It of course, will never surpass the first three Triumvirat records, but i find it's ok, anyway, in retrospect.
          A few days back, i started a thread on Triumvirat's last record, Russian Roulette. It  is hated even more than A La Carte, but i found myself liking it when listening to it recently after avoiding it for years and years. It does not sound like Triumvirat at all, but i find if i approach it without wishing it to be so, i can get somewhere with it. A La Carte is sort of the same now, at least for me, presently.

I think Triumvirat turned bland with Old Loves Die Hard. After that it was just different flavours of bland.

npjnpj wrote: I think Triumvirat turned bland with Old Loves Die Hard. After that it was just different flavours of bland.

Edited by presdoug - December 10 2014 at 20:51

I heard only once that A La Carte just totally sucked, so I stayed away. Saw it new and unwrapped in album form at a now belly-upped used record store and ignored it then also. The band's cheesy emulation of ELP on their early albums had left a bad taste in my mouth, so this lack of originality swayed me from believing Triumvirat (and what a rat) could actually come up with quality on one of their last albums. By the way, Pompei is very listenable.

presdoug wrote: npjnpj wrote: I think Triumvirat turned bland with Old Loves Die Hard. After that it was just different flavours of bland. When i first heard Old Loves Die Hard, i was deeply moved by it, but it has not stood the test of time for me at all, and it seems boring and second rate to me now, and i have felt that way about it for years-it does not stand up to the first three records.          I have mixed feelings about Pompeii, depending on my mood         Believe it or not, my fave post Spartacus album of theirs is Russian Roulette!

To be more accurate, now more than 2 years after that post, i would have to say my favorite post Spartacus album is Pompeii. Though i still can find some merit in Russian Roulette.
          (there are also some great vids of Palmer singing The Hymn on youtube, and also Fritz, Petereit and Holtmann playing Dance On The Volcano, all from Pompeii)
                 There was a show in Germany called Bios Banhof Music, which featured interviews and songs from Old Loves Die Hard. Maybe it will make it onto youtube someday. And who knows, maybe the 1974  In Concert TV footage.


Edited by presdoug - October 14 2013 at 09:03

Moogtron III wrote: Nice review, but I don't know the album. Actually, I hardly know Triumvirat well, and yesterday I came to the conclusion that it might be a miss. A local radio station (classic rock) played some years ago music from Spartacus, and I really liked that. But I like people who stand up for prog bands who go a bit the commercial path. With bands like Camel, Yes, Genesis, I do like some of their later output. But the first album I like to check out soon is Spartacus.

hey, right on. Let us know what you think of Spartacus, and any other Triumvirat records you may decide to delve into.

presdoug wrote: Moogtron III wrote: Nice review, but I don't know the album. Actually, I hardly know Triumvirat well, and yesterday I came to the conclusion that it might be a miss. A local radio station (classic rock) played some years ago music from Spartacus, and I really liked that. But I like people who stand up for prog bands who go a bit the commercial path. With bands like Camel, Yes, Genesis, I do like some of their later output. But the first album I like to check out soon is Spartacus. hey, right on. Let us know what you think of Spartacus, and any other Triumvirat records you may decide to delve into.

Moogtron III wrote: presdoug wrote: Moogtron III wrote: Nice review, but I don't know the album. Actually, I hardly know Triumvirat well, and yesterday I came to the conclusion that it might be a miss. A local radio station (classic rock) played some years ago music from Spartacus, and I really liked that. But I like people who stand up for prog bands who go a bit the commercial path. With bands like Camel, Yes, Genesis, I do like some of their later output. But the first album I like to check out soon is Spartacus. hey, right on. Let us know what you think of Spartacus, and any other Triumvirat records you may decide to delve into. I will

presdoug wrote: presdoug wrote: npjnpj wrote: I think Triumvirat turned bland with Old Loves Die Hard. After that it was just different flavours of bland. When i first heard Old Loves Die Hard, i was deeply moved by it, but it has not stood the test of time for me at all, and it seems boring and second rate to me now, and i have felt that way about it for years-it does not stand up to the first three records.          I have mixed feelings about Pompeii, depending on my mood         Believe it or not, my fave post Spartacus album of theirs is Russian Roulette! To be more accurate, now more than 2 years after that post, i would have to say my favorite post Spartacus album is Pompeii. Though i still can find some merit in Russian Roulette.           (there are also some great vids of Palmer singing The Hymn on youtube, and also Fritz, Petereit and Holtmann playing Dance On The Volcano, all from Pompeii)                  There was a show in Germany called Bios Banhof Music, which featured interviews and songs from Old Loves Die Hard. Maybe it will make it onto youtube someday. And who knows, maybe the 1974  In Concert TV footage.

Now, some time after this post, just thought I'd clear up and clarify some things. Old Loves Die Hard is definitely my favorite post Spartacus T'rat album; it IS deeply moving to say the least, and I find I listen to it feeling musically refreshed in a big way every time. Triumvirat were never featured on Bios Banhof Music. To this date, no ABC In Concert footage has surfaced.

Edited by presdoug - December 24 2015 at 12:58

Edited by tszirmay - December 24 2015 at 18:29