ILLUSIONS ON A DOUBLE DIMPLE

My most disappointing type of albums are those that are entirely derivative but fail to get anywhere near the quality of the original. I can handle a good amount of cloning as long as the songwriting is good, but in case of Triumvirat's Illusion on a Double Dimple the sterile ELP worship mixed with the poppy vocals are a complete turnoff.

The first song kicks off with a mellow vocal whose melody sounds a bit like it was discarded from the first Genisis album, aka very 60ties pop. The piece develops by alternating similar weak vocals with extended instrumental parts where ELP takes over with a flood of bouncy Hammond organs adorned with brash moog parts. But instead of keeping the majestic power of ELP intact, Triumvirat replaces it with a stale musical-hall feel. The closing section Dimplicity features possibly the dullest hard rock cliché riff I've heard. Last Dance reiterates the main instrumental themes and is the only section of this suite that is almost listenable. Overall, very unoriginal and uninspired, hardly 1 star.

Track 2 is a bit more interesting, it dares to ease on the pure ELP influences and sounds like a The Nice meets Arthur Brown hybrid, with a kind of theatrical vibe, some enjoyable grooves, a Jethro Tull interlude around section E, and a couple of ELP flavorings of which some are acceptable (part D) and others are plain dull (the first half of parf F). The track closes with a plain classic seventies rock ballad that is as uninspired as what preceded in the first track. Overall listenable but barely3 stars.

My advice, if you want to hear ELP-styled synths and organs combined with a more meaningful lyrical content, listen to Le Orme. Unless you're a convinced ELP and Beatles fan, this album is one of the last I would suggest if I wanted to win you over to the Prog cause.

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