TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS

Only thought it was good...

TRIUMVIRAT came together in 1971, when mastermind and composer JURGEN FRITZ, inspired by the music of the British art-rock band NICE, found two like-minded musicians in HANS BATHELT (drums) and DICK FRANGENBERG (bass) to follow a similar direction with his own band.After two albums ( MEDITERRANEAN TALES in April 1972 and "ILLUSIONS ON A DOUBLE DIMPLE in August 1974), between February and March 1975, TRIUMVIRAT ensconced themselves in the studio again to cut a concept album called SPARTACUS about the same-named Roman gladiator and prisoner of war (around 70 BC ), who went down in history as the leader of the 3rd slave uprising.The SPARTACUS lyrics were penned by drummer HANS BATHELT, the sophisticated music, which was interspersed with classical quotations, by JURGEN FRITZ.Although SPARTACUS, like the first two releases by the band, sales were well below overseas figures.SPARTACUS established TRIUMVIRAT in the USA, among other reasons because the international press called the offering a "clever album" (STREET LIFE) and attested the recording to have "highlights particularly in JURGEN FRITZ 's synthesiser passages" (BILLBOARD).SPARTACUS also earned the group a top 30 position in the American BILLBOARD charts, doing even better than its predecessor "ILLUSION ON A DOUBLE DIMPLE".

gr8dane wrote:

richardh wrote: I think the poll just reflects general apathy to the original question.It's hardly a seminal prog work.Only 15 bothered to vote.A 'couldn't care less' option might well have won. So what you are saying is,we should only talk about the same 10 bands all the time.?Or bands you like?Or what?

Hey, don't get angry, Richardh is an ELP fan and most ELP fans hate Triumvirat, because they can accept that a band with a somehow similar sound to ELP can release two albums better than almost any one ever recorded by their beloved band.

Atkingani wrote:

ivan_2068 wrote: I had the chance to listen Illusions on a Double Dimple before than Spartacus, and must say both albums really impressed me, Jurgen Fritz is a virtuoso keyboardists and  does excellent arrangements. I find some ELP inspiration, but I don't believe they were ever clones of them, their music and sound is absolutely different, faster but as elaborated as the famous great trio (Illusions and Spartacus were played by a trio also Jurgen Fritz, Helmut Kollen and Hans Bathelt). But I have a really nice anecdote. Perú was not a country in the 70's where people could buy prog', but for some strange reason, Ilussions and Spartacus were released by a Peruvian extinct label. A friend bought Illusions and invited me to his house to listen it, so I went and we started to play the album at the highest volume posible, after a few minutes I went to his balcony to smoke a cigarrette (I was 14 and his mother would have told mine I was smoking) and  saw three kids of about our age who we never knew before that where sitting in a small wall in front of the house of my friend. They begged me not to close the door of the balcony because they were listening the album from the start. We invited them to pass to the house and they were prog' fans also. Since that day we became very good friends at the point that  I was witness in the marriage of one of them with a girl from the University who was a proghead also. Still after those years we have a reunion once a month to play poker and listen good music for 5 or 6 hours. Iván Why every time I read Iván I remember the great Peruvian story teller, Mario Vargas Llosa? Or maybe a Llosa character like Jaguar or Pantaleón or El Escribidor?

Thanks, Mario is one of my favorite authors, but my favorite book is La Guerra del Fin del Mundo, which is casually about Antonio Consellheiro's revolution of 1899  in your country.

And yes, as Mario (But with 1% of his talent ) I write about my life,

• El Escribidor is Mario Vargas Llosa, that book (La Tia Julia y el Escribidor - Aunt Julia and the Book Writter) is an autobiography of his marriage with his older aunt.
• La Ciudad y los Perros (The City and te Dogs) is about his life in a Military School called Leoncio Prado

In my case, if you listen Prog' for so many years (28) and since I was 13, it's part of our life, each of us has has a lot of anecdotes related with prog'  because Prog is a big part of our lives.

But this is 100% truth, I remember that moment as it was yesterday.

Iván

 

Edited by ivan_2068

Ivan,I think you make a good pint about Little Richard.

 

I thought it wasn't bad, keyboards are very good, the songs are more accessible than ELP, I think, but something in the last song reminded me of an ELP song so much I could not listen to it again...

Great drumming, no doubt there.

All in all, a decent enough album, but not essential.

ivan_2068 wrote: gr8dane wrote: Ivan,I think you make a good pint about Little Richard. Sorry, I can't understand what you say, my English is not perfect, until now I thought pint was a weight meassure.   Iván

Sorry buddy.I meant point.Not pint.

TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS   is a great progressive rock album ... one of the best ! 

Both Illusions on a Double Dimple & Spartacus hold a high spot on my list. Who cares if they sound like ELP? (Lucky Girl!).

The music is excellent & very listenable.

Agree, it was a MAJOR let down for me too and I waited years to hold of it.