Triumvirat's "Illusions"-50 years old!

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presdoug wrote: Cristi wrote: ^ video is not working  I tried to repost the video but it would not work. I guess I will have to do without.

Happy birthday, Dimples.

"Remastered" ⨯post from the Triumvirat appreciation thread:

Hrychu wrote: IoaDD is a particularly lighthearted album. One of the things that makes it unique and differentiates it from ELP's output is the use of guest strings, horns, female harmony adlibs, occasional co-lead vocals (provided by Fritz), and lots of acoustic guitar (used more extensively that on any studio ELP album) I listened to the title song again, and noticed an uncredited harpsichord part at 9:46! How could I not notice it before!? xD Also there's a clavinet riff at 13:10 (miscredited as electric piano). Perhaps Jürgen Fritz had a Hohner Duo? It's technically an Pianet electric piano with a clavinet mechanism inside. You can play either using the same manual or both simultaneously from what I've read.

Edited by Hrychu - February 29 2024 at 10:59

I just listened to this record the other day for the first time, I think it's brilliant

Hi,

presdoug wrote: This coming March of 2024 is the 50th anniversary of the release of what I feel is German progressive rock band Triumvirat's best album, and the greatest progressive rock recording of them all, "Illusions On A Double Dimple", initially issued in Europe in March of 1974. Triumvirat laboured on it's recording for quite some time, and it was well worth the wait, as it is astounding, both lyrically and instrumentally, and for me is one of those timeless records that still sounds fresh and invigorating, even this many decades later! The record did well, and expanded interest in Triumvirat with it's subsequent release and issue in other parts of the world, most notably in North America in the summer of 1974, and made the top 50 of the US album charts that year. And this was the first presentation on a full lp record of the lineup including multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and lead vocalist Helmut Koellen, who joined in the middle of it's recording, and whose talent and musical spirit helped catapult the band to greater heights with this album, and the subsequent release of "Spartacus" in 1975.

richardh wrote: Nothing else they did came close imo. If I have any 'criticism' it's simply that Triumvirat (much like Camel) were not putting anything out that was 'progressive'. ELP, Yes, Tull and King Crimson had laid down the rules already. Even back in 1974 it was a case of 'what's next?'. I'm not sure that prog bands were really answering that question but rather were embedded in a style that was already established. Old school symphonic prog was about 3 years away from virtually disappearing off the map. However it was the bands such as Triumvirat and Socrates plus numerous RIP bands that were putting out the most interesting prog music. Rush took it in a heavier direction but that's another story almost. So where does IOADD fit into the symph prog genre? According to PA it's the lower reaches of the Top 100 of that sub genre. That seem a lttle low have to say. There are even Flower Kings albums that rank higher. I do love it's purity of purpose though and as said it doesn't have the overbearing (for many) bombast of ELP. Deserves to be recognised for sure. Rolling Stone put it in their list of best 50 prog albums ever made. That's a stretch for me but shows that it stands out at least.

I feel "Spartacus" does come very close to "Illusions" , and, conceptually speaking, even surpasses it-the story of the Spartacus revolt against Rome is the perfect material for a story and Triumvirat rise to the occasion, though I guess instrumentally "Illusions" can't be beat. I also feel that Triumvirat in general would have made a greater impact not for lack of brilliant material, but that they were not managed properly-they did not have a "move heaven and earth" manager like Led Zeppelin's Peter Grant, and maybe if they did, and were put on some higher profile tours progressively speaking, things would be different. (I even remember Juergen Fritz in an interview calling their early manager "an idiot" lol) Also, in 1976, Juergen Fritz woke up one day and said, "I don't want to tour anymore" -and subsequent ambitious touring was cancelled, which did not help things one single bit, but Mr. Fritz was in charge of that, so....

Edited by presdoug - March 03 2024 at 05:46