TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Polls
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2764
Printed Date: January 10 2025 at 11:16
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Topic: TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS
Posted By: Swinton MCR
Subject: TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS
Date Posted: December 29 2004 at 11:18
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I'm in the VERY IMPRESSED...I liked it first time....Very good indeed, I was also suprised to see it was 1976 - Why hadn't I heard of it sooner ??? ------------- Play me my song, here it comes again |
Replies:
Posted By: greenback
Date Posted: December 29 2004 at 11:22
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over the moon! swinton, you da man! ------------- [HEADPINS - LINE OF FIRE: THE RECORD HAVING THE MOST POWERFUL GUITAR SOUND IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF MUSIC!> |
Posted By: DallasBryan
Date Posted: December 29 2004 at 11:27
| a little to copy cat for my tastes, borders on piracy. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 29 2004 at 14:01
painfull
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Posted By: DallasBryan
Date Posted: December 30 2004 at 20:46
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may wanna try this one?
Satin Whale Desert Places on Brain records(germany) Satin Whale - Remember, from "Desert Places", their debut album, released in 1974. Formed in Cologne, Germany, Satin Whale were a late addition to the first wave of Krautrock, and were h eavily influenced by many of the bands that had preceded them, such as Sahara, Jane and Os Mundi, blending rock ballads with elaborate instrumentals that f eatured jazz and classical elements. The band was formed by keyboard player G erald Dellmann, guitarist/sax player/flautist/vocalist Dieter Roesberg, bassist Thomas Bruck and drummer Horst Schattgen. This debut album was the only album they recorded for Brain Records. Moving to Nova Records in 1975, they r eleased "Lost Mankind" that year with new drummer Wolfgang Hieronymi. This album was basically a continuation of their excellent debut and saw the band mature into a very competent outfit. They went on to release a further five albums, one of which was a soundtrack to a movie called "Die Faust in der Tasche", before splitting in the early eighties. Their final album, "Don't stop the Show", which was full-on mainstream song orientated rock, featured English vocalist Barry Palmer, who'd worked with fellow German progressive rockers, Triumvirat - cut and paste hard to find now, but I have an almost flawless vinyl copy I spin on the Thorens on occasion. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: December 30 2004 at 22:27
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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 |
Posted By: greenback
Date Posted: December 31 2004 at 20:27
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well, i do not like the production of illusions...it is a very good album, but imo spartacus is just flawless and perfectly recorded. we have seen on previous posts that spartacus is a deranging album. if keith emerson is honest and not jealous, i'm sure he will say about spartacus that it is an awesome album, at least fritz's work! do not forget old loves die hard, which is excellent too! ------------- [HEADPINS - LINE OF FIRE: THE RECORD HAVING THE MOST POWERFUL GUITAR SOUND IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF MUSIC!> |
Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: December 31 2004 at 20:31
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Having seen this band in 1975 I will say this: Unimpressed. If you want to play ELP then play ELP's music. The Keyboard player even wore leather pants just like Keith. I am sorry clones of ELP. Nothing original.
Boring. ------------- 
"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?" |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: December 31 2004 at 21:08
------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
ivan_2068 wrote:
Very cool story -- thanks for sharing that, Ivy!
Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: December 31 2004 at 22:08
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I second that There is exact Emerson riffs.. all thru that album.. I also agree with whoever said it bordered on piracy! Sorry but this band was even worse than IQ when it came to inferior cloning... ------------- THIS IS ELP 
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Posted By: DallasBryan
Date Posted: December 31 2004 at 22:21
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hard for me to call that progressive, dont mind
influences but if you cant spin something original out of those influences you need to be collecting garbage . Reminds me of starving artists painting by the numbers. Which outlines my detest for neo-prog genre as a whole, pseudo-prog would be a better classification but then the record industry would starve and actually have to promote original thinking, which aint their business these days. I have much respect for todays artists that find a way to weasel thru the road blocks! |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: January 01 2005 at 03:13
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I am a big fan of ELP, which should be obvious from my reviews, but I am also a big fan of (early) TRIUMVIRAT. To like one band's music does not automatically mean you have to dislike the other's. The fact is that TRIUMVIRAT were, and are, a popular Prog band. I honestly don't find "Illusions On A Double Dimple" reminds me of ELP (unlike "Spartacus", which does have some clear reminders - but, so what?) To me, TRIUMVIRAT's sound is more melodic and more commercial than early ELP's. "Illusions" is chock-full of great music: the intros to 'Flashback' and 'Bad Deal' still give me a thrill after 30 years. When "Illusions" was released in 1974 it sold very well outside Germany - I was one of the purchasers in Brazil and loved the album. It's one of my Prog desert island discs, along with "Tarkus". Interestingly, both ELP and TRIUMVIRAT still have a big fan base in Brazil. The fact is that TRIUMVIRAT still has a significant fan base worldwide, to the extent that we lobbied EMI Germany for several years to get the albums remastered and re-released. I waited for years to get hold of a copy of "Illusions" and "Spartacus", having to content myself with a cassette recording of my long gone LP. One man's meat is another man's poison. To me, "Illusions On A Double Dimple" is filet migon. The concept, the melodies, the structure of the tracks, the lyrics and even the album cover are excellent in my opinion. Just because Jurgen Fritz used a synthesizer (or wore leather trousers) does not automatically mean he is a plagarist. He was obviously inspired by ELP. Inspiration is not plagarism. I'm not trying to convince those of you who profess to dislike TRIUMVIRAT. But I say to anyone reading this and who has not listened to the band's music: don't dismiss the band without first checking out the first 3 albums. "Spartacus" sold more than "Illusions" - especially in the USA - but personally I much prefer "Illusions". In any case, they're both good concept albums.
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Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 01 2005 at 03:56
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Sparticus Autisticus. I widdle when I piddle.... RIP, ID. ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: Swinton MCR
Date Posted: January 04 2005 at 12:16
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I have listened to the CD Thrice - and have noticed that since this was released in 1976, both Pallas and IQ have lifted parts of the composition. This is acceptable in my eyes because Triumvirat have obviously influenced the later proggers just as much as Yes/Genesis/Floyd and ELP. It is a good addition to my collection, and I thank those who told me to buy the CD, you have been vindicated by my enjoyment...... ------------- Play me my song, here it comes again |
Posted By: pfontaine2
Date Posted: January 11 2005 at 12:31
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As much as I liked Spartacus, I eventually grew to
love Illusions On A Double Dimple even more. Sure the keyboard sounds are the same and alot of the riffs are similar between Fritz and Emerson but Fritz had a more melodic approach to his compositions and arragements. I'm also a big fan of Pompeii, even with it's more commercial approach. Pierre |
Posted By: Swinton MCR
Date Posted: January 11 2005 at 13:42
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Looks like Spartacus was more Liked than not............Thought it might be ------------- Play me my song, here it comes again |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 12 2005 at 02:44
| 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. |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: January 15 2005 at 03:04
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Excellent album. Sure they have the same dynamic as ELP but I only see
their influence, Triumvirat and Jürgen Fritz keyboard playing are unique. |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: January 15 2005 at 03:07
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I'm sparticus! I'm Sparticus! I'm sparticus autisticus! Not a bad album, but rather derivitive of poor dead Ian Dury.... ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 13:43
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I think it's excellent, though sligthly flawed. 4/5 ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: memowakeman
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 14:02
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Only thought it was good... ------------- Follow me on twitter @memowakeman |
Posted By: gr8dane
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 15:43
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So what you are saying is,we should only talk about the same 10 bands all the time.?Or bands you like?Or what? |
Posted By: ANDREW
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 15:59
| 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". |
Posted By: Atkingani
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 17:53
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?
------------- Guigo ~~~~~~ |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 18:32
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gr8dane wrote:
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:
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
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
------------- 
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) I write about my life, Posted By: elpprogster
Date Posted: December 02 2005 at 18:52
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In the early 80´s my older brother was given a old tape with 2 Triumvirat albuns: Side 1 - Spartacus; Side 2 - Old Loves Die Hard When I grabbed it I couldn´t stop to listen to it and my passion for progressive rock began... THANKS, TRIUMVIRAT!! |
Posted By: gr8dane
Date Posted: December 03 2005 at 14:55
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Ivan,I think you make a good pint about Little Richard.
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Posted By: OldFatherThames
Date Posted: December 03 2005 at 17:11
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Other...please state Awful ! I cannot stand this album, really ! And I'm not a fan of ELP. I like very much the ELP album and quite like Tarkus and BSS, and pictures. |
Posted By: transend
Date Posted: December 03 2005 at 17:36
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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. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: December 03 2005 at 18:07
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Sorry, I can't understand what you say, my English is not perfect, until now I thought pint was a weight meassure. Iván -------------
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Posted By: gr8dane
Date Posted: December 03 2005 at 23:57
Sorry buddy.I meant point.Not pint. |
Posted By: beebs
Date Posted: December 04 2005 at 00:54
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This album (I bought it on vinyl brand new in 1975) was a hit with me and my friends, who begged it to be played constantly at parties we'd have. "March to the Eternal City" was a hands-down favorite. ------------- "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of one's own mind" * Ralph Waldo Emerson |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: December 04 2005 at 01:18
TRIUMVIRAT - SPARTICUS is a great progressive rock album ... one of the best ! 
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: December 04 2005 at 02:23
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Pleasre guys, maybe it's my neurotic nature but the title of this thread and the last post are driving me nuts, it's SPARTACUS not Sparticus.
BTW: Almost as disturbing is to read some people calling the band Triumvirate, it's Triumvirat, in reference to the Roman Triumvirate and the Rat that appears in two of their albums, that's why they're also called The Rat. Sorry, but it was driving me crazy. Iván PS: Now I must check the lights of the kitchen for the third time before I go to sleep, I told you, I'm neurotic. -------------
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Posted By: A'swepe
Date Posted: December 08 2005 at 18:55
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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. ------------- David - Never doubt in the dark that which you believe to be true in the light. http://www.myspace.com/aardvarktxusa - Instrumental rock http://www.soundclick.com/aardvarktxusa |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: December 09 2005 at 04:20
| I was quite disappointed, to be honest. Couldn't understand where all the fuzz was about. |
Posted By: NutterAlert
Date Posted: December 09 2005 at 04:23
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Agree, it was a MAJOR let down for me too and I waited years to hold of it. ------------- Proud to be an un-banned member since 2005 |