Spartacus

What had a poor proggy lad like me to look forward to in 1975? More Yes solo albums? When Triumvirat appeared on the radar screen in 1974 with "Illusions on a Double Dimple," their ELP cloned proggy sound made people like me smile and sigh. With ELP and all the other major Prog groups still on hiatus, Triumvirat had center stage largely to themselves, and for their third album, they swelled like bread in the rain. Some other reviewer will give you the personnel changes, but the essence of the band was always Jurgen Fritz, the slightly plump dude in the frilly collar who could play as well as of the other keyboard virtousos of the that era. Looking for a suitable epic as a subject for this third album must have been daunting. The German national epics had been done by Wagner and then co-opted by the Nazi regime, so that a German band doing Siegfried was out of the question then, and probably now. A suitable anti-Siegried was the socialist wet-dream of Spartacus, turned into a kitsch epic film starring Kirk Douglas. Also, Pre-Nazi socailists called themselves "Spartacists" thus giving the RAT even more distance from the disquieting cultural baggage of their homeland, and currying favor with the leftist sympathies of their student listeners. If "Illusions" was the direct musical heir to "Tarkus," then "Spartacus" is the child of "Trilogy" and "Brain Salad Surgery." The album even begins with a rip off the opening of the ELP song "Trilogy." "Spartacus" isn't on the same level as Emerson's masterpieces, but it has some of the same virtues of Triumvirat's previous work: intense musicality, and an album-long cohesion that few progsters were capable of sustaining. Once again, I must question the style of music coupled with the content; surely a song-cycle about Spartacus would be far more dissonant than Fritz's fundamentally conservative musical offerings. Still, the album is filled with the same musical precision that made the Rat's two previous works so listenable. Utilmately, this album comes to signify the end of the prog cycle; every move is expected, every sound has been heard before, yet it is done so well, that those short-comings hardly matter. Perhaps Trimvirat saw themselves as underdogs; their logo is the trapped mouse, but they stood alone in 1975 and this epic album holds up still.

We are bigtime progressive rock fans, and loved groups such as Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, early Rush and UK. Triumvirat, which hailed from Germany, was a relative latecomer in the ranks, but helped to keep progressive rock alive through the latter half of the 70s. We have quite a few of their albums on vinyl and they've been played half to death. Vinyl being vinyl, much of the sound quality has suffered. We searched for a couple years to find replacements on CD and were at last delighted to find that Triumvirat was releasing remasters on compact disc. We pre-ordered Spartacus, our favorite album of the bunch, and received it at long last. It was worth the wait. The sound is crisp and clear, very impressive. Like Rush and Pink Floyd, the entire album is a story, in this case the saga of Spartacus, who led the gladiators' revolt against Imperial Rome. Triumvirat was clearly the brainchild of Jurgen Fritz, the keyboard player, who never left the lineup no matter how often it changed. His indelible mark is found in the classical elements lacing each song. Soaring and powerful music and haunting vocals make this a fine example of progressive rock. Their sound is so timeless that even our teenage children fell madly in love with Triumvirat. This CD is an excellent investment and we highly recommend it for hours of listening pleasure.

This 1975 release consists of a series of shorter pieces in the 2-9 minute range that are more or less strung together to intimate the history of Spartacus and the third slave uprising in 42 minutes or so. This album finds the group at a peak after which point this lineup would unfortunately dissolve. Although Triumvirat sounds a great deal like ELP, I find their music to be a lot more accessible. On Spartacus, the listener is treated to galloping Hammond organ, blistering mini-moog solos, and soaring string synthesizer pads atop a fairly agile rhythm section. This all may sound familiar: indeed, shades of ELP's Trilogy album (1972) turn up here and there. The ensemble work is intricate; the melodies are superb; the vocals (in English) are excellent; and the arrangements are well thought out, which makes Triumvirat justifiably one of the more technically accomplished of the German prog bands. This remastered album from 2002 (EMI) features excellent sound quality and a CD booklet that features recording credits, informational tidbits, and photos of the group. The bonus tracks are dispensable. Another remastered version was issued in 2003 - I have not heard this version. This is a good recording that should keep most prog fans entertained. Recommended along with Illusions on a Double Dimple (1973), which is somewhat similar to Spartacus, yet not as consistent.

Some might consider this album just a historical curiosity. It is at least interesting. Progressive rock is hardly fashionable these days, but it does show a bit more thought than other recent forms. I'm normally not a fan of this sort of thing at all, but I appreciate the fact that there are no electric guitars, (instrumentation is keyboard, bass and percussion) and the Roman history. The percussion is a bit heavy, and the synthesizers are a bit dated 40+ years on, but it still has its charms. I wonder if they could have done the lyrics in Latin? :-)

Todo fue bien. Tardó un tiempo, pero era lo esperado. El disco, una joya.

Ich bin 18, interessiere mich grundsätzlich für ältere Rockmusik und ihren Wurzeln und habe vor einiger Zeit die Band Kraftwerk entdeckt. Sofort begann ich mich für die Wurzeln und der Geschichte des Synthesizers und ihrer "Pioniere" zu interessieren. Ich erzählte meinem Vater davon und wir machten uns einen "Synthesizer-Abend" und er präsentierte mir seine besten Platten, neben Tangerine Dream und einigen anderem zog er diese Platte hervor und spielte sie ab- ich war hin und weg, sowas geniales und idylisches zugleich habe ich zuvor nur selten gehört und es ist überaus bedauerlich, dass modernere Künstler sich nicht mehr mit dieser Art von Musik befassen. Triumvirat, die sich vieles von Emerson, Lake and Palmer abgesehen haben, haben hier was ganz eigenes und meisterhaftes kreirt, was zudem sehr gut auf CD remastered übertragen wurde. Ich kann es nur wärmstens empfehlen! Ebenfalls kann ich den Vorgänger "Illusions on a duoble dimple" empfehlen!

Ottimo imballaggio e spedizione veloce, disco consigliato per gli amanti del genere prog rock

I remember being 14yrs old and listening to this album for the first time. It gets better at 61yrs. Back in the day it was Beatles Stones Aerosmith Yes Led Zeppelin Alice Cooper The Who 'tommy' Jethro Tull Cat Stevens Brown and so on. It was a New Age of music written in so many ways. Santana Earth Wind and Fire, Suzy Quattro, Gentle Giant, Uriah Heep. Emerson Lake and Palmer, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Buffy St Marie, too many to mention. Triumverat Spartacus blew me away at 14 and it still does. No one except Genesis used so much synth. And the band was only three people. Created a sound that made one think it was at least four to six people. You have to like synth to appreciate the album. Have Fun!

J'ai acheté ce disque ainsi qu'Illusions on a double dimple du même groupe. Autant ce dernier m'a laissé une impression mitigée, autant Spartacus est un pur chef d'oeuvre : voix en harmonie avec le piano mélodieux, parfait clone d'ELP pour Capitol of Power et Hazy Shades of Dawn, fluide mélodie à la Anthony Phillips pour deadly Dream of Freedom, montée grondante et épique quand on marche sur Rome : March to the eternal City. Pop très british pour la plage titre. A conseiller à tous les mélomanes. Un "must have" dans toute discothèque progressive.