Search - Triumvirat :: Spartacus (Dlx)

TOO GOOD FOR THEIR OWN GOOD?

BOB | LOS ANGELES, CA | 03/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have written several hundred reviews on Amazon, the majority dealing with the remastering of compact disc recordings. As a 50-year-old, lifelong music fan, an owner of a CD collection large enough to be termed a library, a crazed pursuer of tens of thousands of dollars/decades of audio equipment upgrades, and ultimately, as an intense LISTENER, I feel comfortable in my mastering observations.



However, in all those reviews, I have seldom opined to content. I've always held music criticism in various forms of contempt: I'm old enough to have read the original reviews of many albums Rolling Stone magazine panned back in the 70's that they now hail as "classic" and "must-own" recordings.



As Irish author Brendan Behan once waxed best: "Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." And, as Harlan Ellison succinctly observed, Roger Ebert, albeit one of the pre-eminent film historian/critics of our time, will also, unfortunately, always be the guy who penned the original screenplay to "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls".



Respectively, sage words and adroit perspective to live by, I always thought.



So, on to Triumvirat and "Spartacus".



Being an instant prog-fan with the first ELP, King Crimson & Yes albums in 1969, Spartacus knocked me out the first time I spun it on a turntable in `74. Yet, throughout the subsequent decades, the album always had one distinctive and unfortunate trademark for me: No matter what other prog-acquaintance I played it for, the album and band were instantly dismissed as "ELP rip-off's" (a reaction very similar to that I always received of Frank Marino via Jimi Hendrix, also quite undeserved), and you see some of that in the reviews below.



Although I understood the observation, I never agreed with it. So much so, that I feel compelled to come to the album's defense and offer my own perspective. Therefore, I humbly hereby fling my fedora into the roped canvas quad.



Put simply, Spartacus is just a really great record, and may be one of the strongest prog albums of the 70's. As Triumvirat is always compared to ELP, I would offer that Spartacus is certainly a far more concise and finished piece than some of the ELP albums, many of which contained iconoclastic compositions, but were rounded off with uneven ("Tarkus"), and sometimes hackneyed ("Works", as in both, and don't get me started on "Love Beach", which even ELP themselves detest), material.



There is not one weak track on Spartacus, and Triumvirat acquit themselves mightily as both musicians and songwriters. Nothing they did before, and nothing that followed, was as accomplished, or has stood the test of time, as Spartacus does. And, truth be told, I never particularly cared for the other albums in the Triumvirat catalog.



I consider Spartacus a perfect prog album, one that should stand proudly beside ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery", as each band's respective masterpiece. Like BSS, everything on Spartacus just jelled to perfection (although, honestly, I have always been able to do without "Benny The Bouncer", the proverbial funny-colored "pickle" in the BSS punchbowl). Am I saying is Spartacus as good as BSS? Of course not. But if Spartacus were an ELP album, my personal preference would place it behind only BSS, ELP1 & Tarkus, and ahead of all the other studio ELP albums, including Trilogy.



Yes, there are brief passages in Spartacus that are almost, or are, note-for-note ELP-esque. But if you listen to the entire recording, rather than fixate on a few bars, you will find, as I have, a work deserving of far greater recognition. I've always suspected, although not substantiated by anything I've ever read, that the incorporation of those momentary passages may have been nothing more than ELP homages, rather than plagiarization. Barclay James Harvest, another 70's prog band, did exactly that with the Beatles and The Moody Blues and I don't remember them ever getting trashed for it.



And, yes, some of the lyrics ("In the Gladiator's school, things were perfect, things were cool") will raise the corner of your mouth, as if your olfactories had been gently prodded by a rather pungent slice of pressed curd of milk.



But, anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of progressive music, and actually listens to this album, should admit to one fact: These cats were awesome players on their respective instruments. Check out the extended soloing in the live bonus tracks, if you need further convincing. The musicianship Triumvirat's members display on Spartacus is on a par with almost anything ELP ever recorded: Tight, fiery, inventive, expressive and eminently listenable... everything a prog-fan should want.



So, if you've never heard this album, or, if you have and dismissed it, PLEASE, give it a whirl/re-whirl, in both cases, with an open mind.



If you do so, IMHO, I think you will find a work that not only stands on its own, but one that is whole-heartedly, start-to-finish, just downright, doggone enjoyable."

A keyboard lover's delight!

Squire Jaco | Buffalo, NY USA | 06/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Triumvirat's heyday was limited to just two or three albums from the early to mid 1970's (before Helmet Kollen's departure), and "Spartacus" was their magnum opus. Despite other reviewers' unjustified complaints that they were simply an ELP ripoff band, Triumvirat proved with "Spartacus" that they could compose and play an intricate and interesting concept album on an original subject, and deliver a work that has stood the test of time as well as anything that their progenitors ever produced.



The original album contains about 42 minutes of great music, and this remastered version rewards the listener with three previously unreleased live versions of songs from the "Spartacus" album, plus two so-so bonus tracks recorded after this album (more in the prog-pop vein, and sung by the less likable [to me, at least] Barry Palmer). The highlight of the bonus tracks has to be the middle section instrumental of "March to the Eternal City" - they go from the dark and foreboding march theme to an almost funky(!) groove with a extended keyboard solo that sort of sounds like what the Alan Parsons Project would do if they had Triumvirat's chops and audacity. Pretty cool.



But back to the original album - what a fantastic treat this was for anyone into keyboard-driven prog. Jurgen Fritz was just a phenomenal keyboard player; he was fast and inventive and knew just the right time to use the piano or organ or synth or some combination of all. Helmet Kollen played a very busy and melodic bass, supplied some appropriate guitar riffs, and sang the English lyrics in a nice tenor that bore little German accent. The drumming by Hans Bathelt was crisp and clever. While some of the songs bordered on prog-pop and ballads, there were some simply stunning prog workouts throughout the album, not the least of which was the album closer "Spartacus" - layered keyboards, inspirational melodies, and a driving rhythm section make the perfect ending to a very exciting album. Even though some of the lyrics could be a little cheesy or clumsy, they nevertheless told a good story that you could not ignore despite the virtuosity of the playing.



The sound quality here is fantastic, and even more pronounced for me since the only other copy of this album that I owned was the original vinyl from 1976, the second side of which never quite recovered from the spilled beer incident... (Note to self on one foggy-headed morning in 1977: Hide your albums after the third keg is tapped!) Surely reminiscent of ELP without overt plagiarism, this was a standout keyboard-prog jewel of the mid 1970's. Look for the mouse inside the light bulb, and ENJOY.



I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 8.4/10; Performance = 9/10; Production = 9.5/10; CD length = 9/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.8 ("4-1/2 stars")"

Great album, great price, & a bonus cut!

Squire Jaco | 10/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a classic album for anyone who loves the prog rock movement, but it reaches beyond just that hardcore audience. The sound is excellent and the treasure on this package is the bonus cut Take A Break Today. It doesn't hurt that this disc is SEVEN DOLLARS cheaper than the import version."