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"Triumvirat is EL&P German Counterpart"
The Hartford (Connecticut) Courant
July 28, 1974
ILLUSIONS ON A DOUBLE DIMPLE
by Triumvirat (Harvest Records)
International comparisons are always tedious and generally wrong. Remember when
Donovan was called "The British Bob Dylan"? And is Johnny Halliday really
the "French Elvis Presley"?
In some cases, though, the comparisons are so obvious- and so exact- that they must be
made. Such is the case with Triumvirat; they are the German Emerson Lake and Palmer.
Jürgen Fritz, Triumvirat's synthesizer player, is the master of several keyboard
instruments, as is EL&P's Keith Emerson. Both have extensive classical music
training, inevitably reflected in their groups' music. Hans Bathelt, Triumvirat's
percussionist, is a strong, sure-footed drummer, as is ELP's Carl Palmer. And Helmut
Köllen, Triumvirat's guitarist, provides a competent rhythm track and sings,
as does ELP's Greg Lake.
"Illusions On A Double Dimple" Triumvirat's first U.S. release, bears a strong
resemblance to ELP's second album, "Tarkus". Both consist of extended suites,
highlighted by exciting synthesizer sequences and occasional vocal passages. Triumvirat's
"Last Dance" on the LP is cast from the same mold as ELP's
"Mass", with bits of their "Jeremy Bender" thrown in for good
measure.
There is the same halting rhythm, the explosions of synthesizer lunacy matched beat-for
beat by the drums and the fervent bass track. But beyond that, there is the same
strange mixture of honky-tonk and jazz-rock. It's enough to suspect that Triumvirat
is really ELP in disguise (hmmm...surely there's no trace of German accent in the
vocal passages...could it be?)
Still, there are differences, chiefly Triumvirat's skillful use of the Cologne Opera
House Orchestra as a backing band. And in any case, there's no cause for Triumvirat to
avoid comparisons. Any groups that can so successfully reproduce a top-notch jazz-rock
sound like ELP is in good company indeed.
Especially pleasing is "Million Dollars", the final movement of the groups'
"Mister Ten Percent" suite (apparently dedicated to a recently fired manager) in
which all Triumvirat's talents are released in one electronic deluge. An especially
Tarkus-like opening dissolves into a huge orchestral and vocal rush as Triumvirat
bids farewell to their agent; "Who's going to work for you for the rest of your
life?"
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