Illusions On A Double Dimple

Triumvirat hailed from Cologne, but offered a style of music that was pure British progressive rock. Their debut album Mediterranean Tales was recorded and released in 1972, with two Hans, Pape on bass and vocal, and Bathelt on drums, plus Jürgen Fritz on keyboards. Anchored by the classically-trained keyboards of the latter, the album sat firmly in Emerson, Lake and Palmer tradition, but contained enough originality to hold its own. Released by Capitol Records, the follow-up Illusions On A Double Dimple was the band's first in a run of albums to have chart success in the US. No doubt Triumvirat filled the void an inactive ELP had left; they sound exactly the same! The difference, then, lay not in the technically perfect execution, but in the bite-sized songs that comprise their concept albums. Bassist Helmet Köllen, a fine English-language vocalist, replaced Pape mid-album. Triumvirat then fortuitously toured the US in support of Fleetwood Mac, and the following year they released Spartacus to even further success. Musically identical, the album breached the US Top 30, and after further touring, the band opted to remain in Los Angeles. Köllen then left and was replaced by bassist Dick Frangenberg and UK vocalist Barry Palmer for the 1976 album Old Loves Die Hard, the band's last to chart. Triumvirat would continue until the end of the decade, changing lineups with every album, and yet always to diminishing returns.