Search - Triumvirat :: Spartacus (Mlps)

Tom A. (CTA4him) from ANDERSON, SC
Reviewed on 10/11/2014...

Triumvirat is equal or possibly even better than Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This cd and "Double Dimple" are great examples of the great 70's prog rock movement. Tom A.

SAME MASTER/BONUS TRACKS AS THE '03 "DELUXE EDITION"

BOB | LOS ANGELES, CA | 05/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
The song lineup above is missing the five bonus tracks that are included on this mini-sleeve edition. They are: "The Capitol of Power", "The Deadly Dream Of Freedom" and "The March To The Eternal City", all recorded live in 1975. These three live performances demonstrate that these guys were amazing players.



The two additional studio tracks do not jibe well with the rest of the album, and are only for completists.



The audio here is the same as the 2003 remaster, and it is excellent. That jewel-cased version is still available, so if you're not a mini-sleeve fan, no reason to spend the big bucks. However, be aware that there is also another jewel-case version out there that does NOT have the 5 bonus tracks. So, be sure you're getting the "Deluxe Edition".



As to the content of the album, here is a review I wrote a while back:



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.



WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?



Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.



Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.



Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.



Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.



All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs."