Customer Reviews

A La Carte

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is not the Triumvirat I grew up with. No original members. Disco at it's worse. SUCKS!!!

I recently stopped putting off purchasing the Triumvirat reissues that EMI put out in 2002. My vinyl copies were in great shape and for years I couldn't rationalize the cost. I'm glad I finally caved -- with a few exceptions, Triumvirat's output only seem to be available through Amazon Marketplace sellers, so when they're gone folks, they're gone for good. Fans of the band will appreciate the excellent remastering on all the albums, and "A La Carte" is no exception. While it's certainly not my favorite, this record has some high points that I have gone back to on many occasions over the years: Mark Isham's flugelhorn on "Jo Ann Walker", Jurgen Fritz' organ on "A Bavarian in New York", and the ballad "For You". The liner notes have a very comprehensive list of credits, which is especially helpful, since my Capitol LP jacket had absolutely no info save publishing and production credit. On the negative side, vocalist Barry Palmer's (heard to much better effect on the 'Old Loves Die Hard' and 'Pompeii' albums) performances on "I Don't Even Know Your Name" and a cover of Beach Boys' "Darlin'" are best skipped over. All in all, it's great to finally have this material on CD. Grab it before it disappears.

I'm a fledgling Triumvirat fan who was turned on to them through "Spartacus". After hearing the useless crys that Triumvirat were ELP clones, I had to get "Spartacus" myself. The the Triumvirat seduction was complete. Just the prog I was looking for.

Flash forward a couple of weeks to my local indie store and I found "A La Carte" assuming that it was in the same prog vein. Oh, how wrong I was. I was ready to snap the disc in half as the feel-good Supertramp meets Elton John assaulted my ears. As I stepped away and came back to it, "A La Carte" started to grow. After all, "Spartacus" has plent of groovy and catchy moments so this wasn't much of a streatch.

Now, after digging it for about a week, "A La Carte" it ok by me though it won't be up there with "Spartacus" or even "Pompeii" it's a good pop-post-prog album in it it's own right.

This cd got panned but it's full of great songs, melody and complex arrangements....If you're a fan of Supertramp or Camel this cd works for you....Great stuff, full of heart, integrity, and passion...Well recommended!!!

-Waterfall-KILLER song, about too much rain. Good melodies
-(Oh Im) Late Again-Nice tune man. Complex in arrangement, as far as pop is concerned. Who do you think does the best pop? Ex proggers.
-Jo Ann Walker-Might be my fav on the album. Tight pro quality playing, and not to mention mature professional composition. Even a hint of Disco on the bridge.
-For You-Awesome long sappy song. Im such a romantic.
-I Dont Even Know Your Name- I think Triumvirat (jurgen) tackled disco quite well. I like disco anyway, becuase it has awesome sound quality if its 70s, it usually has jazzy hints, and its usually funky as hell. They did a good job on this one.
-A Bavarian in New York- Who the hell couldnt like this song? "triumvirat goes pop and fails". Please. Try and write a song comperable to this!
-Original Soundtrack Frome the movie OCSID-Another Awesome attempt at the new hip disco sound. Weird mastering job, someone should have backed off on the compression and threw a little noise reduction in here. Tight song anyway.
-Darlin-I dont know why, but this song kinda grew on me. Because im such a barry palmer fan. But I dont really care, because its not a Jurgen Fritz song anyway.
-Good Bye- Awesome rhodes, attempt at slow groovy disco jam.
Basically, if you want nice concise prog/pop/rock with pro studio musicians and second to none sound quality (not to mention amazing yamaha analog synthesizers) buy this CD really quickly.
(...) (another 5 star album)

Be warned: Triumvirat went pop at this album. This is not the progressive band which recorded the first five albuns. However, it's good pop music. "Waterfall", the single, features former singer Barry Palmer, and still sounds nice today. The instrumental "Original Soundtrack for the Movie O.C.S.I (which was never made)" and the ballad "For You" are the highlights of this album.