Illusions On A Double Dimple - Triumvirat

Triumvirat were a German prog act from the 70's, like so many are, and also submitted to the trend of pop in the 80's, like many others as well.
What sets these guys apart from the other prog acts during their heyday was their lineup - they only consisted of a keyboardist, bassist and drummer - they very rarely used guitars in their songs, and when playing live they would dispense with them entirely. This often leads to comparisons with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who are very similar in this particular respect. My personal preference is Triumvirat, if only because they wrote far more involving and accessible tunes, although still keeping their music interesting to one who tires of modern pop music. :P

Like many bands, their second album was their break into popularity. For Triumvirat, this was Illusions On A Double Dimple, which was released in 1974. This album consists of their classic and most durable lineup, and so the songwriting on this record is tight. What I particularly like about this album is the keyboard work, particularly the classical interludes that take place every now and then. I don't hear enough of those in music for my liking.
Anyway, Illusions On A Double Dimple merely consists of technically just two songs. However, Triumvirat were nice enough to split up the two mammoths into much easier palatable parts, and I am very grateful for that. :P
Anyway, onto taking a look at the tracks themselves now.

Illusions On A Double Dimple:
Flashback - piano, woo. I love this little snippet of a song, since it mainly consists of just the aforementioned piano.
Schooldays - the dissonant piano "riff" at the start is awesome. This is the first real meat of Triumvirat on this album, and it certainly shows off their trademark style pretty succinctly in little over three minutes.
Triangle - synthesizers are abound here. Perhaps a turnoff for some, but the quality of the musicianship here really makes up for it - the usage doesn't come off as cheesy in the slightest, just a tad electronic.
Illusion - this little section returns in the penultimate section of this song, and that serves as a nice little reprise.
Dimplicity - my favourite track, despite the admittedly generic riff that the whole song is built around. I listen to this song purely for the chorus, which is strangely reminiscent of 60's pop, really. You've got the harmonious vocal backing, the chord progression is interesting yet easily palatable, and the instrumentation is familiar and solid. I dunno, I guess the particular chord progression used here really tickles my fancy. Love it.
The reprise of Illusion serves as a bridge in this song as well, just to note.
Last Dance - this song heavily borrows from Triangle to serve as a close, and it works well.

Mister Ten Percent:
Maze - and now the start of the next song certainly starts out far more progressive than Double Dimple - a complex riff interjected with random "ahs" certainly gives that impression, at least. An almost spy-like theme takes over the latter half of the song, and then we are lead into...
Dawning - this is the best classical interlude of the album - the notes just swirl around, and the dynamics are just astounding. It certainly shows off the talent of Jürgen Fritz, although without being overly showy and pretentious.
Bad Deal - some more vocal backing here helps to make this another accessible song, and I really wish it went on for longer. It's an awesome riff that's used as the backbone. Great little sax solo in there too - or at least what definitely sounds like a sax. :P
Roundabout - and now we're back to prog. Never really listened to this song that much, to be quite honest - it's never really appealed to me that much.
Lucky Girl - and now some acoustic guitar is prominent, and we're back to accessibility. Damn good song too.
Million Dollars - this mainly consists of a great keyboard solo, and I love the fact that it's not simply pounding away at keys as fast as possible, like many solos that other prog bands do - like Yes, who I've never been a huge fan of. A great ending to a very decent album, and it ends on a nice melodic note.

I would suggest giving Million Dollars a listen if you're interested, and then take a look at the rest of the album if that takes your fancy.

Overall album score: 8.0/10

Personnel:
Hans Bathelt — percussion
Jürgen Fritz — keyboards, vocals
Helmut Köllen — bass, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, lead vocals
Hans Pape — vocals, bass (left the band and was replaced by Köllen midway through recording)

Track listing:
1. "Illusions on a Double Dimple" - 23:25
    "Flashback" - 0:57
    "Schooldays" - 3:22
    "Triangle" - 6:53
    "Illusions" - 1:42
    "Dimplicity" - 5:37
    "Last Dance" - 4:53
2. "Mister Ten Percent" - 21:33
    "Maze" - 3:03
    "Dawning" - 1:02
    "Bad Deal" - 1:40
    "Roundabout" - 5:49
    "Lucky Girl" - 5:14
    "Million Dollars" - 4:42