Triumvirat-Old Loves Die Hard (1976)

In 1976, the German band Triumvirat released their fourth album, "Old Loves Die Hard", which would ultimately be their last great work before veering towards the more predictable and commercial sounds of their subsequent releases. On this new album, the band introduced two new official members: for the first time, they had a vocalist, the Englishman Barry Palmer, and a new bassist, Werner "Dick" Frangenberg, who replaced Helmut Köllen. However, despite containing some great and brilliant moments throughout the album, "Old Loves Die Hard" falls far short of their excellent predecessors, such as "Illusion On A Double Dimple" (1974) and "Spartacus", released a year later, both considered masterpieces of 70s progressive rock. Created in the image of their contemporaries Emerson, Lake & Palmer a fact that would bring them considerable criticism throughout their career for being considered mere clones of the British trio Triumvirat's greatest asset was its leader, the virtuoso keyboardist Jürgen Fritz, thanks to his lavish arrangements and original style as a composer and instrumentalist. Composed of seven tracks, "Old Loves Die Hard" is distinguished above all by the complex mini-suites "A Day In A Life", "The History of Mystery", and "Panic on 5th Avenue", where the clear influence of EL&P is more than evident, but brilliantly crafted with grand and splendid symphonic arrangements. The rest is equally commendable, but lacks the excellence of the aforementioned tracks, such as the pompous "I Believe" or the melodic "A Cold Old Worried Lady". From this point on, Fritz's inspiration began to wane, resulting in a series of mediocre works: "Pompeii" (1977), "A La Carte" (1978), and "Russian Roulette" (1980), which failed to gain public traction, a fact that precipitated the band's definitive breakup at the end of 1980.