TRIUMPH

1. Spellbound with the prog intro, yes like you're on a road it's dark, a road from which you never return and suddenly a blonde creature passes you in front!!! in short it's Gil on the drums who sings and it's Rik who sets the fire, the guitar riff harder than heavy, explosive; the break reminds me for a while of 'In the evening' with the stopping of the tune for a prog beat; the sound is heavy, well-paced, you don't get bored, in short, this title is immense; FYI the blonde lady leaves at the end 2. Rock Out, Roll On another melting, latent intro with a sharp riff before Lou's keyboards, centerpieces of the 80s, get going; rock but rock with soaring moments just to change from hard, heavy, yes we are here in the middle of the period, AOR and hard FM; it's over ah no phew I'm talking and I almost forgot to talk about this beautifully crafted solo which fills the stage, ooh there it squirts, it shines everywhere, almost nirvanesque; I read ah but it's not prog... but of course calm down guys, but how good are these progressive moments 3. Cool Down come on I'll take you to Kansas, a slide, a banjo and we're there; vocal a cappella or almost...southern rock for the harmonica, in any case at the beginning I find the abrupt and dirty sound of LED ZEPPELIN, yes especially the chorus it seems... them; chopped banjo break then the guitar on top, vintage rock that does honor to this dino! The very hardcore solo that lasts and sets fire... cool down! 4. Follow Your Heart with the stadium entrance, a pompous title on one side, but a chorus that makes the audience scream, we could hear the cries of thousands of women, fans; yes, a frontman was missing, the type to have a microphone to transcend... this live audience, an obvious lack; pyro effects yes but I always said to myself that it hid something lacking, the hero with a microphone, in short it's moving 5. Time Goes By, yes, another intro... and a beautiful intro... a riff that doesn't ask any questions, a vocal that follows the tune, and...and the voices of the trio that start on a latent space, assured softness, before the return of hard air; Gil has a distinctive hit, like pads forged in lava to slam even drier; ah the 2nd break with the voices, prog not prog but listen to bondiou and enjoy, that's the important thing, high voices yes, machine gun pad suddenly yes we won't get bored... again.. the solo a pearl, a musical gallop, a symphony in itself, astonishing; the title which never ends and which keeps its nervousness until the end, ah this sound which also takes me back to VAN HALEN the foot 6. Midsummer's Daydream... so... yes the link is made with Eddie but even if it's chance (I don't believe it personally) this arpeggio which falls from the sky, interlude, break, no I won't do not quote the interludes of Steve from YES otherwise you will listen again...in any case it...progresses and it introduces 7. Time Canon then ?? a canon of Pachelbel or not, the second interlude which sends this album very high, which brings it into the lair of the progressive space just for that, time, time, time, slap, slap, slap; who would dare say there's no prog blood in there? 8. Killing Time comes next, a spleen rock-pop song, then an energetic ballad from the start of the second verse; quite a few synths which make the sound more rock AOR, the voice seems to me over time a tad too high, too much on RUSH in fact, and this can also explain the lack of recognition of this group which released a cream there; last break where Gil's drums fart very clearly, roll, smash against the speakers, superb 9. Stranger In A Strange Land... if there was one it would be this one... a consensual heavy rock title without much singularity, which flirts instrumentally with a vitaminized TOTO; the more I find this stereo riff which diffuses to the right, to the left, to the right, I didn't need much to be happy in fact; Gil still with his pads, the guitar more bluesy there, not bad at all anyway, a beautiful nervous ballad which shows that rock can rock... ah this riff which makes me think of a hard band, but I'm not going quote it otherwise people will say to me 'you see it's not prog'! 10. Little Boy Blues well I wrote blues just before without knowing it for the last title (my eye do you think I'm going to believe myself???) in short a title to get notes, ahead of the legendary Gary who s 'll put it there later; what can I say, it's beautiful, yes much more than the awful notes on PA, but that's how it is... listen to these notes coming out of this guitar, listen... music can be beautiful when you stop for a while and we take the time!

TRIUMPH OMNI for this album

Triumph is one of those bands which officially sanctioned "proggers" feel the need to debase, when in reality the band has always been a feel-good hard rock band who I'm sure doesn't pine for the approval of we, the musical Asgard. How some folks see fit to trash this band with one-star reviews is beyond me. Triumph always struck me as similar to what Styx would sound like without Dennis DeYoung, if it were led by Tommy Shaw and James Young alone as it is today. Just good quality suburban hard-rock, surviving the era of bad clothes and big hair with respectable musicianship and grueling tour constitutions. But these days, revisionism is huge in all areas of life, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I think the one-two-three punch of Allied Forces/Never Surrender/Thunder Seven marks what is probably my personal highpoint for the group. Everything seems just a bit more cohesive, planned, polished, and executed. The live Triumph were at the absolute peak of their power in this period as proven in the 1983 US Festival performance, which you should own on DVD if you like this band to any measurable degree.

They still don't deviate far, unfortunately, from their template of several bar-rock hard bluesy tunes sung by Gil, to Rik's more grandiose anthemic tracks, with the cherry on whip cream short acoustic guitar number stuck in there (not unlike what Steve Howe did with stuff like The Clap.) The album is on par with the previous and the latter, although on most days, it is probably my least played of the three. The title track is a great song and the acoustic interludes are beautiful. It boasted a couple of high-charting Billboard singles, with "A World of Fantasy" being a standout track. It and the title track have that big epic Rik song style vibe that became the hallmark of Triumph in this period, even if it wasn't quite comparable to the attempts to pass this band off as another Rush (they never were or tried to be.) Still, good vibes duly noted, three stars is definitely the best I can do with Never Surrender.

For anyone remotely interested in checking out Triumph, who has no previous experience with this Canadian hard-rock juggernaut, the place to start is their full, spectacular performance at the US Festival, which is available on both CD and DVD. That is the day they arguably blew their peers away. THAT is Triumph at their finest. They never quite translated that same ferocity to their studio work, most of which is three stars at best. Still, suburban kids of the late 70s and early 80s will remember Triumph as a really good band they enjoyed at the rink or arcade, and they frankly couldn't give a whiz what the cerebrals in the "progressive community" think. Nor should you. Carry on, kiddos, and pass it this way.

As a result of the world of popular music ditching prog oriented music in favor of punk and heavy rock in the latter part of the 70s, TRIUMPH jettisoned the ambitious longer tracks presented on their first two albums and created a more cohesive albeit less exciting collection of nine tracks. JUST A GAME as well played as it is, sounds very much in tune with the mainstream hard rock of the era with not only the Styx and Journey sounding AOR tracks but with the bluesy rockers such as "American Girls" that remind me a lot of 38 Special and other Southern-tinged hard rock of the late 70s / early 80s turnover. Musically TRIUMPH basically sold out as JUST A GAME doesn't even feature any outstanding virtuosity of Emmett's guitar skills as heard on the previous albums however as a standard commercial sounding hard rock album of the era, all tracks are catchy and pleasurable to listen to as they are well performed, well produced and take the final step in finding their unique sound that jettisons many of the characteristics of fellow Ontario mates Rush.

While JUST A GAME may not be the most sophisticated album musically, the album cover is absolutely brilliant with the original LP vinyl version that folded out to display a giant board game that could actually be played although bassist Mike Levine convinced the band that it should be impossible to win and so it was! The futuristic looking front cover also contains a symbol that depicts every song on the album, so apparently they weren't quite ready to let go of the all the prog urges which becomes even more apparent by the short classical guitar number "Fantasy Serenade" that sounds a bit out of place actually. When all is said and done, JUST A GAME is a competent album that plays it all too safe. While commercially it was the right thing to do, it seems a little too tame in comparison to the albums that surround it. While the singles are some of the strongest TRIUMPH had to offer, the rest of the album seems a little mediocre in terms of quality. Pleasant album but not outstanding either.

3.5 rounded down

While no sophomore slump haunted the band, comparisons to Rush certainly did however ROCK & ROLL MACHINE successfully sounds like a foray into their own world of bluesy hard rock with more idiosyncratic heavy riffing which would become the trademark sound of Gil Moore's songwriting contributions . Also debuting is the classic AOR ballad sound that would showcase Emmett's powerful vocal style on "Bringing It Home" and "New York City Streets - Part 1," a style that would yield them their biggest hits in the future. As with the debut, TRIUMPH also continued their dabbling into the progressive rock world as heard on the ambitious fusion frenzy of "City: War March / El Duende Agonizante / Minstrel's Lament" which would hijack a sampling from Gustav Holst's "The Planets" as well as display a superb Spanish classical guitar workout by Emmett. The beginning thunderous march actually brings Rush's progressive works to mind (think "La Villa Strangiato") as well as showcasing a percussive rhythm workout that would find a home on Dream Theater's "Images And Words" album a decade and a half down the road. Worth mentioning is the second part of "New York City" with its jazzy guitar segments and genre shifting restlessness.

Also of extreme importance is the fantastic title track finale which jumps back into the hard rock arena and pumps out the heaviest track on the album with one of the best heavy rock guitar solos the 70s had to offer displaying Emmett as not only a gifted vocalist but a bona fide virtuoso guitarist of the first degree. This track would remain a staple of live performances and remains one of the most memorable tracks of TRIUMPH's entire career. The only track that is a misstep to my ears is the ill-placed Joe Walsh cover "Rocky Mountain Way." While i absolutely adore the original and Walsh's music in general, there is something just so wrong when it's performed without his distinct vocals at the helm. TRIUMPH does a veritable job but it really seems like a fish out of water on this release. The only other gripe i have is that the beginning heavy guitar riff on "New York City Streets - Part 2" sounds too much like Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein." Other than these quibbles, TRIUMPH produced one of their best albums of the 70s. ROCK & ROLL MACHINE is an excellent collection of hard rock, power pop and prog related treats and not a bad place to check out what made them stand out. Be sure to track down the album with the original listing as it is the superior format as well as the intended one.

While the band would grow musically and become both notable for their catchy hard rock bordering on heavy metal melodies as well as for their AOR radio with Rik Emmett's high pitched vocals creating a distinct mark on the world of hard rock, on IN THE BEGINNING they sound very much like a 70s hard rock band. The album kicks off with a bluesy hard rocker that sounds a bit like a hard Alice Cooper bluesy shuffle with a party all night Kiss attitude. Yeah, the lyrics on this one weren't too developed at this point and are a little focused on teenage obsessions such as partying all night! Love! Easy living! And of course rock 'n roll. Many of the tracks sound like they could have fit right in on Rush's debut release and the influence is undeniable and understandably so given time and place however TRIUMPH-isms do exist like Emmett's signature guitar solos sounding nothing like Alex Lifeson's and their riffing while similar is still all their own. "Let Me Get Next To You" however is a little too close to early Rush territory for its own good sounding like "Finding My Way."

"Don't Take My Life" sounds a bit like "I'm 18" from Alice Cooper and simultaneously a bit like "All Along The Watchtower" by Hendrix showing a couple more influences in the mix. The most interesting track that deviates from the blues and hard rock queue is the near nine minute closer "Blinding Light Show / Moonchild" which sounds completely different from the other tracks. It begins with a hard rock Celtic type of jig but completely shifts gears and becomes a spacey Pink Floyd sounding acoustic arpeggio run and really sounds like something off of "The Wall" a full three years before that album was released! It has a rock chorus but evolves into a beautiful classical guitar sequence that gets quite accomplished thus the type of track that often gets them in progressive rock related territory.

While not completely finding their own distinct sound quite yet, IN THE BEGINNING is a well performed debut that is a pleasure to listen to. Emmett had some of the best vocals in the world of hard rock and AOR and TRIUMPH sort of was a much more sophisticated version of Journey rather than a mere Rush clone at least after the first couple albums. On this one they do sound a lot like early Rush but that's not a bad thing for me since i happen to love the early Rush albums before they blossomed into prog behemoths. While TRIUMPH albums have traditionally suffered poor production values and neglected due to the fact that despite finding some success never really hit the big time either but the new remastered releases sound excellent like they were made for modern day consumption. Even if 70s hard rock isn't your thing, i highly recommend the closing track for prog heads however if you do fancy bluesy heavy rock from that era, TRIUMPH's first album is quite the pleasant listening experience.

3.5 rounded down

In my defense of Triumph as a great live band I mentioned the fact that they made some pretty mediocre studio albums. This is one. The problem with Triumph in my opinion is that no one had the apricots to tell Gil to zip it and just worry about the drums. While Gil is a decent drummer and backing vocalist who compliments Emmett's vocals well, the band suffers from the tracks he leads. I don't know how the writing arrangements break down, but I do know that the "Rik vocal songs" are the good ones generally, while the "Gil vocal songs" are usually the ultra predictable, painful bar room blues hard rockers you could hear at the corner pub. Nothing wrong with that if you like it, but I don't. It certainly hurt this band's studio output overall I would argue.

"Just a Game" delivered one huge hit (Lay It on the Line) which brought the band a ton of radio airplay but beyond that it's slim pickins'. Side 2 had two decent tracks that sound very much like some of Tommy Shaw's early contributions to Styx (Just a Game, Hold On). I would describe them as dreamy, melodic 70s rock with nice use of acoustic guitars for flavor and beautiful lead playing. Put these three fine tracks with the short acoustic Fantasy Serenade solo and you have a pretty good half album. But the other half ranges from brutal to mediocre. I think there is still enough good stuff here for *fans* of the band to add this to their collection, but I can't quite call it a "good" album overall. But if you like a song like "American Girls" (which you can preview on YT), then by all means dive in. If you like that stuff there's a good chance you'll like this album more than I.

Nothing for you here. Unapologetic 80s rock fans, enjoy.

Triumph were a great live rock band. One look at their '83 US festival gig proves it as they blew most of their bigger-hyped contemporaries off the stage. However it's fair to say their studio albums have had their hits and misses. The typical Triumph album has about two or three great songs, two or three decent songs, and a few throwaways. But they weren't making albums to please progressive rock purists. They were making albums for suburban teenagers listening to FM rock radio. So despite the occasional "proggy" touches I doubt these guys cared much about being identified as such. Triumph are more in the Journey, Zebra, Foreigner, and Styx vein but with less keyboards, more guitar, and more rocking.

"Thunder Seven" is actually one of the better Triumph albums, in fact possibly their best. Again, assuming you don't mind typical suburban-glory hard rock with lyrical clichés beyond comical and bordering on criminal. The better material here is tasty stuff: soaring power ballads, nice little riffs and exceptional lead guitar, as well as good dual vocals. While not as original (or free of corporate considerations) as the great albums of the early 70s, these catchy, melodic hard rockers grow on you. The album has a nice flow, unlike some earlier one's derailed by some less consistent material. The first three tracks are hard punchy rock, the middle songs are soaring, uplifting songs, and the last couple sliding in a bit bluesier direction. It also features two short instrumentals to give a bit more room for Rik's wonderful guitar playing, one is acoustic and one electric. Supposedly this is a conceptual album about "the actions of the 21st century man" and the continuity of certain themes may be of interest to some. But what I really like is the joy and the instincts Rik always brings to his performance--I can hear his enthusiasm--and I think the band feeds on that and you can hear the little bits of extra punch everyone contributes. There seems to be a very fluid, natural energy to the songs on this album, I would call it a bit of their "live" feel coming through. The second half of the album in particular.

This would be a peak of sorts and is certainly as good as comparable fare from 1980s Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, Rainbow, or Robert Plant. But again, one must enjoy FM hard rock for what it is rather than judging it against bands with different creative aspirations. I was a prog snob myself for a while but upon revisiting my old musical turf I find things like Triumph, Benatar, and AC/DC as much fun as they once were. Not everything has to be difficult and cerebral. After "Thunder Seven" things began to deteriorate for Triumph. Sales were waning, the label wanted outside writers and the band began splintering. The next couple of albums would get tighter and more polished, but "Thunder Seven" remains the best combination of the band's talents and personable, everyman dynamic....plus they still sound like they're having a lot of fun, a vibe I find missing on the next two releases.

So go ahead, roll down your window and sing along. Time is short. 7/10.

Most of the album is straight-ahead, gruff, crunchy, upbeat rock. Emmett's guitar playing, and especially his solos, are above average. If Triumph stuck to their instrumental guns they'd actually be a pretty badass band, as shown by Emmett's axe work in the ferocious "Too Much Thinking", the bluesy "Battle Cry", and especially in the extended and creative soloing in "When the Lights Go Down." It's too bad that Emmett opens his mouth to handle most of the singing, too. Never Surrender has lyrics that are acceptably bad for the genre and era, but Emmett's high, tinny, thin, frail vocals are just plain bad. If you like camp (like me), you'll actually have fun slumming along to the shrill wails, but vocals are definitely among the album's low points (drummer Gil Moore provides much better, though infrequent vocals).

The rest of the band plays quite well. While not striving for instrumental virtuosity or ear-catching moments, the rhythm section is entirely effective. The real issue with Never Surrender is that the songs just aren't much to write home about. Emmett's guitar ends up being the most memorable thing about the album, not the songs he's playing on.

The result is a fun, unchallenging yet uninsulting hard-rock release from a fun, unchallenging band. Check out the heavy bluesy guitar antics on "When the Lights Go Down," and maybe you'll agree... if you don't press the STOP button on your way there.

Songwriting: 2 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 2 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

With Just a Game I think you'll find some of Triumph's best work. It's '70's era hard rock, which means its pretty awesome and genuine. The band sounds powerful, crunchy, fuzzy, and bottom-heavy. If all you need is a bit of hard rock... what more could you ask for? If you're looking for something deeper, well then you'll be skipping tracks a bit.

The opener, "Moving On" is a bland arena rocker about being on the road, sort of a required song in the repertoire of bands of this era. It's comes and goes harmlessly, though the overdubs of arena crowds cheering is a little ostentatious. "Lay it on the Line" and "Young Enough to Cry" are bluesy, heavy, and feature some good guitar work by Emmett. His playing, and the band's transitions between them and the bridges of songs, are probably the best thing you'll hear on this album.

You can just skip the trite "American Girls" for the two songs that anyone will remember about this album: "Just a Game," a slow-tempo, hard rocking crunch-fest, and the sickeningly radio-friendly and upbeat "Hold On," which is hook-laden montage material which is basically an extended version of Rush's "Closer to the Heart." It, like most of the material on this album, are just good old fashioned hard rock fun, made sort of quaint by Emmett's weak vocals. Drummer Moore's vocals are much stronger, but unfortunately he doesn't get to sing on the key songs.

So, if you're willing to take a recommendation from the burn-out assistant manager from your local cinemaplex... you'll probably find a ton to enjoy in Triumph's Just a Game! If you want a recommendation from a prog-head like me, then this is the only Triumph album you'll enjoy, but only then if you find it in the bargain bin.

Songwriting: 2 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 2 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

So what do we get with Allied Forces? Well, if you can image a band finding unused songs by Journey, Rush, Bad Company, Styx, Foreigner, and REO Speedwagon you'll have an OK idea of what Triumph is doing here. Maybe that's a little harsh, because there's actually some excellent musicianship on this album and Rik Emmett's legacy is respectable, but Allied Forces simply sounds derivative, unambitious, and humorless. It doesn't connect with the listener, in part because of bland production that gives each song the same flat tone. Moreover, it sounds like each song was written in an attempt to satisfy a different market segment (this song is for people who like to sing along; this one is for people who like Led Zeppelin; etc.).

Standout songs like "Fight the Good Fight" and "Ordinary Man" have a few artistic crumbles to enjoy, but for each one of those one must endure the AOR pastiche heard throughout. Emmett's voice is thin and shrill which makes me wonder why he even bothers singing when his guitar work is clearly where his talent lies. Songs like "Magic Power" feel to me like they were written for an '80's movie montage, but when you hear Emmett's vocals you'll probably agree that not even Ralph Macchio or Sylvester Stallone could make them cool.

Songwriting: 1 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 1 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 2