Often considered one of the most disappointing Triumph records, “The Sport of Kings” was attacked because of its heavy keyboard sound and the band’s shift to a more radio-friendly song style (in the vein of the then uber-popular Foreigner and Journey).

While this newly remastered version of this CD can’t erase all of that 80s cheesiness, “The Sport of Kings” does sound more dynamic today than it did upon its initial release, even if some of the songs are truly dated (and, over 20 years later, why wouldn’t they be?). While songs like “Tears in the Rain” perhaps play better today than in 1985 (due to the exquisite remastering here), the lackluster of other songs — such as “What Rules My Heart” — becomes really apparent.

Not a bad Triumph CD if you’re a fan of 80s rock radio, but quite disappointing if you like Triumph’s harder-edged sound, “The Sport of Kings” at least benefits from the recent re-mastering. It still may not be one of the band’s best CDs, but at least some of the better tunes have been punched up a little.

Triumph: Rik Emmett – guitars, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, keyboards; Gil Moore – drums, vocals.

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Often considered one of the most disappointing Triumph records, “The Sport of Kings” was attacked because of its heavy keyboard sound and the band’s shift to a more radio-friendly song style (in the vein of the then uber-popular Foreigner and Journey).

While this newly remastered version of this CD can’t erase all of that 80s cheesiness, “The Sport of Kings” does sound more dynamic today than it did upon its initial release, even if some of the songs are truly dated (and, over 20 years later, why wouldn’t they be?). While songs like “Tears in the Rain” perhaps play better today than in 1985 (due to the exquisite remastering here), the lackluster of other songs — such as “What Rules My Heart” — becomes really apparent.

Not a bad Triumph CD if you’re a fan of 80s rock radio, but quite disappointing if you like Triumph’s harder-edged sound, “The Sport of Kings” at least benefits from the recent re-mastering. It still may not be one of the band’s best CDs, but at least some of the better tunes have been punched up a little.

Triumph: Rik Emmett – guitars, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, keyboards; Gil Moore – drums, vocals.

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When I was 13, my uncle had a music store in Tulsa, OK and he let me pick out any cassette I wanted — a cassette, mind you. As you may guess, I chose Triumph’s “Allied Forces.” Well, some may argue with my choice but it sparked a love for music that led me to keep that cassette free of nicks and scratches until the CD came out and I guard that closely as well. I primarily picked it because of the radio favorites that you can still hear today on any classic rock station. Listening to Triumph on my MP3 player destroys the memories I had when they released this guitar-flavored favorite, so I try to preserve what I can.

Rik Emmett and Gil Moore share vocal duties on this disc. They each take turns per the tracklist but it’s Emmett who shines on such classics as “Magic Power” and “Say Goodbye.” I’ve heard Triumph called by some as “the poor man’s Rush” but I give credit to both bands equally. I’ve always felt that Triumph had a slight amount of blues stirring in them and the song “Hot Time (In This City Tonight)” confirmed that to be true.

My only complaint is the song “Ordinary Man.” It’s kind of cheesy and long but, at 2:46, the song takes a gallop and keeps your interest for a few more bars. I know that they are a progressive band but this track just drags along. One that may have slipped by you is “Petite Etude” — it has some clean classical guitar picking and it leads into the final track that allows Triumph to close out their fifth disc with an oft-requested favorite.

There is a passionate sound that Triumph tried to translate in their music; I got it, and although some 80s music has been shelved for a while; it calls to those who liked Triumph to at least revisit their mark on history.

The best cuts are “Fool For Your Love,” “Magic Power,” “Fight The Good Fight,” and “Say Goodbye.”

Triumph: Rik Emmett – vocals, guitar; Gil Moore – drums, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, keyboards.

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There’s a reason this “Greatest Hits” package is entitled “Classics.” I think that’s an appropriate title because Triumph’s music can be heard on the classic stations, and, after you review the track list and haven’t heard one of these songs in awhile, call up your local DJ and request it.

“Classics” runs the years between Triumph’s best hits and even pulls from their first album with the raw 1976 hit “Rock & Roll Machine.” The song “Somebody’s Out There” could have been taken from any Journey album when Steve Perry was crooning to the crowds. All in all, it’s a musical treat from start to finish. Each song is a memory and everybody has their own to relive and smile about.
I won’t wax anymore than is needed. If you have this CD then kudos to you for buying one of their compilations, if you don’t, seriously, what’s wrong with you?

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After the disappointment of some fans with 1985’s “The Sport of Kings,” Triumph recorded and released “Surveillance” which, while not a complete return to form, was at least a step in the right direction.

Adding more hard rock crunch in the form of distorted guitars and irresistible riffs, and bolstering the number of rock’n’roll anthems versus radio-friendly ballads, “Surveillance” gave longtime Triumph fans more of what they wanted: music that sounded like the band’s earlier albums.

This re-mastered edition is incredibly crisp  and, although the music never aspires to the glory days of “Allied Forces” or “Never Surrender,” “Surveillance” is still a pretty damn good Triumph CD.

Triumph: Rik Emmett – guitars, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, keyboards; Gil Moore – drums, vocals.

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From Canadian Composer, June 1981

Toronto seems to be Canada’s home for  heavy metal. Rush, the most successful of Canadian bands, is based in the city. April Wine’s lead singer, moving force, and chief songwriter, Myles Goodwyn, makes Toronto his home after years in Montreal. Goddo, finally signed to another label after a couple of years in the wilderness, is a Toronto institution. And  Max Webster, the quirkiest of all bands – and now in the process of going through changes one more time – has always gained its inspiration from the city.

Now it’s time to watch out for Triumph. Every sign points the band to  the top of the heap in a competitive, noisy struggle for the affections of a young audience. If Triumph succeed in the way they want to, they can tank themselves and the hard work of well over a decade in the music business. The  bands three members – Rik Emmett, Gil Moore, and Mike Levine – are hard-working  optimists. They live the spirit of their music, say the hell with failure, and  push for success in every way they know how. If this means, from time to time, that they’re abrasive with agents, with managers, with their record company, or  with promoters, it doesn’t really matter – they simply want no one in their way.

It wasn’t always a success story. Gil Moore had started a group, originally called Abernathy Shagnaster’s Wash and Wear Band, back in  1969. The group went through any number of directional changes, and musicians  came and went with regularity, before the group finally came to the point where it played cover versions of everyone else’s material. Moore remembers the final  gig, in 1965: “I had the flu; the club owner hated the band. To make it worse,  his office was behind the coat room under the stairs and I almost had to get  down on my knees to get into there. He paid us very grudgingly, and when I left I really gave some serious thought to packing it all in.” Mike Levine, the  band’s bassist, felt very much the same way, but after some soul-searching, the  pair decided to give themselves one last shot.

So they went looking for a guitar player. After some unsuccessful trial runs, they discovered Rik Emmett, 21 years old, brash, loud, noisy, and hammering out the sort of sounds Levine  and Moore wanted. They watched Emmett perform, and finally convinced him to quit  the trio he was working with and join them. Everything, from the name of the band to the material they would write and play, would be “success motivated” they decided. Against the odds, they embarked on the course. “At the beginning,  our biggest problem was that we were too honest,” Emmett says now. “We’d sit down with journalists and say ‘now this is how we put our show together, and  this is how we have our finances set up, and this is how we plan to get from point A to point B.’ They couldn’t believe we were so articulate, or so  determined. Maybe we should have told them we were just a bunch of dumb clucks who didn’t know nothing – instead, we told them we intended to put on a big  flashy show and make money. And from then on we had to fight reviews that either  knocked us as ‘corporate rockers’ or ridiculed us for hiding behind a big light show and a lot of theatrics. It was uphill, and don’t let anyone tell you it  wasn’t.”

There have been four albums, so far – the fifth is due in  mid-July. The first, Triumph, went gold, and the three since, Rock and Roll Machine, Just a Game, and Progressions of Power, have all gone  platinum in Canada, and selling close to 400,000 copies each in the U.S. All the albums have been produced by Levine – and their success has led to several  requests to undertake productions projects for other major acts – requests he’s declined, so far, to devote his full energies to his own band. “The material we  create has been a key factor in establishing ourselves. We all contribute to the  development of the songs. It generally starts our with Rik – or sometimes Gil – coming in with an outline, some lyrics and a basic musical structure. We then go  over the various parts, and we all add our own ideas.” Levine explains. “Very  often, what happens is that we come up with something that’s good, but isn’t  really right for the band – so we demo it and send it our, and hope we can  persuade someone else to use it.” “We work very hard to come up with songs that  both reflect the Triumph image, and can be reproduced well by the band on stage.” Adds Moore, “We try to keep it as ‘hard’ as possible. But sometimes  we’ll throw in an exotic vegetable for our audience to digest!” Moore feels the band owes something more than a one-dimensional product to its fans: hence the inclusion in each album of what some critics might call an esoteric indulgence,  or else a spotlight for Emmett’s guitar virtuosity.

The growing success  of the band has given them a considerable income – certainly the group has a  degree of financial leeway that was unthinkable in the days of Abernathy  Shagnaster. The group has expanded its warehouse and office facilities in  suburban Mississauga to include a 24-channel recording studio, which they claim has one of the best ‘live’ sounds in the business. And although Doug and the Slugs produced their best-selling Cognac and Bologna album in the  studio last year, the premises are primarily Triumph’s private domain. The  upcoming album, provisionally titled Allied Forces, was entirely recorded at the studio, which they’ve christened Metalworks. Levine believes that each  record has been a progression. “I think we’ve matured with each record. I’m  using more keyboards now, and we’re trying to get some different vocal sounds.”  Having its own studio has been of enormous help – “we can create something  without worrying about the time it takes, or studio costs. We have the  opportunity to experiment until we get it exactly right.”

With the fifth album out in mid-July, the band will take off on the road again – its success is firmly based (as is that of Rush) on the productions and performance of a good  stage show in support of a good new album. Emmett, Moore, and Levine write the songs, produce the records, design the stage presentation, manage most of their own business endeavors, and play the gigs. They’re firm believers in the old principle that to do it right means you have to do it yourself. So far, they’ve  also proved that you can be very successful. And they’re not worried for a second that they can’t keep the momentum growing and growing.

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“Live at the US Festival” (TML / Universal; 2003)

Triumph fans will love the fact the band’s live performance at the legendary US Festival in 1983 is finally available for the first time ever on CD.

Containing nearly an hour of great Triumph tunes, including “Allied Forces,” “Lay it on the Line,” “Never Surrender,” “Rock & Roll Machine” and more, “Live at the US Festival” is a great document of a popular band performing a great set in front of a crowd of over half a million. And a great performance it is. The band sounds at the top of their form, with blistering leads from Rik Emmett and solid rhythm support from Gil Moore and Mike Levine. There must be something about playing before an audience that large that brings out the best in musicians.

The production is stellar, especially considering that the source material are analog tapes over 20 years old. “Live at the US Festival” sounds like it could have been recorded last year.

I’ve heard some rumblings about added keyboards and missing songs here but, being unfamiliar with the original performance and various bootlegs being traded around, I didn’t notice at all.

“Live at the US Festival” is a must for any Triumph fan. Fans of ’80s “metal” will find lots to like here as well.

Also available is a DVD, to be reviewed soon.

Triumph: Rik Emmett – guitars, vocals; Gil Moore – drums, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, vocals.

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“Live at the US Festival” (TML / Universal; 2003)

Triumph fans will love the fact the band’s live performance at the legendary US Festival in 1983 is finally available for the first time ever on CD.

Containing nearly an hour of great Triumph tunes, including “Allied Forces,” “Lay it on the Line,” “Never Surrender,” “Rock & Roll Machine” and more, “Live at the US Festival” is a great document of a popular band performing a great set in front of a crowd of over half a million. And a great performance it is. The band sounds at the top of their form, with blistering leads from Rik Emmett and solid rhythm support from Gil Moore and Mike Levine. There must be something about playing before an audience that large that brings out the best in musicians.

The production is stellar, especially considering that the source material are analog tapes over 20 years old. “Live at the US Festival” sounds like it could have been recorded last year.

I’ve heard some rumblings about added keyboards and missing songs here but, being unfamiliar with the original performance and various bootlegs being traded around, I didn’t notice at all.

“Live at the US Festival” is a must for any Triumph fan. Fans of ’80s “metal” will find lots to like here as well.

Also available is a DVD, to be reviewed soon.

Triumph: Rik Emmett – guitars, vocals; Gil Moore – drums, vocals; Mike Levine – bass, vocals.

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1. “Tear the Roof Off” (5:01)
2. “American Girls” (4:52)
3. “Lay It on the Line” (4:54)
4. “Allied Forces” (3:48)
5. “Fight the Good Fight” (5:23)
6. “Blinding Light Show/Moonchild” (12:27)
7. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Machine” (9:42)
8. “I Live for the Weekend” (2:19)
9. “Nature’s Child” (4:12)
10. “Drum Solo” (3:44)
11. “Instrumental” (5:09)
12. “Rocky Mountain Way” (5:22)
13. “Hot Time in the City Tonight” (4:31)

Sometimes it takes just one cd to rediscover a band. I use to be a big Triumph fan, but had basically forgotten about them after I sold all my vinyl. Fortunately, some ten years later, I picked up this cd in the used bins for $3.99 and WHAM! Killer band! I need to build up my Triumph collection now. Having seen Triumph in the past, I think King Biscuit’s live disc features an even better track selection than the officially released “Stages”. I particularly enjoyed hearing all the guitar and drum solos once again. It brought back flashbacks of those wonderful laser light shows that Triumph had at their concerts. Great stuff. Like I said, I will be building up this collection, so this page will be growing soon.

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1.  Tears in the Rain (3:54)
2.  Somebody’s Out There (4:05)
3.  What Rules My Heart (3:54)
4.  If Only (4:00)
5.  Hooked on You (3:23)
6.  Take a Stand (4:30)
7.  Just One Night (3:39)
8.  Embrujo [instrumental] (1:29)
9.  Play with the Fire (5:18)
10. Don’t Love Anybody Else but Me (3:55)
11. In the Middle of the Night (4:34)

Considered by many fans  to be the last great Triumph record, others consider it to be one of the band’s worst. “The Sport of Kings” is definitely radio-friendly, especially the surprisingly melodic and catchy “Somebody’s Out There”. With Triumph’s popularity and string of past hits, how did this song not become a hit? “Tears in the Rain” and “What Rules My Heart” are both classic Triumph rockers. I’m also partial to “Play with the Fire”, one of the harder rocking songs on the album. As usual Rik Emmett’s guitar playing is excellent. As on past records, this album’s lone instrumental allows Rik to strutt his stuff. “Embrujo” is a short, dynamic guitar solo with a Spanish influence. “Hooked on You” is a straight forward blues rocker and one of the only songs where Rik Emmett & Gil Moore share lead vocals. “Just One Night” sounds like it could have been a Foreigner ballad. I tend to agree with the majority on “The Sport of Kings” that it was their last great record. While it seems to be slightly more slickly produced than some past albums, it still sounds like classic Triumph to me.

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