TRIUMPH is one of Canada’s greatest hard rock bands in history. With 10 classic albums released between 1976 and 1987, they have left an indelible mark on the history of hard / melodic rock and nowadays are considered as well among the forefathers of progressive metal.
As requested by many – over and over again – here’s the now out of print Frontiers Records luxury “Diamond Collection“, a Limited Edition 10-CD Box Set featuring TRIUMPH’s iconic 10 first albums completely remastered and packed in a vinyl-LP replica with original artwork, sleeves, extensive booklet including lyrics, etc.
The classic Toronto power trio of Rik Emmett (guitar/vocals), Gil Moore (drums/vocals) and Mike Levine (bass/keyboards) recorded nine studio albums and a live album together between 1976 and 1987, most of which have been put out on CD by MCA at least twice, then twice again by Levine and Moore when they regained ownership of the recordings.
But the only remasters available were the Japanese reissues from some time ago, both separately and in two very expensive box sets.
“Diamond Collection” marks the first time all these 10 TRIUMPH albums are available in remastered form / cardboard sleeved outside Asia, and all together in this awesome Box Set.
Whether you’re a fan wanting better sounding discs than the ones you already have, or just a casual listener who wants everything recorded by the classic line-up, this is a must have release.
Most of Triumph’s albums were pretty well recorded, with extra emphasis on the drums on the remaster of their workmanlike 1976 debut (now called ‘In The Beginning’ rather than ‘Triumph’) on which the band mix typical Gil Moore sung rock and rollers like ’24 Hours A Day’ and ‘What’s Another Day Of Rock And Roll’ with Rik Emmett’s slightly proggy overtones on the two-part ‘Street Fighter’ and the epic ‘Blinding Light Show / Moonchild’; a multi-textured piece from Emmett’s previous band Act III, complete with the classically-influenced acoustic guitar solo that would become a feature of subsequent Triumph albums.
‘Rock And Roll Machine’ (1977) is a stronger release that saw Emmett deliver the strongest tunes with ‘Bringing It On Home’, ‘New York City Streets’ and the crowd favourite title track, whilst the deeper voiced Moore would chip in with ‘Takes Time’ and a version of the Joe Walsh track ‘Rocky Mountain Way’.
After being picked up by RCA for both USA and Europe, a compilation of their first two records was followed by ‘Just A Game’ (1979), a deeper and more melodic affair that further emphasized the difference between Moore and Emmett’s songs. All Moore’s three straight rockers, including opener ‘Movin’ On’ and the catchy ‘American Girls’, were on side one, whilst Emmett’s efforts were more diverse and expansive (‘Lay It On The Line’ on side one, and the whole of side two including the amazing title track, the hit single ‘Hold On’ and the autobiographical ‘Suitcase Blues’).
‘Progressions Of Power; (1980) was more of a treading water exercise, heavier than it’s predecessor and a little more of a straight rocker, high energy songs like ‘I Live For The Weekend’, ‘Nature’s Child’, ‘Hard Road’ and ‘Tear The Roof Off’ had plenty of Emmett’s awesome fretwork but the album suffers from a lack of variety.
Not so ‘Allied Forces’ (1981), which was the one that broke the band big style in North America, with Emmett taking the lead on all the albums big hitters like the single ‘Magic Power’, the awesome ‘Fight The Good Fight’ and jaw-dropping ‘Ordinary Man’, whilst Moore’s hard rocking title track was no slouch either.
‘Allied Forces’ is felt by many to be their strongest album and I can’t really disagree with that. A must have.
‘Never Surrender’ (1983) is another strong effort but it seemed to get bogged down in too many instrumentals and attempts to follow Allied Forces; ‘A World Of Fantasy’ for instance was a none too subtle attempt by Emmett at writing another ‘Magic Power’, whilst elsewhere there was great music with the title track, ‘Too Much Thinking’, ‘When The Lights Go Down’ and ‘Writing On The Wall’.
By bringing in master producer Bob Ezrin for ‘Thunder Seven’ (1984) TRIUMPH recorded their best sounding and most underrated record featuring the rocking hit singles ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Follow Your Heart’, as well as some of Emmett’s more delicate and inspired moments in ‘Time Goes By’, ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Stranger In A Strange Land’ and perhaps his best acoustic showcase, ‘Midsummer Daydream’.
‘Thunder Seven’ is an essential album into any ’80s hard rock collection, a little masterpiece for the genre, and as said, criminally underrated.
‘Stages’ (1985) is TRIUMPH’s first live album, recorded with a classic ‘stadium album’ feel from the late ’70s, plenty of solos. The release also includes two studio bonus cuts, ‘Mind Games’ and the prog-ish ‘Empty Inside’, which are two of the most interesting things they’ve ever recorded.
‘Sport Of Kings’ (1986) saw Triumph go in a more commercial direction with radio friendly songs like ‘Somebody’s Out There’, ‘If Only’, ‘Take A Stand’ and an impeccable Gil Moore vocal on Eric Martin’s ‘Just One Night’.
If you love your Foreigner / Survivor stuff from the mid-Eighties, you should check ‘Sport Of Kings’ immediately.
Another one that has some terrific songs is their final album with this line-up, ‘Surveillance’ (1987), which is actually the straw that broke the camel’s back. By this time the band were falling apart due to record company pressure to be more commercial, but despite that and the silly image makeover to compete with the likes of Bon Jovi and Whitesnake, there’s no arguing with songs like ‘Never Say Never’, ‘Headed For Nowhere’ and the truly dynamic ‘All The Kings Horses / Carry On The Flame’.
Here TRIUMPH flirts with ’80s AOR, and I love it.
1976 - IN THE BEGINNING
1977 - ROCK & ROLL MACHINE
1979 - JUST A GAME
1980 - PROGRESSIONS OF POWER
1981 - ALLIED FORCES
1983 - NEVER SURRENDER
1984 - THUNDER SEVEN
1985 – STAGES
1986 - THE SPORT OF KINGS
1987 - SURVEILLANCE
TRIUMPH – DIAMOND COLLECTION. 10CD VINYL REPLICA BOX SET (1976-1987) (2010), MP3+FLAC
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