Published on Aug 3, 2000
Back in the mid to late ’80s, you couldn’t say the name of the
band Triumph without immediately conjuring up the name of Rush.
After all, the bands had quite a bit in common: both were from
Canada, both were power trios with guitarists who could run the
gamut of styles in their playing, both groups wrote music that
could make their listeners think – and both groups’ first albums
weren’t the strongest efforts they would ever put out.
Of course, this is a Triumph review, not a Rush review… that
will come later. For now, let’s focus on
Rock & Roll Machine, the full-length American debut that
appears to be a compilation of two earlier Canadian albums. In
retrospect, I’d rather have the two full-length Canadian releases,
but I wasn’t up to making music industry decisions in 1978.
If there were only two words one could use to describe the band
at this time, they would be “in flux”. The lead vocal duties were
split between drummer Gil Moore and guitarist Rik Emmett, though on
this release, it seems like Moore has the lion’s share of the mike
work. Rounding out the trio is bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, who
also was a co-producer of the record. (To Levine’s credit, he
doesn’t try to mix his contributions to the forefront and hide the
work of his bandmates.)
The group was in flux because they were caught between the more
heady direction their music would eventually take and the bar-band
mentality, singing about rock music and life on the road.
Regrettably, it’s the bar-band mentality that wins out on Rock
& Roll Machine, and it gets real old, real quick. Songs like
“24 Hours A Day” just fall flat, and their cover of Joe Walsh’s
“Rocky Mountain Way” – well, let’s just say I was never a fan of
the original work.
There is a sign of things to come musically on the song “Street
Fighter” and the reprise which segues into the original song. Why
the song wasn’t just combined into one piece I don’t know; it works
well that way. It’s not the strongest cut that Triumph ever wrote,
but it’s a decent start that deserves your attention.
Emmett also calls himself into the spotlight with his guitar
work on “Blinding Light Show / Moonchild,” a song which allows him
the freedom to demonstrate his chops without becoming too showy. If
only he had followed that on “Rock & Roll Machine,” which is
almost strictly a lead guitar device featuring some
not-too-impressive riffing by Emmett.
As nice as it was for Triumph to have the availability of two
strong lead vocalists, Moore just didn’t seem to have what it took
to really push the band into the forefront, while Emmett really
isn’t given a chance to show his power on this disc.
Rock & Roll Machine is a tentative first step from
Triumph, and it doesn’t quite hint at the greatness that was just
ahead of the band – greatness which they would taste just one album
later. But that’s another story for another review.