Published on Nov 18, 1998
If there is one band to compare Toronto, Canada’s Triumph, it
would have to be the hard rock style of the Jefferson Starship. The
high range vocals of lead singer Rik Emmett can easily be compared
to the Starship’s vocalist Mickey Thomas. Triumph is one of those
many hard rock bands that people may not remember. They have had a
small handful of tunes that were regularly played on FM radio. One
of those songs, “Magic Power,” is featured here on their 1981
release,
Allied Forces.
Despite Triumph not being well-known, and not having other huge
hits as say, the Jefferson Starship, this album is just as
exceptionally well to any of the later releases by the Starship or
other bands in that style. Sure, maybe it’s not a good idea to
compare an artist or band to others well-known, but, there are
those who would like to know the easiest comparison in case they
weren’t familar with such a talent, in this case with Triumph.
The reason why I say that, is because for the people who wish to
know more about Triumph, would read up in the Rock History books
and learn more information about them, and to see what other albums
they may have released, as well as how long the group had been
together. In Triumph’s case, there wasn’t a story about them at all
in my usual source book. One mention of Triumph was in another
book, and sadly, it only listed the few big hits they had in the
Top 40, and where the band was formed. No major storyline was
written about the band. That’s a shame, because Triumph is a good
band, just like many other of their fellow neighbors from the Great
White North.
Anyway, this album is definitely worth the price. It’s a hard
rockin’ album, and the instruments blend well in each track. One
instrument that really works in some of the songs heard on
Allied Forces is an instrument not rarely used in most hard
rock bands: The Synthesizer. Synth-used tracks such as “Magic
Power” and “Fight The Good Fight” are exceptionally well done.
“Fool For Your Love” is the opening track on this album, and this
song is so well, it makes you want to keep listening for more.
Like many hard rock albums, there is a (somewhat) slow-paced
tune thrown in to even out the balance. “Ordinary Man” is that
tune. However, it does start out slow, and eventually builds up to
the hard rock status as the previous songs already heard. On the
topic of slow tunes, there is a short instrumental, “Petite Etude”.
It’s just an accoustical guitar, and it’s over a minute in length.
“Say Goodbye” ends the album, and it’s great tune to close out the
album.
Another item that stands out for Triumph, is that their album
covers are EXTREMELY excellent. Have you ever bought an album just
for the fact that the cover was just so awesome, even if you’ve
never even heard of the artist or group, in some cases? Yes, the
guitar shown on the
Allied Forces cover is cool, but some of the other album
covers of Triumph albums are more visual. Triumph is definitely
worth checking out. All of their original albums have been released
on CD. They did this for Triumph, why not
Survivor?
Allied Forces is a rewarding force to be reckoned with.
You’ll want to hear and learn more about this band. (Hopefully
there will be some websites on Triumph out there.) And if so, may
the Triumph Force be with you.)