Published on Jun 21, 2006
In a hard rock era marked by bombast and excess, it’s
a wonder, looking back, to realize that Triumph’s Progressions
Of Power has always been considered the most benign release in
the band’s catalog.
Drummer Gil Moore, assuming one half of the band’s
lead vocal responsibilities, was showcased with his gritty
blues-driven delivery in a way not to be seen again until the
band’s Edge Of Excess release some 12 years later. Four of
the first five tracks here reward the listener with a great
jukebox-in-the-barroom experience led by the shout-a-long anthems,
“Tear The Roof Off” and “I Live For The Weekend.”
As much as those songs will be remembered by diehard
fans for being predictably heavy with their cliché-driven
choruses, Moore offers quite a bit more diversity with his
songwriting approach, while still clinging to his blues-rooted
vocal style in the criminally forgotten track “Woman In Love.”
With Rik Emmett delivering his more textured vocal
and guitar-led contributions, Progressions Of Power attempts
to achieve the listening balance the band created for itself with
the prior effort Just A Game. Had it not been for Emmett
misfiring in slipping in a Sinatra-styled rendition of “Take My
Heart,” Progressions Of Power may have actually succeeded in
being remembered correctly as the band’s third release, as opposed
to the oh-so-common reference by fans to this being their sophomore
effort. As such, the gamble to focus on Moore’s contributions
relegated the two Emmett gems, “Hard Road” and “In the Night,” to
time capsule status — “In The Night” would have stood toe-to-toe
with any of the prog-rock pieces featured in the day, and “Hard
Road” was the upbeat rock anthem never heard by the masses because
it was buried as the last track on this album.
These song order gaffes worked against the strengths
Triumph had to offer; a more delicate balance in mixing Moore and
Emmett’s contributions on this effort would have certainly kept
Progressions Of Power on the listening public’s radar longer
than it was. The tracks are there — you just need to hit
shuffle.
Good thing for all of us, though, that Triumph would
release the gold selling Allied Forces a couple of years
later, relegating the errors on Progressions Of Power to
nothing more than a couple of inconsequential missteps. These
experiences should be chalked up to nothing more than evolutionary
steps in Triumph’s progression to power.