Published on Apr 11, 2003
I have always had a great deal of admiration and even sympathy
for rock and roll power trios. For the ones that were able to
succeed in the AOR world of the late 70’s and 80’s, one title was
commonly thrown their way — “thinking man’s rock.” This title may
have been given partly due to the fact that within the chemistry of
a three-man unit, there was simply no room for someone to solely
concentrate on the lead vocal responsibility and ultimately the
camera. With this being the era of MTV’s birth where image became
everything in music, “thinking man’s rock” unfairly started
becoming uncool.
Perhaps one of the best rock trios of this era were the Toronto,
Canada-based band Triumph. If they weren’t the best, they were
surely the most underrated. Anchored by lead guitar whiz Rik
Emmett, the lead vocal duties of the band had always been split
between himself and drummer Gil Moore. And while we are talking
about the terms of “best” and “underrated,” those adjectives also
fit when analyzing
Thunder Seven‘s importance amongst the other eight studio
LP’s in the Triumph catalog.
When comparing
Thunder Seven to the band’s previous work, one thing that
stands out is the heavier tone of the recorded songs. I’m
relatively sure that this was the result of the album being
recorded in the band’s newly constructed Metalworks studio and
subjected to a new acoustic dynamic.
This was a good thing as it really suited Gil Moore’s driving
hard-rock vocal style and also induced Rik Emmett to showcase a
vocal style that muddied his trademark traditional falsetto pitch
on the song “Rock Out, Roll On.” The end result was an eerie
message from Rik warning that the “ghosts of Woodstock” were still
haunting the next of kin and holding back the future of rock n’
roll. The message within the framework of this song is convincing
enough and a credit to the band’s experimentation with the dark,
plodding production strategy they employed. During the song “Cool
Down,” Emmett’s vocals mirror Robert Plant during Led Zeppelin’s
heavier days, again deviating from the soaring vocal sound commonly
associated with him in the past.
Thunder Seven also featured two of the most prominent
charting songs for the band – both with Moore handling the vocals
— “Spellbound” (Billboard Mainstream Rock, #10) and “Follow Your
Heart” (Billboard Mainstream Rock, #13). I remember as a kid first
hearing “Spellbound” how drawn in I was by the opening synthesizer
work. Almost twenty years later, I can now tell you how dated those
same synthesizers make the song sound. “Follow Your Heart” is the
looser-flowing and more pop-sounding of the two songs. The title of
the song is a great cliché, even by today’s standards, to
build a song around.
Interestingly, the best song Triumph ever wrote that never saw
the light of day was this album’s “Time Goes By.” Talk about a
soaring introduction and a great bass line by Mike Levine that
cascades into a dark and beautiful melody. While the song brings
back Rik Emmett’s high pitched falsetto, it also highlights his
songwriting ability to the fullest and fits in the inspirational
line, “We all bear witness as history unfolds; Let’s hope tomorrow
can deliver on the promise that she holds.” When I claimed Triumph
fit into the category of “thinking man’s rock,” it’s words like
this that define my claim.
“Midsummer’s Daydream” is a brilliant acoustic piece by Emmett
with an almost classical sound. The fretwork exhibited here
showcases Rik Emmett as a guitarist for the ages and one that
didn’t have to rely on the chemistry of a band to be a success.
The diversity of the songs on
Thunder Seven should be cemented by the power of Moore and
Emmett dueting their way through the song “Killing Time.” With
Emmett’s high pitch and Moore’s heavier voice, the chemistry of
this song comes across amazingly, the vocals as fluid as the
tightest big brother/little brother bond ever seen. It was the
first time the two had ever collaborated in such a way on a
song.
Looking back on
Thunder Seven in this day and age, it’s apparent that MCA
missed the boat promoting this album. Thunder Seven had so much to
offer to such a great number of people without alienating any
particular musical taste. MTV was a marketing vehicle moving at
full steam and hard rock bands were commonly filling arenas while
on tour. Looking back on it all, something obviously misfired
causing
Thunder Seven to become one of the forgotten gems of the
80’s.