Music: Triumph

The early 1980s was a magical time for rock music.

Triumph at a 2008 reunion show

In the way back time, there was this global event called the US Festival, a huge arena show, where all the top bands were paraded on the stage. Ostensibly to raise money for good causes, it just was some killer 1980’s vintage rock.

For the era, the sound quality of the live recording is quite good (and if you attended that era’s arena rock shows, you probably heard some fucking awful mixes in the audience), and because of the high visibility, the video quality is outstanding.

Today, I am sharing the band Triumph, a Canadian band, led by Rik Emmett. They were progg-y, but plenty of straight up rock and roll. Rik’s playing is solid, the songs are well written, and the hooks are catchy. The song here is Fight the Good Fight from the Allied Forces album, one of my favorites by them.

True story, Rik’s name was originally Rick, but the liner notes from his first band’s LP had a typo, and instead of fixing that gaffe, he just changed his name. That’s hard core.

Anyhow, without further ado, here’s the 7+ minutes of music, capturing the energy that Triumph brought to the stage. I didn't see them at the US Festival, but I did see them at the Cow Palace, and they brought down the roof. Killer act!