Customer Reviews

Classics

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I like Triumph. More specifically, I like Rick Emmet's vocals and guitar work. He's really pretty accomplished on the axe. However, this album has too much mediocre stuff with Gil Moore (the drummer/vocalist) as the singer - Tears in the Rain (fair), Spellbound (okay), I Live for the Weekend (lame), Follow Your Heart (okay) and Rock n Roll Machine (lame).

The good stuff on this album is Hold On (great), Magic Power (good), World of Fanstasy (great), Fight the Good Fight (great), Somebody's Out There (good) and Lay It On the Line (absolutely the best song from this group). There are some other good songs that should be on this album (even stuff with Gil Moore singing lead - like Fool For Your Love) but it's not in here.

I'd recommend getting Just A Game, Allied Forces and Never Surrender instead of this album. You'll get most of their best stuff in those three albums and some good songs not in this release.

Classics is the greatest hits collection for Triumph, a hard rock trio from Canada that both fairly and unfairly have been compared to Rush. Like Rush, they were as mentioned a Canadian power trio featured a lead vocalist with a high-pitched voice and a bassist who also doubled as their keyboardist. However, while Rush continue to update their sound and challenge themselves musically with each release, all of Triumph's albums sounded very similar, mostly competent hard rock with a couple power ballads.

Classics cuts away the fat from their albums and delivers their best material, much of which is first rate. "Rock & Roll Machine" and "I Live For The Weekend" are the heaviest tracks here, with the latter featuring a great accompanied guitar solo from vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett. The tracks "Hold On" and "Fight The Good Fight" are excellent songs in both their melodic arrangements and their positive self-help lyrics. The riff rocker "Follow Your Heart" and the pop-rock of "Somebody's Out There" continue in this vein lyrically and despite sounding very reminscent of their era are fine songs. "Lay It On The Line" and "A World Of Fantasy" are also both strong tracks featuring excellent vocals from Emmett. However, the one undeniable gem here is "Magic Power", one of the best hard rock songs of the '80s that if it were released a few years later would have been a monstrous hit. The remaining tracks "Spellbound" and "Tears In The Rain" are decent but don't touch the rest of the material here. Overall this is a solid compilation and worth picking up if you like good melodic hard rock.

While not their best, this was a good CD. As a compilation, it should have about 4 or 5 more songs on it. Triumph had some wonderful songs but most of them were the album tracks that radio never played. If you want to hear Triumph at their best, pick up "Just A Game" or "Rock & Roll Machine" and you'll see what I'm talking about when you hear the "non" hits.

When I was a teen I heard a song on the radio called "When The Lights Go Down" and I was blown away. It was Triumph. I got the Never Surrender album and liked the whole album. The other reviewers seem to agree with me that this greatest hits collection could have been much better. I think that anyone who calls themself a Triumph fan should go ahead and get the individual cd's and leave this greatest hits cd alone.

This is an album for those who can appreciate music where you hear a combination of notes....not a wall of distored sound. If you're an individual who can look below the surface and into the lyrical message, you'll appreciate this album. If your a grunge crazed adolecent who doesn't know the difference between a Melodic Fifth and an Open C Scale ... the talent here will be lost somewhere in that caverness hole that once held your brain.

Bottom line.....The day of truely talented and educated guitarists is over....with this album.. you can actually here one of the finest there is.

Rik Emmett (Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals) writes for Guitar Player Magazine and has many solo albums under his own name. However, keep in mind that these albums are focused on musical styles he couldn't explore with Triumphs Stadium Rock style.

"turn me on .... turn me up ...it's your turn to dream..." Magic Power, Triumph.

See Also: Eddie Van Halen, Geddy Lee, Randy Rhodes, The EDGE, Joe Satriani.

Well.. where to start??.... i play the Drums..i'm into music and all kinds....from jazz to rock / country and classical...Music has been in my life from the begining... listening /hearing / seeing/ and Triumph is excellence !! I grew up with this band... and know all these songs backwards and forwards.... and if you like Triumph... YOU WILL LIKE THIS CD... and if you don't know who Triumph is ??? you should check this CD out... {if you like Rock??} it's a VERY VERY GOOD CD... AND MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD.. and is also a very good idea of what this band was about.. The WORDS and MUSIC lift you... ITS NOT the ALL 80'S HEADBANGING Stuff.. ITS REAL ROCK AND ROLL.. with that heavy sound... but without a bad message.... everything from Triumph seems to send a GOOD message and GOOD times... listen .. it will prove itself {example.. song titles} the light show from a Triumph concert is SUPER and i mean SUPER... only matched by groups like Rush and Yes [in my opinion]..and it may even be better....anyway i wanted to rate this Cd and i guess Triumph too?? i gave it 4 out of 5 only because Never Surrender is not on the CD...[i'm tough].. and thats the only reason..but by no means is this a bad CD... if you like Triumph??? most of their very best are on here {like 90 percent of}... opinions of course vary... but being a Triumph fan ...it pleased me... and if your not a Triumph fan??? and like Rock ... check these guys out !!! they are VERY good... and VERY UNDERRATED...

They remaster each of their albums but not this???????

This album contains a sub-par set of hits from one of the best Canadian power trios. The only way I would recommend this album is if you are a raving fan and must have everything Rick and the boys have done. If you want to really get to the essence of what was Triumph I recommend 'Allied Forces' as their defining album. This compilation is just average.

People say their a poor man's Rush but they were better than that. this best of represents their hits indeed but i felt a few were left off nothing from the "Survelience" album is represented
so you might want to pick that up. the album says "Re-mastered" on the packaging but it's not at all its just to sell this more. Actually this should be and the entire catalog hopefully someday.
Top knotch vocals and guitar from Rik Emmet, Powerful drumming From Gil makes their best of great to own but the orginial albums are a better way to hear them.

This band seems to be forgotten in the mix of classic and melodic hard rock. I have had this disk for years and yet still have none of their regular albums. With others talking about how great some of their previous classic efforts are, I know I should check them out. I don't really know what tracks might be "missing" from old albums on this collection, since all the songs I have heard from this band on the radio are here. That being said, I can't understand why there is so much criticism of this collection and this band here. They do have similar sounds to other bands of this era, but man can they both rock and carry a tune! "Follow Your Heart", "Fight The Good Fight", and "Lay It On The Line" are smoking melodic songs. "Hold On" and "Magic Power" are rock classics, and "World Of Fantasy" tugs at your heart strings if you've ever had a relationship end badly. "Rock 'N' Roll Machine" is just that--it flat out rocks including with a not-so-common drum solo. All in all a fantastic collection from a band that to me should have gotten a lot more notice.