Editor's Choice...
On September 19, 1981, "Triumph" released its fifth studio album (the fourth international) "Allied Forces".
It's one of the band's greatest albums and the one that exposed it to a larger audience with hits like "Magic Power" and "Fight the Good Fight", so for those of you who don't know the band is definitely a good place to start.
After the relative failure of their previous album "Progressions of Power" from 1980, Canadian power trio members Rik Emmett (guitar/vocals), Mike Levine (bass/keyboards), and Gil Moore (drums/vocals) decide to take matters into their own hands. Unlike the previous album which was hastily recorded under pressure from the record company to finish it as soon as possible, the band is entering its private recording studio "Metalworks Studios", for the first time, and is working on new material. The band members noted that knowing they were doing it for the first time in their private studio with unlimited creative freedom, maintained a relaxed atmosphere that served as a fertile ground for writing some of the most beautiful songs they have ever created.
All the songs except the two instrumental pieces were written with the full collaboration of all three members, when in this case also there is a fairly balanced vocal sharing, between the two lead singers the drummer Gil Moore and guitarist Rik Emmett. We have already talked and written about it quite a bit, but one of the great advantages of this band is the fact that it has two excellent singers, who just complement each other. In this way, every one of them brings the right tone and style of voice to the specific song and thereby creates an amazing diversity that blends so beautifully with the music. We do not really know how to explain it exactly, but as if it is a contrast between two ends that still manage to complement each other.
This contrast can already be felt in the two opening songs of the album. On the one hand "Fool for Your Love" with the catchy and rough riff sung in the powerful voice of drummer Gil Moore and on the other hand the first hit of the band "Magic Power" which is sung by guitarist Rik Emmett in his soft and caressing voice. The band members will say that this song changed the balance of power in the band's fan base, when overnight they turned from a band that 90% of its fans are men, to a band whose performances include 40% women.
But the contrast does not mean that necessarily all the softer songs are led by Rik Emmett while the more "rough" songs are sung by Gil Moore. Take the rock and roll "Hot Time (In This City Tonight)" for example, which Emmett sings and compare it to "Ordinary Man" which opens with an A-chapel by Moore and Emmett and becomes a quiet duet of the two.
As we mentioned this album includes some of the band's great songs, including the fast-paced theme song "Allied Forces" sung by Gil Moore and of course, the masterpiece "Fight the Good Fight" - a complex and formidable piece with progressive influences, with beautiful keyboard work by bassist Mike Levine, who produced the album, on his Hammond B3. This is a track that you must not, you simply must not miss !!!
In the best tradition, this album also includes a short instrumental guitar section "Petite Etude" played by Rik Emmett who is in our opinion one of the great guitarists who are not appreciated enough, and not rightly so.
And now you have to listen: Spotify, Apple Music