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Progressions of Power

Triumph - Progressions of Power Audio CD

A fair review of the Triumph "Progressions of Power" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Triumph reviews here, or go back to the Triumph tabs.

Band: Triumph
Title: Progressions of Power
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-04-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Live for the Weekend 2: I Can Survive 3: In the Night 4: Nature's Child 5: Woman in Love 6: Take My Heart 7: Tear the Roof Off 8: Fingertalkin' [Instrumental] 9: Hard Road

Refined, Yet Still Raw
I had the pleasure of seeing them live 3 times supporting Just a Game, Progressions, and Allied Forces. Progressions represented the 'crossroads' of this great, and much underrated power-trio rock band from Canada. Progressions retained the raw and gritty sound of the band, similar to Rock & Roll Machine, but also contained some smooth AOR-type music which would dominate their next release, Allied Forces. I'll spare the readers a breakdown of each song. Suffice to say, this album represents Triumph at their peak. Their next release, Allied Forces, attracted more radio play and is considered their 'break-thru' album. . . and in fact it is just that. But Progressions, in my humble opinion, is the very definition of Triumph: Killer Rock & Roll! Take my word. . . just buy it. You won't be disappointed. Spike .

Triumph's overlooked and underrated fourth album gets sonic upgrade

A year earlier, the band released its US breakthrough album Just a Game which was spurned by the hits "Lay it On the Line" and "Hold On". Canadian hard rock trio Triumph released its fourth album Progressions of Power in the spring of 1980. Just a Game made singer/guitarist Rik Emmett, bass player Mike Levine and singer/drummer Gil Moore Canada's other biggest rock band aside fellow Toronto natives Rush.
When Progressions of Power was released was the album just as good as its predecessor or did they take a major backstep. Read ahead and find out, as I did when I acquired the album on CD originally in November of 1999.
We begin Progressions of Power with the great rocker "I Live For The Weekend". This track, sung by drummer Moore, became the album's most popular track. Also, the track would be a concert staple for the next couple of years. "I Can Survive" follows and starts out to be a melodic number before turning into a full throttle rocker sung by Moore. The track was the album's single but peaked at a dismal #92 on the charts. Next is the album's best track "In The Night". This track has Emmett on vocals and is an epic which goes from quiet to loud and back and then has one of Emmett's best lead vocal performances pre-1981. "Nature's Child" ends the first half and is a killer rocker. Moore (who sings it) and Emmett are on fire here and the track would rightfully be a concert staple.
The album's second half kicks off with another hard rocker sung by Moore called "Woman In Love" which sounds like a cross between hard rock and arena rock. Next is the slow and acoustic ballad "Take My Heart" which was sung by Emmett and is an excellent ballad. Next is "Tear The Roof Off" which was a killer hard rocker sung by Moore and would serve as the opening song on this album and the next two tours (Emmett would share lead vocals on live versions of the track). Next is the acoustic piece "Fingertalkin'" which shows Mr Emmett's superb classical guitar playing. We end the album with the majestic "Hard Road" which is a mid-tempo melodic hard rocker with Emmett on vocals and just a superb track.
Progressions of Power was initially released on RCA Records and peaked at #32 on the Billboard album charts in 1980. Then the album was re-released in 1985 on MCA then again in 1995 on TRC and then again in 2005 as a new remaster on the band's own TML label and trumps the 1980s CD version by a longshot.
RECOMMENDED! .

A Great, Overlooked Triumph CD Finally Gets The Remastering It Deserves
However, this doesn't detract from its greatness, because every song here has the same positive messages that were present on JUST A GAME, especially on the strong defiance of "I Can Survive. PROGRESSIONS OF POWER is a great album by Triumph which is overlooked, perhaps because drummer Gil Moore sings all of the lead vocals, with none assigned to Emmett. " This album deserves much more recognition than it's gotten over the years, and is a must-own for any Triumph fan.

Triumph's best album

This is one of Triumph's "forgotten" albums, in the US anyway. Canada certainly has a thing for power trios! Triumph were often compared to Rush, but other than coming from the same city (Toronto), having a three-piece lineup and a guitarist with blond hair, that's where the comparisons end. They almost cracked the big league in the States with "Allied Forces" before degenerating into overcommercialised rubbish and a nasty split between guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett and the rest of the band. And the live shows! I consider myself fortunate to have seen them live three times, once headlining (they ALWAYS headlined) an outdoor festival in Michigan in 1984.

There was always tension between Emmett's more melodic style and drummer/vocalist Gil Moore's heavier rock tendencies. Usually it was balanced, but here Moore's direction is dominant (he sings most of the songs), making this Triumph's heaviest (and hence my favourite) album. Heavy metal was making a big comeback in 1980, and Triumph could stand with the best of them, even though they never liked the term "heavy metal. "

I've heard Emmett didn't like this album much. I don't know why, because he burns the fretboard here. This is a lot more like their live sound. However, Rik does tone the album down a bit with "Take My Heart" and the classical guitar instrumental "Fingertalkin'," but it doesn't take away from the album's power.

"I Live For The Weekend," "Nature's Child," "Tear The Roof Off" - all powerful. An aptly named album, "Progressions Of Power. ".

Remastered early Triumph CD
The sound engineering is superb. This is a remastered version of Triumph's fourth album. The sound is crystal clear, a distinct improvement over the previous version of this CD. Unfortunately, the music is a little uneven. There are some inspired songs, notably Hard Road, but also a certain amount of filler. Triumph did not really break through until their fifth release, Allied Forces, which was consistently stronger. .

You can see a complete list of all Triumph discography, or go back to the Triumph tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.