Saga vs Triumph

I was stunned to find out Triumph had any sort of presence on PA. Yes, Rik Emmett is a fabulous guitar player and vocalist, and they came up with a few great songs. But Prog-Related? Triumph always seemed to me to be more of a beer-drinking, girl-chasing bar band than something even remotely Prog-Related. If Triumph is Prog-Related, then so is Boston.

SAGA, on the other hand, while far more keyboard-oriented is emphatically prog and in my personal Big Six. As good as Rik Emmett is, I would put Ian Crichton right up there with him every day! Even if we ignore what the band sounded like, Saga (like Rush) were far more SERIOUS about their music/lyrics. Can you imagine Triumph doing an album like Generation 13? And while (like Rush) Saga have "lightened up" over time, the only real comparison with Triumph is country of origin.

All that being said, I would pay good money for an album of Rik Emmett/Alex Lifeson or Ian Crichton guitar duets!

Steve Wyzard wrote: I was stunned to find out Triumph had any sort of presence on PA. Yes, Rik Emmett is a fabulous guitar player and vocalist, and they came up with a few great songs. But Prog-Related? Triumph always seemed to me to be more of a beer-drinking, girl-chasing bar band than something even remotely Prog-Related. If Triumph is Prog-Related, then so is Boston. SAGA, on the other hand, while far more keyboard-oriented is emphatically prog and in my personal Big Six. As good as Rik Emmett is, I would put Ian Crichton right up there with him every day! Even if we ignore what the band sounded like, Saga (like Rush) were far more SERIOUS about their music/lyrics. Can you imagine Triumph doing an album like Generation 13? And while (like Rush) Saga have "lightened up" over time, the only real comparison with Triumph is country of origin.

Well, yes, at one point, Triumph decided to part way from their original stance (their first two albums) and certainly achieved that with success. If Triumph had done another three albums in the line of RnR Machine and theur debut (and achieved the same commercial success they had), they'd probably be remembered differently than their near-Hair-metal MTV videoclips. 

mathman0806 wrote: Just a Game by Triumph is a fantastic rock album. But that and maybe Allied Force would be all I need to satisfy my Triumph listening experience.

Yes, Triumph always had that friday-night-fun-girl-chasing RnR side (not only musical, but also lyrics), but they also had a more profound side, that usually showed both musically and in terms of lyrics... Difficult to adapt the lyrics of Whole Lotta Rosie type of lyrics on Close To The Edge type of music. 

I might have written this in my reviews, but Just A Game was a game-changer for the band and they clearly explain it in the opening track called Movin' On. Genesis did the same with Down and Out on And Then There Were Three.  I'd say both bands realized the music scene was changing and had to do something about it. Rush basically did the same as well with Spirit Of Radio ... all three did that in 78/9, I believe.

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Soooo, I'd say that if all you heard (or care to hear) from Triumph is Just A Game and Allied Forces, you're missing 100% of the point of their prog-related inclusion. Emmett's guitar playing is hardly the only reason.

Now I agree that three or four epics over a whole career might be a little too few (but did Zep or Doors have more?)  to qualify here, but there are worse offenders. (Oingo Boingo, The Church or XTC, for ex).

Just looking at who else is in the list as Prog-Related, I'd say that once you know their first two albums, they fit much better than many others included for whatever reasons.

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 Never Surrender and Thunder Seven don't sound remotely like hair metal.

Go listen to Faster Pussycat and Madam X. That's hair metal.