Triumph – Never Surrender

RCA Records, 1983

http://www.triumphmusic.com/read/biography/default.aspx

Reviewed by, Jimmy “Explosive Diarrhea” B.

Ronald Reagan, the red menace, missiles, wolverines, Reaganomics, nuclear fallout, duck and cover, Brezhnev and Andropov, nuclear winter, certain death…TOO MUCH…TOO MUCH…

…TOO MUCH THINKING. In 1983, the same year Triumph released Never Surrender, I was thirteen years old and was facing imminent destruction at the hands of a senile despot and Hollywood Cowboy named Ronnie. I remember sitting in social studies class in the early eighties reading that brilliantly compiled propaganda news rag called the Weekly Reader about how the evil Soviets were developing nukes that would melt the flesh from my bones when they hit the nearby air force base. I was guilty of too much thinking on the topics of death, and my lack of future. I remember being constantly panicked about nuclear war. Naturally, I went to my equally panicked parents, who were equally subjected to propaganda, for comfort they could not provide.

I have no idea what Triumph’s song “Too Much Thinking” means; the lyrics are a mess, but it really doesn’t matter. The refrain, “Too Much Thinking,” defined the early 80s for me. In fact, Triumph defined my early teen years. They were my first musical obsession, and a first rate distraction from Cold War politics. Within months of being introduced to Triumph by a young hippie dude in the eighth grade, I had all of the Triumph cassettes available from Pamida.

Triumph gets unfairly compared to Rush, primarily because they are a power trio of talented musicians. There are similarities. In their early days Triumph occasionally ventured into prog. territory with some extraordinarily long songs, and like Rush didn’t get much radio play. But unlike Rush, most of Triumph’s music, thanks the limits arising from a merely mortal drummer, are easily accessible to casual music fans, and the vocals are smooth and pleasing to the ears. Triumph also showcases, what I still believe, is one of the great classic rock guitar players, Rik Emmett. Emmett on nearly every album performs either a long solo or rips into a Spanish guitar, or blues solo.

Musically, Never Surrender is guitar rock in the same vein as bands like Styx, and Boston, but unlike the hit-makers of the 70s and 80s Triumph’s catalog offers enough musical prowess, musical oddness, and musical variety to satisfy intellectual music snobs (although they probably wouldn’t admit it). Never Surrender represents Triumph in the early stages of a metamorphosis; they were surrendering their progish roots to become a failed radio friendly hit maker. Two albums later the change is complete, and I caution you to stay away from those steaming piles of excrement. Never Surrender contains a mix of driving rock songs, nice acoustic moments and cheese. Sometimes all three show up in the same song (see the video below). The album overall feels tired and stretched like the band doesn't quite know what do with their musical vision. All the elements that define Triumph's career are present, but they are somewhat lifeless compared to earlier albums. The band, by '83, had become reliant on Emmett's guitar skills rather than on composition and complexity. Gone are the multilayered masterpieces of other albums.

Never Surrender is not Triumph’s best album, it’s not even in their top three, but it will always be my favorite (for Triumph at their best, check out either Play the Game or Rock and Roll Machine). Never Surrender was a gateway album for me. It was one of my first forays into hard rock; it lead me to an ongoing love affair with music, and helped bring me together with a group of oddball music fans/taint ticklers who continue to help me cope with the darkness of life in the modern world.

I tickled my taint for 8.0 (7.0 musically plus 1.0 for nostalgia) minutes.