J. Wright | San Diego, CA United States | 06/25/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"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."
A good compliation from that other Canadian power trio
John Alapick | Wilkes-Barre, PA United States | 08/29/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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.
"
Missing My Favorite Song
T. Elder | 12/13/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Good CD
John Alapick | 02/24/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Not enough
Moonsorrow | 11/21/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Triumph was a great, great band. But their label didn't make them a good favor with this release. First of all, 11 tracks are not enough. Second, there are several omissions like Just A Game, All The Way (and it's intro, Minor Prelude), Time Goes By, Never Surrender, Writing On The Wall, When The Lights Go Down, among others. I recommend the whole Triumph's discography, because there's no other way of approaching to their awesome music."