Triumph’s fifth album was probably their biggest dent into the US market, thanks to Rik Emmett’s “Fight The Good Fight” and “Magic Power”, both of which were sizable hits for the band. As usual, the album is divided by Emmett’s earnest, multi-layered anthems and Gil Moore’s stupid, good-time, Camaro-rock songs. “Fool For Your Love” and “Hot Time (in this city tonight)” (which is sung by Emmett but is clearly written by Moore) come across exactly as you would expect songs of those titles to sound. The title track totally rocks but is yet another song about rock & roll with some of the most juvenile lyrics ever sung into a mic. As usual, Rik Emmett gets a solo spot with “Petite Etude” and, as usual, it’s a really pretty, really accomplished piece of classical guitar music that has no place on a band album. Fortunately he makes up for it elsewhere, in the aforementioned singles as well as the complex “Ordinary Man”, which is one of the highlights of Emmett’s entire catalogue.
As this band had nine albums, and this was the 5th, it actually lines up well that Allied Forces is the apex of Triumph’s career. While they still had some great work ahead of them, nonetheless it was downhill from here, if not artistically then at least commercially.
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