Following the success of 1981’s Allied Forces, Triumph pushed on, and grew immensely in the two years, leading up to Never Surrender. They still sounded like themselves, but it all went up a notch. Part of that was in having a longer gap between albums, and part of that was the band working with an outside producer for the first time. The edges were refined and there were new and deeper layers to the songs and the recordings.
One of the most significant developments is in Gil Moore’s songwriting. Up to this point, pretty much every one of his songs was about being in a rock & roll band, playing music and partying (he was the drummer, after all) and now all of a sudden he’s gotten deep (not exclusively, however; see “When The Lights Go Down”). Songs like “Battle Cry” (which, if you lowered it by two steps, might sound like King’s X) and the opening “Too Much Thinking” feature political and philosophical themes - thinkin’ man’s music. They wear it well.
As usual, Rik Emmett’s songs are the ones that grab me the most and this album features two of his most classic - “A World Of Fantasy” and the wicked title track with its angular rhythms and raging middle jam. Of course there is a solo guitar piece - this one is called “A Minor Etude” and is just that. It comes and goes in a flash. He offers up a couple of more songy-type songs, with “All The Way” and “The Writing’s On The Wall”, both of which are full of lyrical cliches but are fun, catchy tunes.
Side two opens and closes with an instrumental Overture and Epilogue that are both cool but kinda give the impression that Triumph wanted to appear smarter than they actually were (it’s part of their charm - no one is listening to Triumph to learn anything). Fortunately this band had the chops (and the hooks) to make you forget about its half-baked pretensions. Once you do that, you’re in for a hell of a ride.
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