Triumph: Surveillance (1987)

 Rik Emmett’s time in Triumph came to an end following the tour for this, the band’s ninth studio album. This record follows the songwriting formula from The Sport Of Kings, with additional writers credited on about half of the songs, but this album feels heavier and more Triumph-like. Lots of cool riffs on this record, and the production is considerably less over-the-top. The band sounds incredibly inspired on much of this album. Especially Rik Emmett who comes charging out of the gate with the fiery “Never Say Never”, and Gil Moore, whose rockin’ “Headed For Nowhere” sees Rik Emmett go head-to-headstock with the great Steve Morse. 

While Gil Moore got in a couple good ones, Rik Emmett’s songs dominate this album more than ever before (personally, I prefer it that way) and I’m sure that seeped into the bad blood that was soon to kill the band. Interestingly, his obligatory solo guitar solo spot was replaced by two fleshed-out instrumentals, both of which serve as lead-ins to other songs. 

While this album features far less synth than the last one, there is still a fair bit (a lot less than one would expect for a 1987 release). Still, most of this album escapes the pitfalls that many 1987 productions suffer from. It still has that brightness (and who can say no to reverb?) but it helps that the material is far less poppy this time out. 

Rik Emmett left the band following this album’s tour. Excuses range from creative differences to disagreements about the distribution of song credits.  Whatever the case, it was a bummer (and still is), but he  went on to have a solo career that has seen a bit of success over the years (enough so that he’s still at it). 

Meanwhile, Triumph bought time by issuing a greatest hits set and then continuing on with current Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X taking Rik Emmett’s (instrumental) spot. In late 1992 they put out an album called Edge Of Excess that was nothing but Gil Moore songs and a vibe that was far past its expiry date (that album does not exist on vinyl so our journey ends here but I’m currently streaming it). Perhaps if they had not waited four years to put out an album it would have gotten some attention. Or maybe if they had stuck it out and made at least one more album it would have legitimized this lineup - this instead exists in that same universe as Calling All Stations & the ninth season of Scrubs. 

Anyway, that was a fun journey back to my formative years.  All this time, I never mentioned bassist Mike Levine. He doesn’t sing but he is the glue that held this trio together, he spent a lot of time in the producer’s chair, and he was a killer low-end. It’s a shame this band couldn’t keep it together (a couple brief reunions and the documentary and that’s it).