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Canada's Triumph is celebrated on a 14-song tribute album
Canada's Triumph is celebrated on a 14-song tribute album originally appeared on Goldmine.
Round Hill Records has released the double vinyl album Magic Power: All-Star Tribute to Triumph, with 14 songs from 14 rock vocalists, paying tribute to the Canadian band, produced by Mike Clink and mixed by John Spiker.
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Magic Power: All-Star Tribute to Triumph
Round Hill Records (2-LP, CD, digital)
Canada's Triumph began as a trio in 1975 with Rik Emmett on guitar and vocals, Mike Levine on bass and Gil Moore on drums and vocals. After four mid-to-late '70s singles in Canada, the group broke through in the U.S. with their fifth single, 1979's Top 40 debut 'Hold On.' Jeff Keith of Telsa delivers the encouraging lyrics and emotional bridge.
Triumph's next single 'Lay It on the Line,' also from their third album 1979's Play the Game, charted in the Top 100 but failed to crack the Top 40. In his 2023 Goldmine interview Emmett shared, ''Hold On' received AM radio airplay, edited to make it shorter, and 'Lay It on the Line' received FM airplay, as AM wouldn't play something that heavy in those days. As a result of that, we became an FM AOR (Album Oriented Rock) band with RCA needing to promote our Just a Game album with FM AOR stations for it to become successful, and it worked, becoming our first gold album in the U.S.' Dee Snider of Twisted Sister brings his powerful voice to 'Lay It on the Line' joined by Kyle Glass and John Spiker on background vocals, electrifying guitar from Paul Gilbert, and thunderous drums from Victor Indrizzo.
The title tune for this tribute album is 'Magic Power.' Emmett stated, ''Magic Power' has that pure Pete Townshend Who stuff. You can't copyright chord progressions, but in the classic rock canon, that chord progression pretty much belongs to Pete. Who's Next was a very formative album for me as a teenager in the 1970s, so I was tapping into that when coming up with 'Magic Power.'' Joey Belladonna of Tesla hits the high vocal notes, surrounded by strong guitar, bass, and drums from Justin Derrico, Todd Kerns, and Kenny Aronoff, respectively.
1981's 'Magic Power' was the first of three U.S. Top 100 singles for Triumph in the '80s, followed by 1985's 'Follow Your Heart,' performed here by Jack Blades of Night Ranger, along with a fluid lead guitar from Reb Beach of Whitesnake, Winger, and Black Swan.
Triumph's highest charting U.S. hit was 'Somebody's Out There,' which reached No. 27 in 1986, the year that Rick Sanders joined Triumph on keyboards. The song is performed by keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan, who had a Canadian radio hit the following year with 'Moonlight Desires,' joined by Yes' Jon Anderson on harmony vocals. Gowan is currently on tour with Styx, who he joined in 1999. On this new recording, Dave Amato's guitar helps to propel the track.
Jason Scheff, who was a key member of the band Chicago from 1985 through 2016, heard on the Top 10 hits 'Will You Still Love Me?,' 'I Don't Want to Live Without Your Love,' 'Look Away,' 'You're Not Alone,' and one he co-wrote, 'What Kind of Man Would I Be?,' sings 'Just One Night.' Scheff's recognizable voice shines, 'hold on to love just one night.' Phil X, who joined Triumph in 1992, is heard on guitar. Scheff is currently on the Lead Singers of Classic Rock tour with Tommy DeCarlo, the most recent lead singer for the band Boston, along with members of Dennis DeYoung's band. Scheff told Goldmine that there will be more dates to be added to the tour.
'Never Surrender' is performed by Deen Castronovo, the drummer for Bad English and now Journey. Castronovo enthusiastically told Goldmine, 'Never surrender was one of the coolest songs that Triumph recorded! It was totally different from the music they had previously written. Had it not been for Triumph's Gil Moore singing and drumming, there would be no singing and drumming Deen Castronovo! Also, Rik's vocals on that song are astronomically high. I was given a shot after Jason Scheff recommended me for the project. It was not an easy feat by any stretch, but I did my best and hope that the listeners will like how it came out!' Castronovo's high vocal notes and rasp recall Rod Stewart's most powerful moments, focusing on his voice while Brooks Wackerman handles drum duties on this funky number.
'Had it not been for Triumph's Gil Moore singing and drumming, there would be no singing and drumming Deen Castronovo!' – Deen Castronovo of Journey
Emmett stated, ''Fight the Good Fight' started out as a folk song. I sat with an acoustic guitar to write the tune.' Heart's Nancy Wilson, who was a Canadian resident in the early days of Heart and Triumph, engagingly sings, 'I keep my magic in my heart,' joined by a haunting guitar from Mason Stoors and steady drums from Tony Braunegel. Wilson provides her own harmony vocals, recalling the warmth of Heart's 1976 debut album Dreamboat Annie.
Another stellar female vocalist heard on this tribute album is Maiah Wynne performing 'Blinding Light Show' with her band Envy of None, who have the Canadian classic rock nucleus of Rush's Alex Lifeson on guitar and Coney Hatch's Andy Curran on bass, and have just released their sophomore album Stygian Waves. In the Goldmine Spring 2025 issue, Lifeson shared, 'Maiah was 19 when we started out with her, and she's what, 27 now? She's brilliant, bordering on genius at times. She's really evolved and matured a lot as a singer, lyricist, and songwriter. She's just amazing.'
Related Links:
Goldmine 2023 interview with Triumph's Rik Emmett on acoustic album
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This story was originally reported by Goldmine on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
