Triumph

Rock & Roll Machine was Triumph's second official release in their native Canada. But when the band scored a worldwide deal with MCA Records in 1977, the album was repackaged and resequenced so that its international version contained half of its eponymous, Canada-only debut. The source of much confusion in the ensuing years, this problem was finally corrected in 1999, when the definitive CD reissue of the band's entire catalog restored both albums to their original Canadian track listings. The only downside to this is that, for a large number of fans, a once formidable album has now been transformed into two, significantly less spectacular offerings, but such is life. Rock & Roll Machine opens with a rousing Gil Moore stomper called "Takes Time" before giving way to Rik Emmett's more melodically inclined "Bringing It on Home" -- where he sounds like a dead ringer for Rush frontman Geddy Lee. The album also features the band's most misguided forays into blatant prog rock pomposity with "New York City Streets" and the three-part absurdity of "The City," which includes a brief take on Holtz's The Planets before introducing a segment entitled "El Duende Agonizante." At least they finish on a strong note when they whip out the album's best moment with the raucous title track. An uneven effort to say the least. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide