In honor of its 30th anniversary, Canadian power trio Triumph's 1989 best-of compilation Classics will be reissued as a 2LP colored vinyl set on December 13th, 2019.

The album, which will be pressed on 180-gram silver vinyl, will feature the original 11 tracks, as well as two bonus live performances: a rendition of 'Never Surrender' from the 1983 US Festival and a medley of 'Blinding Light Show' and 'Moon Child,' from Triumph's 2008 reunion at the Sweden Rock fest.

As I'm sure you all know, Classics features the two Triumph songs that cracked the Billboard Hot 100's top 40: 1979's 'Hold On' and 1986's 'Somebody's Out There,' as well as rock radio hits 'Lay It on the Line,' 'Magic Power,' 'A World of Fantasy,' 'Spellbound' and 'Follow Your Heart.'

Side A:
1. 'Tears In The Rain'
2. 'Lay It on the Line'
3. 'I Live for the Weekend'
4. 'Magic Power'

Side B:
1. 'Somebody's Out There'
2. 'Spellbound'
3. 'A World of Fantasy'
4. 'Follow Your Heart'

Side C:
1. 'Fight the Good Fight'
2. 'Rock & Roll Machine'
3. 'Hold On'

Side D:
1. 'Never Surrender' (Live at the US Festival)
2. 'Blinding Light Show'/'Moon Child' (Live at Sweden Rock)

Featuring Rik Emmett (guitars & vocals), Gil Moore (drums & vocals) and Michael Levine on bass & keyboards, Triumph (which was also founded in 1975 by the trio) was a massive showcase for Emmett; an amazing, top-tier singer-songwriter and guitarist.

The hard rock trio from Canada were both fairly and unfairly compared to Rush from the very off. Like Rush, they were, as mentioned, a Canadian power trio that featured a lead vocalist with a high-pitched voice and a bassist who also doubled as their keyboardist.

However, while Rush continued to update their sound and challenge themselves musically with each release, all of Triumph's albums sounded very similar; mostly competent hard rock with a couple power ballads thrown in.

Classics cuts away the fat from their albums and delivers their best material, much of which is first rate.

'Rock & Roll Machine' and 'I Live For The Weekend' are the heaviest tracks here, with the latter featuring a great accompanied guitar solo from vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett.

The tracks 'Hold On' and 'Fight The Good Fight' are also rather excellent songs in both their melodic arrangements and their positive self-help lyrics.

The riff rocker 'Follow Your Heart' and the pop-rock of 'Somebody's Out There' continue in this vein lyrically and despite sounding very reminiscent of their era are also fine songs.

'Lay It On The Line' and 'A World Of Fantasy' are also both strong tracks featuring excellent vocals from Emmett. However, the one undeniable gem here is 'Magic Power,' one of the best hard rock songs of the '80s; that, to my mind, had it have been released a few years later would have been a monstrous hit.

The remaining tracks 'Spellbound' and 'Tears In The Rain' are decent, but don't touch the rest of the material here. Overall this is a solid compilation and worth picking up if you like good melodic hard rock (especially now that it has been pressed on 180-gram silver 2LP vinyl to celebrate its 30th Annivesary Edition!)

"We are excited to showcase our career on the Classics reissue," says the band in a joint statement. "It's a beautiful package and sounds awesome!"

And so, come December 13th, 2019l rock fans will be reminded once again about the power that Triumph possessed - deep in the grooves of the re-released, remastered and rejuvenated Classics.

Amazon Triumph - 'Classics: 30th Anniversary Edition (2LP)' Purchase Link

www.TriumphMusic.com