Just a Game

Artist: Triumph
Label: Tml Entertainment
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 713137800329
EAN: 0713137800329
ASIN: B0006VF6GQ

Release Date: 2005-01-25

Related Categories:

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)

| Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Hard Rock

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Listmania:

My Favorite Albums of 1979

Tracks:

Movin' On
Lay It on the Line
Young Enough to Cry
American Girls
Just a Game
Fantasy Serenade [Instrumental]
Hold On
Suitcase Blues

Similar Items:

Allied Forces
Never Surrender
Thunder Seven
Rock & Roll Machine
Progressions of Power

Customer Reviews:

Just a damn good album.......2006-04-07

Just A Game (1979.) The third Triumph studio album.

INTRODUCTION:
Triumph. The Canadian hard rock trio is definitely one of the ultimate bands to ever emerge from the northern nation. Despite not being as popular as many of the other bands of their era, the group's music is some of the finest rock and roll ever created. Although the band's first two records, Triumph and Rock And Roll Machine, were both excellent, they did little to get the attention of music fans outside of the band's native land. This all changed with the release of the band's 1979 third album, Just A Game. Lay It On The Line, one of the album's cuts, became the band's first and biggest hit. The album won the band critical acclaim from a greater audience than ever before, and they were now on their way to stardom! So, how is the album? Read on for my review of Just A Game.

OVERVIEW:
Triumph released their third album, Just A Game, in 1979. The band consisted of its usual classic lineup of guitarist Rik Emmett, drummer Gil Moore, and bassist Mike Levine. The band members produced the album themselves. Attic Records released the album. Tracklist for the record consists of Movin' On, Lay It On The Like, Young Enough To Cry, American Girls, Just A Game, Fantasy Serenade, Hold On, and Suitcase Blues.

REVIEW:
There's a reason this is the album that was Triumph's first commercial success - the album is AWESOME! For the first time the band was making an impact on the musical world on a large scale. The band's classic hard rock stylings were making the international breakthrough the group had always dreamed of, at long last! And the band's commercial appeal would only grow larger into the next decade. Of course, after this, many would claim the band "changed with the times" too much. As such, this is often revered as the band's finest effort. Read on for my review of Just A Game.

-SIDE A-

-Movin' On (Moore):
Vintage classic hard rock. This track was an excellent way to start the album off. Everything you could want in a classic, fun-to-listen-to rock tune is here. The first track on the album should be one that will keep the listener interested, and this one does just that, sure enough.

-Lay It On The Line (Moore):
Triumph's first and biggest hit, and the song that gave this album its godlike status among classic rock albums. With awesome guitar playing, this is a song that is hard enough for the hard rock crowd, but appealing enough for the pop rock crowd. It's the best of all worlds, rolled into a single song. One of the greatest songs ever recorded. Period.

-Young Enough To Cry (Moore):
Extremely gloomy, hard and heavy. This is hard, depressing rock with a bluesy touch. At many times, the song brings Aerosmith's seventies stuff to mind. Pretty much everything I love about classic hard rock, this song has. One of my all-time favorite Triumph songs, as well as one of the band's most underrated.

-American Girls (Moore):
Here's another one of those tunes like Lay It On The Line, which takes the perfect sound that combines elements of hard rock and pop rock. What results is another song hard enough for the hard rock, but at the same time, appealing enough for the pop rock crowds. Excellent stuff. Too bad it didn't become a big hit like the aforementioned song.

-SIDE B-

-Just A Game (Emmett): The album's title track is, not surprisingly, an excellent song. Here the band slows down the musical pace a bit, creating something that is more on the side of melodic rock. It's still got plenty of fast-paced guitar and some nice hard rock elements, but it's more on the melodic side than some of the other stuff on here. Nonetheless, it's a damn good song, and definitely one of my favorites on here.

-Fantasy Serenade (Emmett):
Basically, this is a short acoustic session. The piece is very melodic and beautiful, definitely a far cry from the hard rock that dominates the rest of the album. Unfortunately, the piece is very short, and as a result, underdeveloped in comparison to the other tracks here. It's still damn good though.

-Hold On (Emmett):
This is another melodic piece. And it's another great one, too. Very slow and peaceful in its execution, the song bares somewhat of a resemblance to the band's later hit, Magic Power, in many ways. It's a nice, peaceful tune, though not without its moments that rock. Awesome song.

-Suitcase Blues (Emmett):
The album's closing tune is one of its more irregular and more unique pieces. It's a more traditional, bluesy song. This sounds nothing like any of the other songs on the album, and yet, somehow, it works. It's irregularity and uniqueness make it a very unique song, and a nice album closer.

OVERALL:
Overall this is a damn good Triumph album - arguably the band's finest work. The band rocks from start to finish on this one, serving up a diverse and excellent mixture of sounds all the way through. Gil, Mike, and Rik rule on this album. It's very much arguable that no album the band did equals this one in terms of sheer quality. If you're at all a fan of classic rock, DO NOT be without this album. If you're only gonna buy one Triumph album, this is probably the best choice. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

EDITION NOTES:
Like most Triumph albums, this one was recently reissued and remastered in America. These reissues are quite abundant in the States, and I'm glad to see these classic albums are widely available again. I just wish they had included bonus content on the albums. Other than that, no complaints with the reissues.

A Band Made for a "Greatest Hits".......2006-02-22

4 1/2 really. While Triumph was able to write great songs, this is their only release that sounds good from beginning to end. Lay It On The Line, Just A Game, & Suitcase Blues have to be on any release that calls itself a "Best of."

The sweet, jazzy Suitcase Blues ranks among my favorite Triumph song and many times have I walked around with its melody and lyrics swimming through my head.

Take a few songs from each of their albums, place then on a double CD and you've got early 80s perfection. Before arthritis killed my "rock star" future, I played several Triumph songs on guitar and enjoyed each one of them.

Buy it NOW!

The breakthrough of Canada's other great hard rock export.......2005-12-02

Triumph's third album Just a Game was originally released in 1979 on RCA.
The original album had a tinny sound but then MCA issued a better sounding version in 1985 and then Triumph reissued it on their own label TRC which is an independent label here in the US in 1995 complete with the original artwork and TML(was TRC) re-issued it with a NEW REMASTER and full artwork in 2005.
Just a Game introduced us Americans to Triumph which consisted of Gil Moore(drums, vocals), Mike Levine(bass) and the great Rik Emmitt(guitars and vocals). It wasn't until 1999 that I first heard this album on CD and then bought the reissue and it's well worth the price of admission, so to speak especially for the album's rock radio staples Hold On(which was the band's first US Top 40 hit) and the classic Lay It On The Line.
However, there is more to Triumph's 1979 breakthrough than the two aforementioned classic rock radio staples. Moving On and American Girls are two of Gil Moore's best vocals ever which appear on this album, his blues influenced vocals are a great counterpoint to Rik's searing tenor. The title cut and the closing Suitcase Blues are some of Rik's finest hour as a musician and songwriter. The latter sounds like a song that you could drink a good drink to when your woman leaves you for another man without notifying you.
Unfortunately Rik, Gil and Mike were overshadowed by Geddy, Neil and Alex a/k/a the other infamous power trio Rush whom are the greatest and most successful Canadian rock band in history.
Who would have thought Canada wasn't big enough for two amazing power trios is nuts as both Triumph and Rush are great bands.

Just A Game and growing up........2005-08-02

I was 15 years old and K-SHE 95 in St. Louis played Lay It On The Line. From that moment on I became a devoted fan for life. I ran out on my bicycle down to Cricket Records and bought the vinyl album with my allowance. Loved the game board on the inside of the album but most importantly, the music. It spoke to me and I can tell you that Triumph made great music throughout their career but never as good as they did on Just A Game.

Best songs: Young Enough To Cry, Just A Game, Lay It On The Line, Hold On and American Girls.

Anyone who is not all that familar with Triumph should buy this album first. This is the benchmark for everything that followed and the 2 albums before this one.

Commercially, Allied Forces was their big breakthrough and most successful album. Just A Game is the blue print for Allied Forces. First times a charm in this case.

This album reminds me of being 15 and getting turned on to the most explosive guitar and vocals, bass and drum attack I'd ever heard.

Anyone hesitating to buy this album should not think twice. Buy it now!

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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