Round Hill Records RHR 007 UPC | 713137920126 2003 TRACK LISTING 01. Allied Forces 02. Lay It All on the Line 03. Never Surrender 04. Magic Power 05. A World of Fantasy 06. Rock & Roll Machine 07.When the Lights Go Down 08. Fight the Good Fight 09. Follow Your Heart - (Bonus Track)
Although Triumph's studio albums could be uneven and inconsistent, the
Canadian hard rock/arena rock trio had a reputation for being explosive
on-stage (where they tended to avoid their lesser material and put a lot
of energy into their more memorable songs). When you think about it,
Triumph had the opposite problem of many of today's high-tech, urban
contemporary, electronica, and dance-pop artists: in contrast to all the
people who are so reliant on studio technology that they fall apart
on-stage, Triumph tended to sound more confident and assured on-stage
than they did in the studio. Live at the US Festival, in fact, paints a
more consistently attractive picture of Triumph than many of its studio
albums. This 54-minute CD was recorded at a massive, three-day outdoor
rock festival that took place in Southern California from May 28-30,
1983. Triumph appeared on May 29, which was billed as "Heavy Metal
Sunday" and included the headbanging likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Judas
Priest, the Scorpions, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, and Van Halen (whose set
ended up on a two-CD bootleg entitled US Festival '83). The number of
attendees varied during the three days; the crowd was estimated to be
about 500,000 strong on "Heavy Metal Sunday," and Triumph went over
well. It isn't hard to understand why. From "Rock and Roll Machine" to
"Magic Power" to "Lay It on the Line," the Canadians picked their better
songs and provided an inspired, focused set. That isn't to say that
this disc is the last word on their live performances; any live Triumph
album that lacks "Hold On" will have a hard time being considered truly
definitive. Nonetheless, Live at the US Festival has a lot going for it
and will easily excite the trio's diehard fans.