The Sport of Kings (nolifetilmetal.com

Triumph Rocks Album Reviews

Triumph – The Sport of Kings (MCA) 1986

1.  Tears in the Rain (3:54)
2.  Somebody’s Out There (4:05)
3.  What Rules My Heart (3:54)
4.  If Only (4:00)
5.  Hooked on You (3:23)
6.  Take a Stand (4:30)
7.  Just One Night (3:39)
8.  Embrujo [instrumental] (1:29)
9.  Play with the Fire (5:18)
10. Don’t Love Anybody Else but Me (3:55)
11. In the Middle of the Night (4:34)

Considered by many fans  to be the last great Triumph record, others consider it to be one of the band’s worst. “The Sport of Kings” is definitely radio-friendly, especially the surprisingly melodic and catchy “Somebody’s Out There”. With Triumph’s popularity and string of past hits, how did this song not become a hit? “Tears in the Rain” and “What Rules My Heart” are both classic Triumph rockers. I’m also partial to “Play with the Fire”, one of the harder rocking songs on the album. As usual Rik Emmett’s guitar playing is excellent. As on past records, this album’s lone instrumental allows Rik to strutt his stuff. “Embrujo” is a short, dynamic guitar solo with a Spanish influence. “Hooked on You” is a straight forward blues rocker and one of the only songs where Rik Emmett & Gil Moore share lead vocals. “Just One Night” sounds like it could have been a Foreigner ballad. I tend to agree with the majority on “The Sport of Kings” that it was their last great record. While it seems to be slightly more slickly produced than some past albums, it still sounds like classic Triumph to me.

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