Music of the Day, 16 October 2023

take a look inside your heart

There are multiple personal stories I could share to set up today’s song, each of which has the flaw of my perspective on and interpretation of my life and choices viewed through where I am and who I am now. The short form and common thread is simple to identify, though: I derailed my professional life almost before it began, and I’ve been trying to get back on track ever since.

That’s been complicated by my almost-constant questioning of myself: Were my goals then more genuine than my goals now?; What if I’m wrong about what I want now?; Is my current goal even realistic?; etc. At a time when most in my age cohort are retired or in the final planning stages for it, here I am, still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I tell myself I’m the poster child for late bloomers, in the hope that it will eventually come to me and to keep me from giving up.

I’ve invested a lot of personal reflection and thought over the summer in identifying a professional course and a plan to pursue it. The second part has been the trickiest, since my education doesn’t directly align with my preferred work; I’ll need to frame and market myself carefully.

A couple of days ago, a post by Butterscotch Clouds jolted me out of my overthinking and into action. So I was not surprised to have one of my favorite songs by a great Canadian power trio come to mind this morning.

No, not that Canadian power trio… although this band has had more than its share of comparisons to them in its heyday. While it did see a modest share of success, I think it’s been underrated in part because of those comparisons. “Fight the Good Fight” is from Triumph’s fifth studio album Allied Forces, which was released in 1981.

The video is from the 1983 US Festival. What a great live sound! I do regret not seeing Triumph in concert. Allied Forces reached number 23 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart on the back of two successful singles: this song, and “Magic Power,” which peaked at 18 and 8 respectively on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The album went platinum in the US and gold in Canada.

All three of the original band members—Rik Emmett (guitar), Gil Moore (percussion), and Mike Levine (bass and keyboards)—were also vocalists, although only Emmett and Moore took the lead role. It’s no surprise that they were compared to Rush, between Emmett’s high vocals, Moore’s love of the toms, and the abundant talent each of them have.

I liked every Triumph song I heard on the radio, but their most popular years came during my undergraduate and very lean, early adult years, so I never bought any of their albums. My brother had a couple of cassette tapes which I know I heard while driving around with him, but I’ve not heard a Triumph song for many years. They have a lot of great rockers, including several uplifting songs.

I have a few albums in my library now, as well as their 1989 compilation Classics. That may be just the thing to keep me in my fight when analysis paralysis and self-doubt set in again. If you have music that never fails to lift your spirits, please share in the comments.