The Sport of Kings
Studio album by
Triumph
ReleasedAugust 1986 (1986-08)
RecordedMay–August 1986
StudioMetalworks and Phase One Studios, Toronto, Canada
One on One, Los Angeles
GenreHard rock
Length42:47
LabelMCA
ProducerMike Clink, Thom Trumbo
Triumph chronology
Stages
(1985)		 The Sport of Kings
(1986)		 Surveillance
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Kerrang![2]

The Sport of Kings is the eighth studio album by the Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1986. It was recorded at the band's home studio of Metalworks Studios from May to August 1986. A song from the album, "Somebody's Out There", was the band's biggest hit, reaching number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 over a 15-week stay in the charts[3] and hitting number 84 in the Canadian pop charts.

History

This is the second-to-last studio album with the band's guitarist and co-lead vocalist Rik Emmett, and it clearly represents the difficulties the band was experiencing at the time. Mike Levine played no keyboards on the album; three outside keyboard players were hired to create the keyboard sounds of the album, although Rik Emmett experiments with two high-end sampler systems, the Synclavier 9600 Workstation and the Fairlight CMI Series III, according to Keyboard magazine's July 1986 issue. Emmett sings lead vocals on six of the album's ten songs; four songs were sung by Gil Moore, and one track was sung as a duet by the two vocalists. The recording of The Sport of Kings was marred by tension between Triumph and their label MCA. Emmett has since expressed his dislike for much of the album. Adding to the tension was Emmett's request that the recording be done at Estudio L2K in Majorca, Spain. Only three of this album's songs have ever been performed live by Triumph, and one track was performed live by Emmett during his first three solo tours.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Tears in the Rain"Rik Emmett, Mike Levine, Gil MooreGil Moore3:55
2."Somebody's Out There"Emmett, Levine, MooreRik Emmett4:04
3."What Rules My Heart"Emmett, Levine, Moore, James Brian Maloney, James Richard HuffMoore3:52
4."If Only"Emmett, Levine, MooreEmmett4:00
5."Hooked on You"Emmett, Levine, MooreEmmett & Moore3:22
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Take a Stand"Emmett, Levine, Moore, Rick SantersEmmett4:33
7."Just One Night"Tony Fanucchi, Eric Martin, Neal SchonMoore3:40
8."Embrujo" (instrumental)Emmett, Levine, Moore 1:29
9."Play with the Fire"Emmett, Levine, MooreEmmett5:18
10."Don't Love Anybody Else but Me"Glenn Miller, Ed RoynesdalEmmett3:55
11."In the Middle of the Night"Emmett, Levine, MooreEmmett4:34

Personnel

Band members
  • Rik Emmett – lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals, Fairlight CMI, Synclavier programming
  • Gil Moore – drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals
  • Mike Levine – bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
Additional musicians
Production
  • Mike Clink – producer, engineer
  • Noel Golden, Dave Runstedler, Toby Wright, Allen Abrahamson, Ernie Torno – assistant engineers
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Thom Trumbo – executive producer
  • Tommy Steele – design
  • Adamoff – cover art concept
  • Brett Zilahi – remastering on 2005 re–issue
  • Yoshiro Kuzumaki – mastering
  • Harry Witz – engineer, sound advisor

Charts

Chart (1986-1987) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[4] 51
US Billboard 200[5] 33

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[6] Platinum 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Triumph The Sport of Kings review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  2. ↑ Henderson, Paul (18 September 1986). "Triumph 'The Sports of Kings'". Kerrang!. Vol. 129. London, UK: Spotlight Publications. p. 18.
  3. ↑ "Triumph - Chart History". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0739". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Triumph Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Triumph – The Sport of Kings". Music Canada.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.