Trillion's eponymous debut may have vanished rather ignominiously into obscurity not long after its 1978 release, but there was no shortage of faith, money, or high expectation leading into its recording. Not only had the Chicago band recently signed with New York's powerful Epic Records, but they were given the luxury of recording at Colorado's Caribou Ranch (site of
Elton John's
Caribou album sessions) with the help of respected producer/engineer Gary Lyons, who had recently worked on
Queen's
A Night at the Opera and
Foreigner's first album. God only knows why this apparent marriage made in studio heaven didn't guarantee platinum success for
Trillion, but the sonic hallmarks were certainly all there, from the impeccable production sheen and mega-hooks worthy of
Boston's landmark debut ("Hold Out," "Hand it to the Wind"), to the extravagant, borderline operatic lunacy of
Queen or
Styx ("Big Boy," "Child Upon the Earth").
Trillion also had it in them to deliver a compelling, mildly country-ish single candidate for AM radio in "Give Me Your Money, Honey," but some evidence of the band's commercial impotence was exposed by confused cuts like "Never Had it so Good" (imagine
Steely Dan tangoing with
Head East, of
Flat as a Pancake fame!) and "Fancy Action" (a horrid disco-funk fiasco) that touched on innumerable influences but seemingly couldn't decide what they want to be. Not to be overlooked, either, was
Trillion's rather tepid lyric writing talents, which, when competing within a genre defined by sharp and powerful messages (silly oftentimes, sure, but powerful nonetheless), left much to be desired. Nevertheless, for fans of accessible progressive rock,
Trillion's debut still has much to offer, as proven by the recurring reissues over the years, most recently through England's Rock Candy label. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia