Canadian label Music In Motion Ent is releasing Diamonds – The Best of the Hard Rock Years 1990 – 1995, a brand new compilation featuring iconic guitarist Rik Emmett's hand picked rock tracks from his three Duke Street releases, Absolutely, Ipso Facto and The Spiral Notebook. Remastered with the most up to date technology at Iguana Studios in Toronto ON, Diamonds provides Rik Emmett fans with a new listening experience. Diamonds is the musical companion to Rik’s recently released biography Lay It On The Line available through ECW Press. Diamonds cover art features the work of renowned photographer Andrew MacNaughtan. International retail date is set for March 1, 2024 through Deko Entertainment (ADA/WMG) and Music In Motion Ent (Canada). A limited number of hand signed editions are available through the Deko Entertainment webstore.
Rik Emmett gained international recognition as the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist with Triumph from 1975 to 1988. Five gold & platinum decades in the music biz provided entry into the Canadian Rock Hall of Fame, the Music Industry Hall of Fame, the Junos Hall of Fame, the Canadian Walk of Fame, and the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame. Emmett’s name frequently appeared in guitar magazine polls and he won some prestigious awards including Best Lead Guitarist in a national poll in 1981. In the first decade of the 21st Century Emmett placed 6th in a CBC on-line poll of The Greatest Canadian Guitarists Ever, and also placed 7th in a Gibson.com reader’s poll of Top Guitarists.
Rik’s solo career began with three releases for Duke Street/MCA Records in the early ’90s from which the tracks from Diamonds are represented. The first release, Absolutely, went gold in 1990, yielding the hits “Saved by Love” and “Big Lie,” two songs that provided a transition from arena rock while maintaining continuity at FM radio. The ballad “When a Heart Breaks” crossed rock guitar heroism over into new radio formats. Ipso Facto followed in ’92, offering up the hit “Bang On,” a rocking return to one of Rik’s personal themes – positive motivation and inspiration. Ipso Facto’s stylistic versatility was no surprise to fans who knew the guy consistently plugged trademark classical guitar pieces or little jazz tunes in between hard rock anthems, arena blues riffs and progressive flourishes found on past records. The singer/songwriter album, ‘95s Spiral Notebook, was the last of his Duke Street releases.
A guitar magazine once wrote that Rik Emmett was
“… his own worst enemy … one of the only guitarists out there who may be too talented for his own damn good.”
In the last two decades, Emmett’ diverse musical style morphed from Smooth Jazz, to the prog-rock project Airtime, a Latin / Mediterranean guitar trio project called Trifecta, two acoustic releases with guitar partner Dave Dunlop including Then Again, a reworking of the most popular Triumph repertoire with new arrangements, and the full-blown rock band project, RES 9, by Rik Emmett & RESolution9 featuring guests Alex Lifeson and James LaBrie.
An accomplished writer, Rik was a Guitar Player columnist for over a decade, has published Reinvention, a collection of poems on ECW Press in 2021, and his memoir, Lay It On The Line – A Backstage Pass to Rock Star Adventure, Conflict and Triumph, was released in late 2023. Retired from touring, Rik still writes and records.
DIAMONDS TRACK LISTING :
LP :
DRIVE TIME / STRAIGHT UP / BANG ON / SAVED BY LOVE / WHEN A HEART BREAKS / BIG LIE / RAINBOW MAN / MIDDLE GROUND / THE HARDEST PART
CD BONUS TRACKS :
STAND AND DELIVER / THE PENDULUM
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