Trillion

It's too bad cover art doesn't sell records. Trillion may have fared better commercially had people based their purchasing decisions solely on the sort of fantasy-based graphic that graces the band's self-titled debut. First released in 1978 on Epic Records, Trillion was the first of two records from this Chicago-based pomp-rock quintet. Despite an impressive start -- "Hold Out," "Big Boy," "Give Me Your Money Honey" and "Never Had It So Good" deliver hooks and harmonies aplenty -- the second half of the album sags badly. "Fancy Action" and "Hand It to the Wind" lack the melodic punch found on the first half of the record, while "Bright Night Lights" and "Child Upon the Earth" reveal a band that simply didn't have enough creative juice to make it to the finish line. People have in the past compared Trillion's multi-part harmonies and complex arrangements to that of Kansas and Styx, but those bands had something Trillion didn't -- hits. Lead singer Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen found fame and fortune -- or at least another gig -- when he joined Toto for their 1984 Isolation album, while a revamped Trillion released Clear Approach in 1980. One cannot live on cover art alone, however, and the band called it quits shortly thereafter.

Notes: Here is an audio-only YouTube clip of a song called "Hold Out" from Trillion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX5wOKgDMwI.