REVIEW: Extreme – III Sides to Every Story (1992)

scan_20170129EXTREME – III Sides to Every Story (1992 A&M)

Of Extreme’s five studio albums, there can be little doubt that Extreme III is the most ambitious.  It is a sprawling set over 80 minutes in length; too long for a single CD.  So long that only the cassette version has all 15 tracks in one place.  In contains three distinct sides, each different from the other, countless styles, and an orchestra.  Extreme took what made them popular on the last album, and what was currently going on with grunge rock, and tossed it all out the window.  They followed their own direction and were not rewarded with sales, but something more important:  a masterpiece.

The first “side” (keep in mind this is a CD) is subtitled “Yours” and consists of rockers both hard and funky.  After a comedic intro, “Warheads” annihilates the speakers.  A short choppy riff blows in, tempo opened up wide.  Gary Cherone tries to keep his messages entertaining, and this anti-war anthem has a pretty obvious message.  Nuno Bettencourt joins him for the choruses and breaks for a cool neo-classical solo.  The same message carries over into the first single “Rest in Peace”, introduced by a  string quartet playing the song’s melody before Nuno kicks it with a funky riff.  During the solo, Nuno even quotes Jim Hendrix.  “Rest in Peace” was not an immediate single, it takes some growing.  This is true of the whole album.  There is a lot going on.  Even that little Hendrix lick — blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s there making the solo that much cooler.  It is worth mentioning that Extreme did a fantastic video for “Rest in Peace” based on a 1952 National Film Board of Canada short called “Neighbours”. This wordless film served as the blueprint, but as a result they got sued and had to change it.

Gary Cherone loves creating his own portmanteaus (“Americocaine”, “Pornograffitti”), so “Politicalamity” is the title of the third track. It’s a wah-wah soaked funky rocker with fully-loaded horns making their first album appearance, in the tradition of “Get the Funk Out”.  Lyrically it continues the anti-war theme dominating the first side, and also social injustice, but in a fun catchy style. “Rich and poor, salute your country’s colours. Less is more, When one oppresses the other.” That was 1992; I wonder what Gary would have to say about today? Racial equality dominates “Color Me Blind”, one of the hardest rockers on the side. “I had a dream last night, I was blind, and I couldn’t see colour of any kind.” It is possible that the lyrical tone of the album turned off some old fans, though Gary keeps things from getting preachy.

“Cupid’s Dead” is the only song on the first side without a serious message. This rap-rock hybrid features a guest rapper (John Preziosa Jr.) and a chugging, funky riff.  Hard rock bands who incorporated rapping were seldom successful, but Extreme dodged this bullet.  “Cupid’s Dead” is good enough that is was recently dusted off for the Pornograffitti Live 25 tour.  Drummer Paul Geary and bassist Pat Badger keep the funk rolling in heavy fashion.  The side-ending “Peacemaker Die” features Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, surely some of the most powerful words in American history.  It is difficult to not get the chills when Dr. King speaks, framed in this excellent funk rock lament.

Take a moment’s break here and pretend you’re flipping a record.  Side two is subtitled “Mine” as a contrast to “Yours” for side one.  “Mine” consists of six ballads, but only five are on the CD due to the 80 minute time restriction.  Nuno expressed regret that the sixth track didn’t fit and hoped one day a 2 CD edition would be released.  Still hoping!

“Seven Sundays” is a romantic song, a piano ballad with Gary in falsetto mode.  Nuno adds synth strings for textures.  “If I had one wish, it wouldn’t be hard to choose.  Seven Sundays in a row, because that’s the day that I spend with you.”  Quite a turn from “Cupid’s Dead”, but that’s why it’s on another side.  “Tragic Comic” was the natural successor to the hits on Extreme II, a fun acoustic track with a “Hole Hearted” beat.  The lyrics are clever comedy and the track was selected as a single.  Many will identify with the hapless romantic, the titular stut-tut-tuttering p-poet.  “And when we dine, I forget to push in your seat.  I wear the wine, spillin’ it all over my sleeves.”  Been there done that Gary!  The lighthearted song is a delightful contrast to the darker material on side one.

Van Halen-style volume swells make up the intro guitar melody of “Our Father”, an electric power ballad with some stunning six-string mastery.   “Stop the World” was chosen as a single, a light melancholy ballad reminding us that if we forget history we are bound to repeat it.  These serious songs were not destined to repeat the big singles of albums past.  When you play these songs, you feel things and you think things, and not everybody wants music to do that to them.  Nuno’s solo on “Stop the World” is warm, immaculate perfection.  “Stop the World” merges directly into “God Isn’t Dead?” (except in single form of course).  “God Isn’t Dead?” is the darkest spot yet, quiet and painfully plaintive.  Piano and orchestra paint a stark picture.

The final song on the side, and a hint of the daybreak ahead, is “Don’t Leave Me Alone”, which is only on the cassette version.  Fear not however; it can be found in CD form on CD singles.  Just rip everything to your computer and slide “Don’t Leave Me Alone” into the correction position in the running order.  It belongs here at the end of the “Mine” side.  It deliberately ends it on a brighter note than “God Isn’t Dead?” though it is still far from a good-time ballad.  It is dusky lament, but with hints of light in the tunnel.  Nuno’s moog solo is a treat.

extreme-dont-leave-me-alone-tragic-comic-single

At 12 songs, the “Yours” and “Mine” sides would make a complete album on their own, and it would still be an ambitious project at that.  Regardless, the third side titled “& the Truth” is the most industrious of them all, an eager fulfillment of talents bursting at the seams.  III Sides to Every Story…”Yours”, “Mine”, “& the Truth”.  This time, the side is made up of one massive 22 minute song called “Everything Under the Sun”.  It in turn is subdivided into three parts.  This is where the orchestra really comes into play.

Part I, “Rise ‘n Shine” is the sunrise after the blackness of the second side.  Gentle acoustics rouse you from your slumber, and Nuno takes the first verse of this duet.  Gary follows on the second as the orchestra swells.  “Rise ‘n Shine” is the most hopeful sounding music on the album, a bright and steady composition brilliantly structured.  Daniel and his dreams may be a Biblical reference but they don’t have to be.  A brief interlude foreshadows the melody of Part III, but first is Part II, “Am I Ever Gonna Change”.  This section was chopped out and used as an individual song live and on compilations.  You can hear why, since it has that echoey Van Halen guitar lick and a powerful nut-kicking chorus.  The orchestra returns and it’s Extreme at full power.  This eventually fades into the quiet start of Part III, “Who Cares?”.  Inaudible voices whisper during a piano passage, and then the orchestra returns at maximum.  Biblical overtones:  “Tell me Jesus, are you angry?  One more sheep has just gone astray.” Nuno’s singing is run through a vocoder giving him a computerized voice.  Some might think it sounds like The Elder gone wrong, but that would be selling “Who Cares?” short.  Finally Nuno breaks out of the circuit boards and come in at full voice for the final choruses.  The melodies from “Rise n’ Shine” and “Am I Ever Gonna Change” are reprised as the epic piece finally comes to a close.

There is little debate that “Everything Under the Sun” is the grandest thing Extreme have attempted in the studio.  It was a successful experiment, as it remains interesting and engaging through its entire 22 minute length.  You cannot say that for every Rush song of that nature.

Unfortunately for Extreme, the timing was all wrong, and this album soon found its way in bargain bins at cut rate prices.  The good news is that means you can get a copy yourself for next to nothing.  Try also to track down copies of the “Stop the World” or “Tragic Comic” singles, in order to get the full package.  They are plentiful on sites such as Discogs, and it’s important to hear the album at its full complete length.  III Sides to Every Story is an unsung hard rock masterwork, and if you want some softer rock songs with lots of brains and a huge heart, give it a shot.

5/5 stars

40 comments

  2. I suppose the cassettes could fit 90 minutes – there’s a rare argument in favour of the cassette as the ultimate medium!
    Interesting to hear your description of Our Father as having ‘Van Halen-style volume swells,’ perhaps some foreshadowing of what was to happen with Mr. Cherone later in the decade!

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    1. You could safely get 100 minutes on a tape without worrying too much about losing quality or tape stretching. On rare occasions I would use a 110 minute tape, but nothing longer. At 120 minutes you lose too much quality and the tape stretches.

      Foreshadowing indeed. This band has always had Van Halen-isms. Most importantly to that career change, both bands were managed by the same guy — Canadian Ray Danniels.

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  3. Excellent review, Mike. Your love for this one was quite apparent from the get go. I keep promising to delve in to Extreme’s albums, but I haven’t done it yet. I’ve listened to a few tracks, so that’s gotta count for something, right?

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  4. I really liked this review Mike. This is such a great album and my favorite Extreme song is on it, “Am I Ever Gonna Change”. I like it mixed in with the full blown 22 minutes and I like it cut out on its own.

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    1. Thanks man! It’s an amazing tune, and you can hear why they played it live on its own. Had the album been a huge success they would have done a big tour with the full 22 minute piece, but obviously that wasn’t meant to be.

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  5. The thing here is ….with the Graffiti album in 90 and 3 Sides in 92 plus the mega tour to cash in as well with the Graffiti album the albums are not just throw together pieces of work.
    It boggles my mind how they could produce 2 epic albums in a short span. When I caught Extreme opening for Adams in Sept of 92 they debuted Rest In Peace and I was hooked! Great track and I was a first day buyer of 3 sides…It did well I suppose but times were indeed a changing….
    Solid albums by a solid Band..
    Great write up!

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  7. Damn it Mike! I’ll shelve my review for a while now ;)

    Love this album. Out of their entire catalogue, this is the one I come back to most. Although WFTP is cropping up a lot more on my radar too.

    Extreme’s most prog album and, for me, the most nourishing. Love love love it.

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        2. It’s VERY tempting I must say. As my fav Extreme album, it’s gone in pretty high on the wish list…. how much does a kidney go for on the black market these days?!

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        3. I’ll private message you with the going rate for a kidney.

          It is very tempting indeed. But such is the life of a music lover. Everybody likes music. Lovers often choose between vinyl or rent.

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        4. I’ll prep the knitting needles ready.

          Yeah that is very true. I suppose one could always fashion a sort of shanty town hut out of the vinyl collection.

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  8. Ran through the entire record today (cassette version) and while think the whole darn thing is beyond great I do recall initially finding Mine and The Truth somewhat bloated toward albums end? After side1 being so loaded with class rockers it the slower/orchestral numbers kinda lost steam?

    I do wonder in hindsight if that may have been another factor in why the record lost its legs with the buying public. Sadly not all of us have the patience wanting indulge in this creativity.

    Of course recognizing the years have been kind to the record may open fresh ears to the excellence of III Sides, but woulda been cool for it to have been recognized by more back when it mattered more.

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    1. Thanks for this awesome comment Wardy! I don’t know if my listening experience was like that. I always looked forward to that big 22 minute ending, I didn’t find it dragging for me. But it took a few listens to start sinking in. Sometimes I wished they’d just shred something heavy. But they did that on the next album!

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    2. I would very much buy a sweet deluxe edition. I’m thinking triple disc set with demos, b-sides and a live DVD and/or audio concert.

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  10. Possibly the most underrated rock CD of the 90s. Yes with the emerging, overrated grunge style of music at the time of this release, people didn’t know what to do with it. Rest In Peace got some radio and MTV play but I only caught Stop The World video when I feel asleep on the couch and woke up at 2am. Stop the World is phenomenal as is most of this CD.

    And the Opus at the end (The Truth) is amazing. And showed just how talented these musicians (especially Nuno) were/are. The Biblical themes are UNDENIABLE, and it is Gary’s religious beliefs that inform almost the entire album. Anti-war, promoting better racial relations, loving better, all from Christianity.

    And The Truth is loaded with the idea of renewal. Again Christian doctrine inspired. As those that are saved wake up (rise and shine), ask if change is possible (Am I Ever Gonna Change?) and then continually ask if it is worth it (Who Cares?). I like to think of Who Cares in conjunction with the earlier “God Isn’t Dead” in realizing that it is God that cares, and is most important. And is why Who Cares ends up on such a positive note. When we wake-up to sin, are reborn, and strive to live the life Christ wants us to live (even if it is a struggle) the reward at the end is worth it all!

    “Here I am a naked man, nothing to hide, with empty hand. Remember me, I am the one who lost his way, your prodigal son!” Judgement day! We came into the world naked, naked we go out. Our life will not be hidden from God, but if we are ready, even though at one (or more) point(s) in our life wandered away, we will return to God as a son! WONDERFUL!

    Thanks for reviewing one of my favorite albums of all time! (

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    2. Thanks for this awesome comment! It’s good to know that people are out there who are still as passionate about this album as I am.

      Nuno once described Gary as a “lyrical hero” in the same way that Nuno is a “guitar hero”. I think he was spot on!

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