This little EP, exclusive to Japan, is almost like a miniature “greatest hits” for Extreme. Of the six songs, five were singles. You might say “It’s not a greatest hits if it doesn’t have ‘More Than Words’ on it, and that would be a valid point, but that breakthrough ballad hadn’t been released as a single yet in November 1990.
Opening with the current single “Get the Funk Out”, we are off to a good start. This track works most excellently as an opener. That bass rolls in, before the guitar riff starts to rip. Once the horns kick in, your face is thoroughly melted. This EP focuses on fun. There’s nothing here that’s a drag.
An edit version of “Decadence Dance” is unblunted. It’s mostly just the intro stuff that’s missing anyway, and that belonged on the concept album from which it came. The bonus here is you get Paul Geary’s cymbal count-in instead, which you can’t hear on the Pornograffitti album. So dance to the beat of the decadent drummer, and get rocked. This is one of Extreme’s best bangers, a full-on Van Halen romp with hooks and flash…as you like it.
Back to the self-titled 1988 debut album for the next three tracks. A remix of “Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go to School Today)” may have more bass, edge and clarity. It’s not a radical remix. Nuno’s guitar fills jump out nicely. The first Extreme album was a mixed bag of material, with none of it reaching the upper echelons like the second record. That said, “Mutha” was probably the best track of the bunch, and the most like what came later.
“Little Girls” only loses about 20 seconds, so you’re fine with this version. Again, it’s the opening missing. This song is notable for some remarkable harmonica playing by Rapheal May. Really impressive stuff here, just as superb as Nuno’s guitar work. The lyrics, however, can’t be saved. They were never good, even by 1988 standards. “Incestual blood is thicker than water,” has to be the worst words that Gary Cherone has ever penned to paper. Roll up your windows if you intend to sing along to this song. Shame the band is so hot.
The album version of “Kid Ego” is here unaltered, it’s just not that interesting of a song. The groove plods along in a lazy, 1980s way that every single band was doing. It sounds like every band had their metronome set to the same time.
The B-side “Nice Place to Visit” has been released in a number of places, such as the “More Than Words” single in 1991, but first it was the B-side to “Little Girls”. As an outtake from the so-so first album, this song is also so-so.
The final track, and the only one exclusive to this CD, is a message from Extreme! These messages from band members were fairly common on Japanese EPs and singles by Western bands. It is geared specifically for the Japanese fans, and it’s adorable hearing their deep Boston accents. This message is fairly light. Nuno talks about their goals as a band, and Gary assures the fans that they will see them real soon. Apparently, the Japanese fans also sent the neatest, tidiest mail.
Good EP for its time. There’s even a sticker inside.
Extreme fans never stopped believin’. We’re delighted that people dig the new album Six, but we always knew. Saudades was great. Punchline was great. We have always boasted about what Nuno was capable of, and it’s hard not to love Gary Cherone. This is a band you just want to kick ass, and they do on their sixth (studio) album, shockingly titled Six. There’s no dip in quality – there hasn’t been a dip in quality since their embryonic debut back in 1988. It’s been nothing but peaks since then, though always different from one another. Reviewing Six is less about praising it (which is easy) and more about seeing what Extreme are doing differently this time.
We talk a lot about riffs here, but rarely have Extreme riffs been as direct and heavy as the one on “Rise”. This, by the way, is the song with the solo that seems to have taken the world by storm. The spirit of Van Halen was definitely in the room when Nuno laid it down, and it’s an undeniable highlight of the song. The solo is as impressive and hooky as a song unto itself. Another figure that people are starting to notice is drummer Kevin Figueiredo. It’s hard to stand out when you’re Mike Mangini’s replacement in Extreme, but Kevin kicks it! (Joke intentional – die hard Extreme fans know.) “Rise” could be the heaviest Extreme song to date.
Riffing continues on “#Rebel” (pronounced “hashtag rebel”), another contender for heaviest to date. The riff is definitely a monster, and Nuno augments it with those tasty licks he’s known for. Gary Cherone, meanwhile, sounds to be in better voice than he was back in the 1990s when he joined Van Halen. He doesn’t seem to have to push as hard, no longer going overly gritty when he’s givin’ ‘er. The solo is another marathon workout, and just a pleasure to bang along to from start to finish. Like most great solos, this is a fully composed piece of musical performance.
Third standout riff in a row, “Banshee” is yet another butt-kickin’ banger. It’s not fully pedal to the metal this time, with the verses being a little less loud, allowing Gary to get slinky. Bassist Pat Badger forms a formidable groove with Kevin here, which gives Nuno room to play around. The solo, once again, is thought out like a miniature song within a song.
Finally on track four, we get a breather! A brilliant acoustic song called “Other Side of the Rainbow” is just a thing of beauty. The vocal harmonies of Gary and Nuno gel better here than anywhere else on Six. This is pure pop, as Extreme have occasionally done (and done so well) on albums past. There are elements of Extreme II and Waiting for the Punchline here. It somehow sounds like a lost remnant from the decade of the 90s. One of the best Extreme songs in the entire canon, and a brilliant Queen-like performance from Gary.
Continuing down the acoustic road, the ballad “Small Town Beautiful” definitely recalls the softer moments on Punchline. The blend of vocals here is really special; those trademark harmonies. Things shake up once again on the bass heavy “The Mask”, with co-lead vocals by Nuno Bettencourt, a rare treat. Gary takes over on the choruses, while Nuno takes the verses in an affected voice. “Rip off the mask, I’ll show you who I am!” howls Gary on the menacing chorus.
The unusual “Thicker Than Blood” has an industrial tint, but actually is closer to a reflection of Nuno’s 1997 solo album Schizophonic. It absolutely could have come from that album, but it would have been one of the better tracks if it had. The solo here is a wicked little number. They take it down to a heavy grind on “Save Me”, another song with a downtuned 90s flavour, but a searing chorus. It’s two completely different moods, verse and chorus. Quality remains high. Variety continues.
Another soft acoustic number called “Hurricane” sounds like Simon and Garfunkel, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Extreme could do Simon and Garfunkel a hell of a lot better than Disturbed. Nuno takes a rare acoustic solo here. A very special song. Extreme throw another curveball on the effects-heavy “X Out”. We’re reminded, perhaps, of “Evilangelist” from Punchline, but with more of that industrial synthy vibe. There’s an undeniable Stranger Things vibe to the synth line.
A complete 180° will spin your head on “Beautiful Girls”, a light tropical summery number about…shockingly…beautiful girls. It’s just pop, pure and simple, and there’s nothing to feel guilty or shameful about. (There’s only one line I dislike – “California Girls, I wish they all could be” – gimme Canadian girls any time!) Bottom line, Extreme have never been shy about going way outside the box. “Beautiful Girls” represents the furthest they’ve gone since Extreme II back in 1990. The guitar solo is pure Brian May, 100%. There’s no denial, except for that wicked burnout at the end! Some might say, “This sounds like Sugar Ray!” I say, “Sugar Ray could never sing nor play like Extreme do.” Interesting that on an album with Extreme’s heaviest rockers, we also find their their most pop song.
The acoustic guitars remain out for album closer “Here’s To the Losers”, another brilliant tune that goes in another different direction. It has an anthemic shout-along of “Get up! Chin up! Drink up!” (Your beverage of choice, of course!) It’s like a rallying cry and it’s a terrific closer. The key change at the end is really nice.
The sequencing of this album is really interesting. Though the first three songs sell it as a heavy monster, the diversity soon comes into play, and then we run into multiple acoustic songs in a row. It’s unexpected but it works. The Japanese CD has its bonus track of course, and it’s a simple radio edit version of “Rise” that allows the CD to end heavy, if you prefer it that way. The edit version of “Rise” is a full minute shorter, but wasn’t really necessary except to satisfy radio formats. Fortunately the solo is still a main feature of the song.
Extreme Six was expertly produced by Nuno Bettencourt. The man’s talent knows no bounds. In fact Extreme are one of the most talented bands to come from the 80s, end sentence. Six is among their very best albums, which is to say, all of them but the debut. The streak continues. Extreme are the champions.
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.
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.
EXTREME – Saudades de Rock(2008 Frontiers in Europe, Victor in Japan, with exclusive bonus tracks)
Extreme were one of those bands that always seemed to resist reuniting. Nuno didn’t seem interested, or was too busy with Perry Farrell and Rihanna. When they finally did get the band back together, they did it right with a few tours and a new album to prove they still had the goods. 2008’s Saudades de Rock (Portuguese for “Nostalgic Yearnings of Rock”) earned positive reviews from rock critics. It did moderate sales but the important thing was that it was good.
Immediately “Star” reminds us why Extreme were special in the first place: Those harmonies, the good time Halen-inspired riffs, the kick-ass singer and a solid beat. Gary Cherone’s voice has aged well, coming over as a cross between Sammy Hagar, Freddie Mercury and Paul Stanley (good company to be in). This song best exemplifies the “nostalgic yearnings of rock”, as the arrangement could have come from 1990. Extensive (jaw-dropping) solos and a big chorus immediately remind us why this band was so critically acclaimed 25 years ago.
It’s not all longing for days gone by. “Comfortably Dumb” concentrates its focus on the groove, like a bizarre cross between Soundgarden and the Trews. The space-age guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt separates it from anyone else. His style has matured nicely but still makes you wonder just how the hell he does it. His machine-gun guitar riff on “Learn to Love” does the same. It’s not all trickery: these are also great compositions, with challenging rock arrangements. Time changes and flurries of notes keep it interesting. The middle section gives all the members a little time to shine including new drummer Kevin Figueiredo.
The first knuckleball is thrown on “Take Us Alive”, a genuine electric bluegrass shuffle. Remember Extreme always prided themselves in their diversity, modeling themselves after Queen who were unafraid to do anything. “Take Us Alive” is a new step for Extreme who have never gone this twangy. Unsurprisingly they mastered this direction too. A saucy funk rocker called “Run” goes in another direction, akin to Queen’s own funky experiments, just heavier. Like Queen, Extreme topped it with a fine melodic chorus, but stay tuned for a superb outro.
“Last Hour” is not a ballad; more of a heavy dirge. Nuno takes a quiet solo full of volume swells before going full shred. He then rips a page from the book of his solo album with the punky “Flower Man” (I say “punky” rather than “punk” since few genuine punk songs have a blazing Nuno Bettencourt guitar solo). “King of the Ladies” is something else entirely, featuring Nuno on lead vocals. It’s trippy, slinky, drony, modern and sultry with smoking instrumental sections and sounds like nothing else you can think of. Few bands can take so many directions on one album and have it sound like a cohesive whole.
Every Extreme album has at least one ballad, and “Ghost” is a wonderful continuation of this tradition. With the focus on the piano, it’s a reprieve in the relentless guitar assault that makes up the majority of Saudades de Rock. You have heard this sound before on albums like Extreme III. We then visit the Houses of the Holy with “Slide” which possesses the unmistakable Zeppelin funk. You’ll be wondering, where’s that confounded bridge? The riff is a wink and a nod to “Sweet Emotion” and there is definitely some of that Aero-groove mixed with the Zoso Magic.
An acoustic reprieve is offered with “Interface”, a floaty ballad that fits this leg of the running order. It merges into the funk-Halen of “Sunrise”, a nice heavy track before “Peace (Saudades)” takes us out on a dreamy, Queen-like ballad. Yes that’s a lot of ballads late in the game and on paper it shouldn’t work. It does because Extreme are consummate balladeers (each one being different) and successful composers of album-length works with a start, middle and ending. “Peace” is a triumph and uplifting finale.
There are two bonus tracks available at the end of different versions of Saudades de Rock. Both are old demos from the vaults, ancient relics of a pre-fame Extreme. It’s a cool idea to release old unheard songs as bonus tracks, though unorthodox. “Mr. Bates” (1986) is exclusive to Japan only. It’s something like seeing old baby photos, or highschool yearbook grad pictures. You wince and think “Well, they were young.” Even so young, Nuno obviously had more talent than the average bear. Europe got the better song “Americocaine” (1985), which shows off that blend of Gary and Nuno’s voices that, one day, would earn them millions. You could imagine “Americocaine” showing up at the end credits of a minor 80s action movie.
Extreme played to their strengths, didn’t try to repeat anything from the past, while giving fans exactly the kind of album they needed. The bonus tracks don’t fit, but who says a “bonus track” has to fit? These are bonuses in the truest sense. Rare little treats you can’t find anywhere else. Any fan of the 1989 debut album Extreme will love them, because that is the era they resemble.
EXTREME – Pornograffitti Live 25 (2016 Victor Japan 2 CD set)
When you hear that an album like Pornograffitti (which defined one of our teenage summers) turned 25 last year, don’t it make you feel old? Maybe you haven’t played it in a while. (If you haven’t, here is a refresher course.) It was one of those discs that had appealing songs from start to finish, each different from the last. All 13 songs (14 if you include the solo “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee”) are reproduced in sequence on this new live CD release, fresh from a hot show in Vegas in 2015. You can buy a blu-ray or DVD of the concert too, but CD collectors will want to spring for this Japanese double set. On a second disc you get “Play With Me” (given more exposure in the movie Air Guitar Nation) and “Cupid’s Dead”, normally exclusive to the video version. The total package is close to an hour and a half of some of Extreme’s best songs. The Japanese printing also has its own cover art, though no other exclusives.
The familiar taped intro of rain and piano inaugurates the “funked-up fairy tail” that is Pornograffitti. “Trying so hard to keep up with the Joneses!” begins Gary and and the Vegas crowd knows all the words. With Nuno Bettencourt and Pat Badger helping out, the Extreme vocals are nice and thick live. The sound is beefy goodness, wound up in electric guitar strings. Kicking it on drums, Kevin Figueiredo keeps things pretty close to the way original drummer Paul Geary did it. “Decadence Dance” is sincerely good nostalgia.
Following the vague storyline of the original album, “Lil’ Jack Horny” shows up amidst shimmery guitar harmonics and a funky lil’ riff. The horn parts (tapes?) jack up the funky little guitar number, which carries over to “When I’m President”. Nuno squeaks and squonks while Gary waxes poetic. “So go ask Alice, ah you know what he said? What did he say — remember, I wanna be elected?” Maybe one day Gary, because it is indeed true: just about anyone can be president! Cherone promises that things’ll be different. You can even be in his cabinet!
The funk peaks (obviously) on “Get the Funk Out” which remains as silly and fun as it was 15 years ago. (Listen for a little bit of a lyrical modernization from Nuno!) It’s pure live smoke only slowed down by the obligatory audience participation section. This appropriately segues into “More Than Words”, which is slightly more than a singalong. Stripped naked of the loud guitars, Nuno and Gary can still harmonize as clean and perfect as they always have.
“Money” resumes the rock, as Gary bemoans the modern worship of the almighty dollar. Nimbly killing it on both guitar and harmonies, Nuno Bettencourt is a super hero. He does it again on “It (‘s a Monster)”, a stock album track that goes from point A to point B at top speed. Some real gems start showing up a in steady string from there. “Pornograffitti” possesses some serious funk metal riffage and guitar tricks, performed at an unbelievable level of rock supremacy. Then it is time for the slow jazz lounge croon “When I First Kissed You”. Piano flourishes and Figueiredo on brushes lend it a really pretty dusky sound.
“And now back to our regularly scheduled program!” shouts Gary as Extreme once again puts on their rock and roll shoes. It’s time for “Suzi (Wants Her All Day What?)”, another funky rock combo. Nuno plays some of the fastest licks ever attempted, but that is mere warm-up, for next is “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee”, the legendary guitar instrumental that re-defined the guitar instrumental for a short while. There is no time to recover because it’s straight into “He-Man Woman Hater”. This Van Halen-like blast contains some of Nuno’s finest fret abuse.
Pornograffitti was also a little different, and one aspect of that is that it ended with two ballads. Historically that has been demonstrated as a risky way to end an album, but Extreme pulled it off by using two that were different from any of the others on the CD. “Song For Love” was a big pompous Queen-like anthem, and you can all but see the lighters and cell phones waving in the air. “Hole Hearted” was the memorable acoustic closing number, great for campfires and rock concerts alike. Live is just as solid as the studio original.
Onto to the Japanese bonus CD with its two bonus tracks. “Play With Me” has always been a bit of a novelty, but notable for its sheer velocity and Mozart-a-go-go guitar dexterity. Few players have chops like these. “Cupid’s Dead” is a set highlight – heavy, funky and progressive at times. Extreme III deserves as much praise as Extreme II: Pornograffitti so it is quite pleasing to have this adventurous track close.
Bravo to Extreme for making this trip back in time a real treat.
Welcome to GREATEST HITS WEEK! This is an idea I nicked from Aaron over at the KMA. (For his original Greatest Hits Week, click here!)
All week, we will be looking at different (and I hope interesting) hits albums from various groups. Let’s get this one out of the way first though: the proverbial contractual obligation album!
EXTREME – The Best of Extreme: An Accidental Collication of Atoms? (1997 A&M)
The best of Extreme? Perhaps, by some arguments, but the ball sure was fumbled, with this CD that fails to keep the attention from flagging.
The Best of Extreme (subtitled An Accidental Collication of Atoms?, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean) plays it straight, in a paint-by-numbers kind of way. Pretty much every song here is a single, though not many were very big singles. The thing is, like more respected bands such as King’s X (with whom they shared management), Extreme were about albums much more so than singles. First record aside, Extreme never failed to impress with a cohesive collection of jaw-dropping rock. So what happens when you take a record company suit (or a room full of them) and assign them the duty of picking a baker’s dozen of tracks for the requisite greatest hits CD? You get an accidental collication of atoms, apparently.
Opening with “Decadence Dance” was a great idea, but why leave on the rain storm and narration that opens the album version of the song? Why not use the dynamite single version? That intro makes little sense in context of a greatest hits disc. Great song, though — in fact every single song here is bonafied great! With the possible exception of “Kid Ego”, every track here was always of the utmost quality, delivering innovation and hooks. “Rest in Peace” – brilliantly produced, written and performed. “Tragic Comic” – just pure class acoustic rock as only Extreme deliver. Same with the massive hit “Hole Hearted”. “Hip Today” – still aggressive to this day. That was Extreme’s first single with Mike Mangini on drums, incidentally.
So you can’t knock the tunes, at all. It’s the crummy execution that’s the problem. The rain at the beginning of Decadence Dance is one such example. Then on “Rest in Peace”, the guitar outro that normally leads into “Politicalamity” is retained, but it ends abruptly and leads into nothing. That is sequenced into “Kid Ego” from the first album, which as an awkward transition. “Leave Me Alone” works better as a side opener. There’s no reason behind the track listing that I can imagine. It’s not chronological, and it doesn’t flow well, especially when you hit 11 minutes of ballads right in the middle of the whole thing. The booklet is a joke, with no liner notes of any value. It’s just a slathering of images that has nothing to do with Extreme or any of their past albums. Just lazy. Nobody would even cop to compiling it by putting their name in the credits. The anonymous compilers are as faceless as the CD they created. The band had been broken up for a while, when Gary Cherone joined Van Halen. This was just a record company trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of a band that had little value in 1997 dollars.
There are two touches I like on The Best of Extreme. One is the “Horn Mix” of “Cupid’s Dead”. I don’t have this on any singles in my collection, so thank you, suits! (I know you included this remix just for idiots like me that would buy an entire CD just for one song. However the joke is on you. I bought it used from my own Bargain Bin.) It’s a killer remix. It should have been this way on the album. Maybe somebody said, “We can’t have too many horns! One has to go.” It’s also nice to see “Am I Ever Gonna Change” closing the CD. That “song” is actually just the middle section of “Everything Under the Sun”, the side-long epic that closed Extreme III Sides to Every Story. It was one of the more single-like moments from an album that offered few such songs. Fans have long said that it should have been a single, so it is interesting to hear it here, amputated from its parent song.
Unless you need that “Cupid’s Dead” remix, you don’t need this CD.
1990: Everybody was buzzing about the sophomore album by Boston’s Extreme, and their stellar lead guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Extreme II: Pornograffitti (“A Funked Up Fairytale”) is one of the last great hair metal albums of the era. It is chock full of diverse songs, great playing, great writing, and adventurous arrangements. Big kudos must of course go to Nuno whose guitar playing is at once tasteful and (pardon the pun) extreme. Not to be outshone is lead vocalist Gary Cherone who was at his peak here.
A loose (very loose) concept album, Extreme II commences with atmospheric rainfall, which introduces us to “Francis”: our protagonist and the kid on the front cover. The crashing licks of “Decadence Dance”, the first single, interrupts this moment. Gary’s lyrics are witty and Nuno’s fingers nimble. The song kills.
There is a wide swath of styles covered on Extreme II. Obviously funk is a big one (“Get the Funk Out” with a blazing horn section, “When I’m President”, the title track.) Of course there are the landmark acoustic ballads “More Than Words”, “Song For Love” and “Hole Hearted”. The cool thing about this trio of singles is that all three ballads are different. None of them share the same style as well. “Hole Hearted” is more a campfire rock song than a ballad anyway. While “More Than Words” is now considered the prototypical acoustic ballad, it must be remembered that when it came out, it was unlike most. It contains no drums and only one acoustic guitar. Gary Cherone’s vocals merge harmoniously with Nuno’s creating this lullaby effect.
Other interesting songs include the lounge tune, “When I First Kissed You”. I once read Nuno saying that his inspirations were Queen and Prince, artists who were fearless to include different styles on their albums. Meanwhile, “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee” contains some of the greatest and fastest guitar soloing of any era. It doesn’t get much more diverse than this withoug losing coherance, but Extreme II holds together as a concept and an album.
The album is filled out with killer hard rockers: Songs like “Suzy Wants Her All-Day Sucker” and “He-Man Woman Hater” are some of the catchiest rock songs this side of Aerosmith, but are tricky enough to keep your interest peaked. By the time the album ends, you’ll be exhausted from rocking out so much, but you’ll still want to start over again from the beginning. The album appears to be designed that way, since it closes with the same rain and thunder.
This is a must-own classic for any hard rock fan who likes it smart.
5/5 stars
Once you absorb this album, you have to pick up the following companion pieces:
1. The “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted” singles, which contained different remixes of “More Than Words”, one being A Capella with congas.
2. The “Song For Love” single, the B-side of which was Extreme’s amazing cover of Queen’s “Love of my Life”. Incredible cover, which was designed to segue into “More Than Words”. They did it this way when played live, as they did at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
3.The Guitars The Rule the World (the first one, not Vol 2). This has a Nuno Bettencourt electric blues instrumental called “Bumble Bee (Crash Landing)”. This is the second part to “Flight of the Wounded Bumble Bee”, which on the album was trimmed down to exclude the “Crash Landing” portion. When I recently ripped this album to my computer, I used Audacity to recreate the original complete “Bumble Bee” track. I dropped the file into the correct place on the album to create an “unedited” Pornograffitti experience. It was kind of cool how it worked, segueing into “He-Man Woman Hater”.
Kids – do not crack your neck. Don’t do it. I know it feels good. Just don’t. I know the feeling, the release of pressure. The sudden relaxation of the nearby muscles. The temporary but instant relief from pain.
I used to crack my neck, apparently a bit too much, and by early 1996 it had caught up with me. I was about to go out for lunch at Casey’s with an ex-girlfriend of mine. We’d started to hang out again. I thought there might be a chance of getting back together, so I was looking forward to it.
I was toweling dry my hair, perhaps applying a bit too much force on one side, when suddenly: snap. Something hurt. Something hurt a lot. I collapsed to the ground, cradling my suddenly-too-heavy head in my hands. I’d experienced neck pain before (which started me on cracking it in the first place), but nothing like this! I was completely immobile. I sat like that, in pain holding my head in my hands, for 15 minutes. Finally I was able to find a comfortable way to stand up.
I took some Aspirin, and collapsed again in the stairway. I literally could not take both hands off my head without being in extreme pain. I had to be holding my head with at least one hand at all times. I considered cancelling the date with the ex, but quickly dismissed that option. The perceived opportunity for pity outweighed the physical pain. Now all I had to do was figure out how to put on my boots.
The ex arrived to pick me up, and she advised me to see a doctor. Nahh! I said. I took an Aspirin. Doctor Schmockter. I did know that, feeling the way I did, there was no way I was going to put able to pull a 4 hour shift at the record store that night. All that bending over and filing…one handed? No. Even though I was very proud of my perfect attendance record (no sick days in almost 2 years, a milestone I wanted to reach), I had to call in sick. I felt the pain of my now tarnished sick record.
We sat down at Casey’s, and I stupidly ordered French onion soup. Only when the dish arrived did I realize how hard it was to get the spoon all the way to my mouth without leaning. Leaning equaled pain, but by moving slowly and steadily, I gradually ate the soup.
I had a heavy scarf around my neck, and the warm soup going down my throat felt great too. Plus, the painkillers were kicking in. My mood brightened by the time my chicken arrived. When I had finished that, my sore neck muscles began to loosen up. I was regaining some mobility. Plus, the lunch was going splendidly! Conversation was brisk and good humoured.
“You know what,” I said to the ex, “I think I’m going to work after all.”
“Are you sure?” she queried. “Your neck looks really stiff.”
“It is,” I replied. “But it’s Wednesday. It’s a slow night. New stock arrived yesterday, Trevor would have finished stocking everything. I’ll be OK.” Plus, I was digging the new Extreme and wanted to hear it again.
Mike Mangini on drums
I excused myself to go to a pay phone and call the store.
“Hey man, it’s Mike,” I said when my boss answered. “Have you got anybody to fill my shift yet? Because I can do it. I feel alot better.” He told me that he was just going to work straight through. I assured him I was OK, and I got the ex to drop me off at the store.
I walked in, head cocked at an awkward angle, wearing a silly scarf. My boss was with a customer but he glanced at me, noting my odd posture. As soon as he was done with the customer, he turned to me.
“Oh, Mike…how in the heck did you do that again?”
Slightly embarrassed I answered, “Drying my hair.”
“You did THAT drying your hair?” he cried.
“Yeah,” I said sheepishly. “Does it look bad? Can you tell?”
“Can you tell?” he replied. “It’s as obvious as the nose on your face!”
Oh man. Oh man. I didn’t realize how comical I looked. Sure enough, several customers asked about my strange posture. And all of them had the same question:
“How in the heck did you do that?”
Drying my hair! Now leave me alone about it!!
Unfortunately this was merely the first of many such episodes. A high price to pay, for the temporary relief of cracking your neck. I should have just said it was whiplash from banging my head too much.
EXTREME – Extragraffitti (1990 A&M Japan EP)
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