REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: extreme band

EXTREME – Three Sides To Every Story

This is the band’s third album and the one that followed the multi platinum smash, Pornograffiti. It was always going to be a difficult record to make as the record company wanted a carbon copy repeat, but the band wanted to try to expand their sound. The result is something in the middle of the two.

I really like this record as it’s not as immediate as the previous two, and does remind me somewhat of Queen. This is a concept album and is split into three parts: Yours, Mine and The Truth. Yours is more of a hard rock affair, a bit like the first two records in style and sound. Mine is more experimental in style and sound. For example, keyboards are more prevalent on this part. If you have only heard the CD version, you won’t have heard Don’t Leave Me Alone as it was left off the CD as it would not fit time wise. The Truth is one song in three parts and it’s almost Prog rock in its arrangement.

There are two stone cold classics on this album, namely opener Warheads, which is the Extreme everybody knows, and the absolute monster Cupid’s Dead, which carries on the funk vibe from the previous album and is always killer live. In hindsight, this was a very brave move from the band especially as grunge was swallowing all around it. They could easily have done Porno 2 to bend over for the record company, but they didn’t. Believe it or not, the band have only made 5 albums in total throughout their career. I for one wish they would have been more prolific, but alas not.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

EXTREME II – Pornograffitti

This is the 2nd release from Boston groove rockers Extreme. This is a concept album, or funked up fairytale, around the themes of pornography and graffiti. This is the limited Music On Vinyl release, and as with all their releases, it sounds crisp and clear.

Kicking things off with the grooving Decadence Dance with a deep funky rockin’ groove with an excellent melody and catchy chorus – this is a killer opening track. We carry on with the funk into Li’l Jack Horny, with ripping guitars and horns – awesome second track in. Closely followed by When I’m President, which starts with a rap style vocal from Gary Cherone and the usual funky vibes. This otherwise ordinary track is lifted by a cool middle eight with some tasty guitar from Nuno. Then it’s onto this album’s finest track, Get The Funk Out. If this doesn’t get you bouncing round the house then you are not alive. Huge guitar riff with a really fat sound, superb singalong chorus, a fat bass groove, and killer guitar. This ladies and germs is Extreme at their best!!!

The squillion selling world wide smash More Than Words follows – every human alive probably knows this. The almost Queen sounding, Money, follows and then another song that everyone should know, Hole Hearted, closes out Side 1. That my dear peeps is how you load up a side with all the hits how possibly could Side 2 fair against that?!

BOOM!!! We start off Side 2 with some wild phased guitar from Nuno into another killer funk groove, It’s A Monster, with yet another sing a long chorus, huge guitars, and awesome bass groove. When will the pleasure end??? Not with the title track anyway, as we have more of the same with another ripping funky groove. Quite possibly the funkiest track on the whole album. The first of the not so good tracks is next with When I First Kissed You, a rather ordinary ballad as is the last track, Song Of Love. In between those two, we have Suzi, which starts off with a Nuno solo piece with some seriously fast pickin’, and then the comic book-esque, He Man Woman Hater.

This was the album that made them an arena selling act, and made a guitar hero out of Nuno and quite rightly so. I really enjoy this album and it gets 9/10 from The Grooveman, basically for Side 1 alone.