Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Extreme: An Aptly Named Band From Boston

 



I have a love/hate relationship with the band Extreme that isn't very complicated at all. I love about half of their output and I hate about half. Extreme is the perfect name for this band, for reasons I am sure they hadn't considered.

Let's get the bad news out the way.

The lyrics across their 30 year, six album career, can be hilariously dumb. I don't mean life/strife, fire/higher dumb. I mean, overly cute and not terribly clever or funny, like calling songs "Polticalamity" or "Little Jack Horny." Gary Cherone's vocals are too often too much, like trying to crack an egg with a ball peen hammer. Worse though, is that I think Gary Cherone's biggest fan is Gary Cherone, and that comes across in too many of the songs, even in the ones I love. 

On the upside, Nuno Bettencourt has more talent in his uvula than most musicians currently dominating the music world. He sings better than Cherone and has a keen ear for harmony. And while I am not a fan of shredders and/or shredding, Nuno is the absolute best at it, and that is because it's more than just a show. He uses his ear for melody and harmony and so his guitar solos sing while also taking your breath away.

I've listened to "Six," twice. This is the band's "comeback" album and I think it might be their most consistent. Are there songs I hate? Hell yeah, but fewer than usual. I can't help but wince when Cherone sings "We're all rich and we're all PO-WUH, we're all searching for what it's all FO-WUH" in "The Mask." And no one wants to hear a bunch of metal heads from Boston play reggae.

But...I can't stop listening to the new single "The Other Side Of The Rainbow." This is record making at its finest. This song has more hooks than the Louvre. The harmonies are to die for. And that bridge! Listen to that bridge! Those chord changes! This is without question the best Gary Cherone has ever sung. 

But that's not all, ladies and germs. I don't like music videos. They distract. But I love this video and I love the edit at the end of the bridge. Wait for that cut from the hand turning up the volume on the car radio to Nuno's guitar solo, which is, as expected, insanely wonderful.

As a matter of fact, the opening track "Rise" has a little of everything. There are a few cringeworthy moments and some badass moments, including more mindblowing guitar playing from Mr. Bettencourt.

Is Extreme "Six" going to turn the haters around? No, especially if you've already started writing your snarky comments after reading the title of the post. But fans of hard rock and heavy metal or not, there is a lot of good music and terrific playing on this record. "Six," like the first five, goes from one extreme to the other, and I've come to accept that. I'll ignore the "Little Jack Hornies," or just keep moving so I can hear some very solid rock and roll, which when they focus, Extreme plays as well as anybody.







11 comments:

cmealha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
cmealha said...

Gary Cherone has always been the weak link. He has no melodic gifts. Look what he did for Van Halen. My take on Extreme has always been that the music is good but the singer ruins it. Not that he doesn't have a strong voice, it's just that he doesn't know what to do with it. With this album, it sounds like Nuno has finally been telling him because Gary is not coming up with this stuff on his own. "OTHER SIDE OF THE RAINBOW" is the best thing on the album and I tend to be drawn more to songs like "SMALL TOWN BEAUTIFUL" rather than some of the more clichéd shredder takes. Nuno is great as usual and the true star. I wonder why he feels the need to have Cherone on board when he could have easily handled the singing chores himself.

Christine said...

Not a fan of shredding either, but I hear what you are hearing from Nuno. I do love "Other Side of the Rainbow" and "Banshee", although Gary Cherone thinks he's Steven Tyler in the latter video! (He's NOT!)

dogbreath said...

Yes, I admit having low expectations when on a rock mag blog I came across a link to the "Other Side of the Rainbow" video, but that is one helluva track and I came away extremely (see what I did there?) pleased and satisfied. And another excellent solo to add to the air guitar repertoire. Thanks for sharing the other video links too. Cheers!

hpunch said...

I think that's a very fair summing up of Extreme. Nuno's playing Is the main reason to listen. I like his vocals too.But I have no issue with Gary Cherone. I find him genuine He has a fun side project with his brother called Hurt Smile that isn't unlike Extreme. I love the album despite a couple of what-were-they-thinking tracks finding their way onto it.
.

Michael Giltz said...

I've never paid them much attention, but "More Than Words" is an enduring gem and their holiday single "Christmas Time Again" is a perennial on my playlists. I'll be checking the new songs out. Sounds like a band that could do with a VERY smart and select compilation to make the case for them. Just leave out the stuff Sal hates!

buzzbabyjesus said...

I liked the knob turn/solo bit, but that's about it. I'll keep on avoiding Extreme, thanks.

Sal Nunziato said...

@buzzbabyjesus

You were a lot less snarky before moving to Massachusetts

buzzbabyjesus said...

I think I'm a little less as I watched the whole thing, not just the first 30 seconds, and liked the solo. Nuno is a monster, but.......

Anonymous said...

Other side of the rainbow is the best song I’ve heard in a long time. No, they’re not reinventing the wheel but it has all the qualities of a great song including, ridiculously good harmonies, a great guitar solo (one part sounds like Brian May) and a hook like Ali that brought me to tears. Rise is another great rock song with a guitar solo that all the greats are talking about. I’m also
not a huge Cherone fan but love his work on this record and although I love Nuno’s voice I don’t think he is really a lead vocalist. Him and Gary compliment each other vocally but alone they are just ok.

M_Sharp said...

I never paid much attention to Extreme, or any heavy metal band, but "Other side of the Rainbow" is pretty damn good enough to make me want to check out their new album, which I probably would have ignored. "Hating less songs than usual" is semi-encouaging too.