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Still in Development! Page not yet completed... Extreme - Extreme - 1989 Extreme's debut record, is full of funk-metal driven songs, with an eclectic late 80's Van Halen touch to most of them. The reason for this is that their lead guitar player (Nuno Bettencourt), sounds alot like Van Halen's guitarist, but he's just a little more glamorous with his guitar sound, and distinguishes himself from the innovator (Edward Van Halen). The record starts off with the song "Little Girls", the band establishes a very swampy and bluesy feel to the song, the most likely reason for this is that the song features a harmonica. The band has fun with "Little Girls", everything is on cue, Gary's voice sounds great, Nuno's guitar work is killer. The concept of this song, is of course, a lust for younger girls. Some of the highlights on "Extreme", are "KId Ego" which is about a kid with a sky-high ego, "Play With Me", which features a stand out guitar solo from Nuno Bettencourt, and "Rock A Bye,Bye" which is a piano driven song, with excellent vocal work by Extreme, the song examines the issue of abortions. The ending theme, a guitar solo by Nuno, titled "Gates Of Heaven" is strikingly spiritual, atmospheric and out of this world. By far the most haunting piece of music on this record. Overall, Extreme has assembled an exceptional disc, loaded with childhood themes, and utter quirkiness. Extreme II - Pornograffitti - 1990 Those who are not familiar with Extreme's material, will probably dub this album as just another sex crazed album by long-haired rockers, from the late 80's. It's too bad that people will assume such a thing because this album has a story to tell, and a rather odd one at best. The title of the album says it all, Porno - Graffitti, it's not an album about getting laid, or chicks with big breasts, or getting wasted, it's an intelligent look at society, and how a young boy named Francis sees the world around him, and what messages he is taking from societys morals. Songs like "Get The Funk Out" , "Money (In God We Trust)" , "Decadence Dance" are great pieces of music. "Song For Love" which is about seeking counseling of some kind, sounds atmospheric and enclosed at the same time. The last track on this record, "Hole Hearted" is simply a song that everybody on this planet can relate with, we all are still trying to fit a circle where a square should be. The whole album is full of eclectic songs, some are rock, some are pop, and some are jazz, but they are all Extreme songs. Extreme - Three Sides To Every Story - 1992 This 70 minute plus CD, does not have a single dull musical moment on it. Some of the songs seem stretched out just a bit, but the band more than makes up for this at the end of the record. With each listen you become more familiar with the material, and it forms into a nice musical painting. This CD is a concept album, divided into three distinct musical sides, YOURS - MINE - & The TRUTH. The first side of this record is full of political anthems, like "Rest In Peace", which suggests that we should take the subject of peace more seriously, instead of trying to fashionize the whole thing. "Warheads" is just about the heaviest Extreme has gone with their metal sound. All six tracks on this side shine, songs like "Color Me Blind" which suggests if we could see the world without color, there would be no such thing as racisim. "Peacemaker Die" which ends the first side, features a Martin Luther King Jr speech, the song is not about killing peacemakers, it is literally pointing the finger at the killer itself. The second side is full of a diverse group of Extreme songs, it also features some of their best work yet musically. "Tragic Comic" is a great Extreme song, and it features excellent guitar work and excellent vocal harmonys by the group, everything seems to be in place. "Stop The World" is an emotional look into somebody's desire to leave a bad place in this world, it also is very good and features one of Nuno's most memorable guitar solos. Finally the third side, titled 'Everything Under The Sun, is simply a brilliant, well crafted, exciting, three-sided piece of music. "Am I Ever Gonna Change?" is probably one of Exreme's best songs ever. The other two are "Rise 'n' Shine" and "Who Cares?" and when heard at the right time, will just capture you and suck you into their world. Extreme on this album, distinguishes themselves from all other musical artists currently performing today. Extreme - Waiting For The Punchline - 1995 Released at a time when alternative music ruled the air waves, Extreme breaks new ground here with this mighty set of tunes. The album starts off with "There Is No God", a song that points the finger at people who do not believe in god. The track features impressive lyrics, singing, and guitar work, which adds an alien like ambience to the song. "Hip Today" is a great song, full of chiming guitar sounds, deep bass, frantic drumming (the edition of Mangini helps). The song itself is about fads and trends in the world of music, or in the world period, it's a very intelligent and haunting song. Track #6, "Midnight Express" is pure instrumental guitar brilliance, Nuno definitly makes a statement of his talents here, the song often has an egyptian like quality to it, the guitar used here is not an electrical guitar, rather an acoustic one, which makes this feat all the more impressive. There are other quality songs on this album, including "Shadow Boxing" which highlights the bands soulful quality. The most notable, and the hardest track on this record, comes hidden right at the end of the album, 25 seconds after "Unconditionally" (or "Fair-Weather Faith" if you live overseas), the title track "Waiting For The Punchline" presents itself, and it's a groovy song about lost humor. Which sort of sums up the point of the album, 'no joke. Nuno - Schizophonic - 1997 So can we say, utter musical brilliance? Well, that's exactly what Nuno displays here on this 16 track, musically versatile album. The starting track is "Gravity", which boasts creepy guitar playing, distorted vocals, and excellent lyrics. The song is about aging, and trying to fight off gravity, it suggests that no matter what we do, gravity will get the best of us, and that's right. |
