Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme's music was never easy to classify, since it rarely confined itself to heavy metal, hard rock, or pop. The Massachusetts-based band formed in 1985; guitarist Nuno Bettencourt had already played in a local band with bassist Pat Badger, while singer Gary Cherone fronted his own group with drummer Paul Geary. The two bands eventually merged, and Cherone and Bettencourt formed a songwriting partnership that would soon place Extreme atop the Billboard charts, if only for a short period.

Coupling the technical proficiency of Bettencourt's guitar with a funky rhythmic base, the band issued a self-titled debut album in 1989. It peaked at number 80 – a modest showing for a new, unseasoned band – and the song "Play with Me" was used to orchestrate the chase scene during Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Extreme had begun to earn respect in the heavy metal world, but it wasn't until the arrival of the band's follow-up effort, Pornograffitti (particularly the the Everly Brothers-style acoustic ballad "More Than Words"), that a mainstream audience latched onto the group's sound. "More Than Words" became a number one hit, while its follow-up single, an acoustic-based pop/rocker named "Hole Hearted," hit number four. Extreme were now one of the most popular acts in the pop-metal genre, but the looming arrival of grunge music – not to mention the band's own shifting tastes – combined to make Extreme's reign relatively short-lived.

The band's third album, III Sides to Every Story, was an ambitious effort whose sales (while strong at first) couldn't match those of Pornograffitti. Geary left the lineup soon after, seeking a career in music business instead, and a revised version of the band (featuring the percussion of Mike Mangini, formerly of Annihilator) returned in 1995 with Waiting for the Punchline. It, too, suffered from a lack of sales. Accordingly, Extreme's bandmates announced their breakup the following year. Bettencourt went on to launch a solo career and issued the Schizophonic album in 1997; he then released two additional albums with his band Mourning Widows. Meanwhile, Cherone enjoyed a brief stint as the vocalist for Van Halen. His one album with the band, 1998's Van Halen III, was slammed by critics and fans alike, resulting in poor sales and Cherone's speedy exit.

13-track best-of collection named An Accidental Collision of Atoms kept Extreme's legacy alive in 2000, and the band quietly reunited in 2004 for a small series of shows. The reunion gigs continued into 2008, when a new album, Saudades de Rock, marked the group's first batch of new material in 13 years.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme's first album shows the band struggling to shed their influences, particularly Van Halen, and develop a style of their own; consequently, it's wildly uneven, but guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is always worth hearing.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme came into its own on the concept album Pornograffitti, with the band's strongest set of songs and an intellectual theme revolving around the struggle for genuine love and romance in a sleazy, decadent society full of greed and corruption. The band shows a strong desire to experiment and push the boundaries of the pop-metal format, adding a funky horn section on "Get the Funk Out" and displaying progressive compositional leanings throughout, and virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt puts down his guitar for the enjoyable pseudo-lounge piano ballad of "When I First Kissed You." But of course, the album is best known for its two acoustic-guitar-only hits, the number one ballad "More Than Words" and the equally fine full-band rocker "Hole Hearted." Other highlights include "Decadence Dance" and "Song for Love."

Review by Steve Huey, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme's brand of hard rock balanced ambitious, progressive tendencies with catchy melodies owing more to the Beatles than anthemic arena rock; on III Sides to Every Story, the former tends to dominate. The album is divided into three "sides of the story" – roughly speaking, "Yours" concentrates on politically oriented rockers showing off Nuno Bettencourt's virtuosity; "Mine" leans toward pop songs with warmly romantic sensibilities, plus an occasional philosophical lament; and "The Truth" tries to wrap things up into a coherent whole but dissolves into indigestible prog-rock excess. Thus, the thematic material can be likened to a less focused version of Pornograffitti. The album is wildly uneven, but amidst the indulgences there are some fine songs to be found: "Rest in Peace" displays both Bettencourt's technique and melodicism as a soloist, while "Seven Sundays" continues in their occasional lounge ballad vein, and "Tragic Comic" and "Stop the World" are two more intelligent, wounded-romantic pop gems.

Review by Steve Huey, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Extreme's third album was lost in the thunder of grunge, selling far below expectations. The group fought back with Waiting for the Punchline, blasting out at the new wave of hard rockers by saying they'll be "Hip Today" and, presumably, gone tomorrow. Such proclamations would carry greater weight if they were supported by music that didn't replicate the soft melodic crunch of '80s pop-metal. Nuno Bettencourt remains a stunningly accomplished guitarist, but as a composer he's stuck in an increasingly restrictive formula.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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Following two short-lived live reunions in 2004 and 2006, Extreme reconvened for real in 2007, which inevitably led to the release of SAUDADES DE ROCK. Core members Gary Cherone (vocals), Pat Badger (bass), and Nuno Bettencourt (guitar) are joined by former DramaGods/Satellite Party drummer Kevin Figueiredo (who built a grooving kinship with Nuno in both aforementioned bands). In many ways SAUDADES picks up right where 1995's WAITING FOR THE PUNCHLINE left off. Like the previous album, the new material boasts a raw, live-in-the-studio vibe. Fans familiar with Extreme's instrumental muscle and genre-jumping style can expect plenty of diversity here–from the requisite funk metal ("Run," "Comfortable Dumb") to countrified rock ("Take Us Alive") to more gentle, piano-driven ballads ("Ghost," "Peace").

Review by Doug Odell, Allmusic.com

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Extreme - Albums Collection 1989-2010 (7CD)

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