Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme are back and as good as ever!, 8 Aug 2008
When I heard that Extreme had reformed with a new drummer and recorded a new album, I was very happy indeed. Even though I wasn't the greatest fan of their farewell album 'Waiting To The Punchline' (I have since learned to love it), the world of rock music was a duller place without them and had always thought they had the flair, inventiveness, appeal and potential to be as widely known and loved as Queen, but splitting after four albums soon put paid to that and Extreme can now be filed under 'cult following'. So, when 'Saudades de Rock' arrived through the post, I was looking forward to playing it, hoping for a great album in the same vein of 'Pornograffitti' or 'III Sides To Every Story' which could put the group back on the contemporary rock musical map. The question is, have they succeeded?
Well, it's certainly a grower. It doesn't always have the instant appeal of their most successful albums, but it is a lot less cynical and more melodic than 'Waiting For The Punchline' so it will take much more than one or a couple of plays to fully realise the true impact of this work. With each playback, you notice the brilliance of another Bettencourt guitar solo, the almost-hidden beauty of the harmonies and spot a quietly excellent riff chugging away. This isn't an album that most people could instantly love after just playing it the once and it really opens up to and rewards the persistent listener.
The up-tempo, harmony-drenched 'Star' is an excellent, catchy opening song and unmistakably Extreme, although the bridge did remind me a lot of Queen's 'Let Me Entertain You', right down to the guitar riffs. 'Comfortably Dumb' is a meaty, riff-packed rocker and would fit right in on 'Waiting For The Punchline'. The third song, 'Learn To Love' combines a fast, frenetic verse with a melodic, expansive chorus, featuring a great Gary Cherone vocal. 'Take Us Alive' is an Extreme song unlike any other before - it's a near-rockabilly romp which they manage to just about pull off thanks, in no small part, to Nuno's dexterous guitar playing. 'Run' is a heavy stomper which boasts some incredible guitar work and gorgeous harmonies and could easily have been a classic cut from 'Pornograffitti'.
Up next is 'Last Hour', one of the album's slower tracks and it's a powerful, emotive song. 'Flower Man' is one of the more unremarkable tracks, but it's still decent and perfectly listenable. After that, we have 'King Of The Ladies', surely an anthem for the older man who looks back at his life and imagines what it'd be like to relive their youth with the experience and confidence of age. 'Ghost' is a fantastic track, featuring some gorgeous strings and piano work and may just be the pick of the slower ballad-type songs on this album. Following 'Ghost', we return to heavy-riffing funk-rock, with 'Slide', a head-nodding track which boasts some great guitar and bass.
'Interface' is a really wonderful song, opening softly with acoustic guitar, developing into a tender, understated ballad. 'Sunrise' is a decent track built around a good riff which gets better as it goes on, the refrain and outro being the highlight of the composition. The final track of the album is 'Peace (Saudade)', is a gentle, rather pretty ballad which finishes the album on a high note. The European version of this album has a bonus track, the 1985 demo version of 'Americocaine' which is a great, straightforward rock track which shows just why they were able to break through into the business in the first place - a great addition to this package.
So, they're back and it's almost as if they've never been away. No offense to either Paul Geary or new sticksman Kevin Figueirede, but you can't even tell that they have a different line-up - their sound and level of performance is basically unaltered. One of the main reasons this is such a successful comeback album is because of the restrained production which allows us to appreciate the performances with little distraction. Add to that the fact that this is a varied, textured collection which gives the whole release a multi-dimensional appeal and I have to say that this is a solid, enjoyable album of real quality which doesn't disappoint at all. Welcome back, Extreme, you've been missed.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme are back... and still pretty good!, 29 Jul 2008
I guess the first thing to do here is explain the rather odd title of this, Extreme's comeback album after a 13 year hiatus. For "Saudades", read "Sow-Dodge", and as a result you can laugh scornfully at people who get it wrong. Apparently it's Portugese for (roughly) "Nostalgic Yearning For Rock". Okay, so we know how to pronounce it, what it means and the undeniable fact that Extreme are still capable of disappearing up their own intellectual arseholes, but is it any good? Well, yeah.
If this had been thrown at me in a plain brown wrapper with no explanations or marking I really wouldn't have pegged it straight away as an Extreme album. There must have been some temptation to just rewrite "Pornograffitti" and be done with it, but that's not what you have here. "Saudades de Rock" is 13 tracks of sometimes inspired eclectic rock music, flitting from mood to mood like a butterfly being chased by a kitten. There's an underlying funk root to most of the songs, accentuated by Pat Badgers thumping basslines, but in the end there's more to this than Extreme trading on past glories.
The album starts off with the catchy harmonies of "Star", perhaps the most atypical Extreme song here. This is the one that will be hurled at radio stations to get people interested, mainly because it's very good, very catchy and comes complete with the requisite Nuno Bettencourt solo. In fact, there's plenty of time throughout the album to appreciate Mr Bettencourt and his fingers of bedazzlement, because there is (and rightly so) shedloads of really cool solos, each one trying to outdo the others with it's inventiveness and intricacy. This isn't to do down the contributions of singer Gary Cherone, who still possesses a fine pair of pipes. He can still pull off some pretty impressive notes, although if I'm honest he doesn't seem to have all of the power he used to. Hopefully I will be proved wrong when the band tour later this year.
The plain truth is that this album nails it's colours to the mast with the frantic playing of Bettencourt and Badger, whether it's a the Suvvern tinged boogie of "Take Us Alive" or the pure funk rock of "King Of The Ladies", whilst Cherone gets his moments in the spotlight with some great vocals on the moody "Last Hour" and the worthy attempt at "More Than Words" part 2, "Interface". There's a lot of creativity here, and it helps that it's played by such talented guys, including new drummer Kevin Figueiredo. For European fans there's even a cool bonus track in the shape of "Americocaine", a 1985 demo of a fantastic old style Extreme track that reminds you just why they were so popular in the first place. Twenty three years on, the band have lost some of the exuberance that trademarked their sound, but it's been replaced with a more insightful look at the world that is just as entertaining when everything comes together.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme bring it home!, 28 Aug 2008
Reading the other reviews of this album shows that not all reviewers are aware of the band's history. Anyone who writes off 'Waiting for the Punchline' or cannot to relate to solo albums like 'Schizoponic' doesn't understand how music develops and grows. PLEASE don't mention Queen! Any musician is influenced by others and there are many influences.
You have to think back to how 'Pornograffitti' sounded the first time? To me this new album is just as good and is growing with every listen and you know that when you see and hear them live it's going to be even better! Nothing will ever top the total feel of 'III Sides' - but then how many bands can say they have produced a true masterpiece?
This album has a natural progression from the genius of III Sides to the frustration of Waiting for the Punchline (that seemed to speak volumes about pushy record companies wanting a 'Commercial Sound').
Extreme have delivered their own special mix, which is truly eclectic with the 'Yee Ha' to the 'Heavy Funk Metal' to the 'Heart Breaker' ('Last Hour'). Like all great musicians it can't be labelled because they can excel at all classifications of music.
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