Extreme - Saudades De Rock (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

A solid release that should make fans happy.

Kevin H. Dudley | Roanoke, VA (USA) | 08/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Extreme first came onto the hard rock scene in 1989 with their self titled debut. It was a decent album that was really set apart by Nuno Bettencourt's amazing guitar work on the album along with Gary Cherone's gutsy vocals.

However, on their 1990 release Pornograffiti, they really pulled out the stops and quickly made me a fan. While many people remember this album mainly for the ballad More Than Words when minus that song, the album rocked like almost no album that I've heard then or since. Nuno quickly was rightfully elevated to guitar god status and the band became huge selling around 3 million copies.

But in 1991 Nirvana and grunge hit big and Extreme got caught in the hair band backlash that IMO they really didn't deserve. So it was with no fanfare and only Gold album sales with 1992's III Sides To Every Story which was my favorite album that came out that particular year.

The band then was really jaded with how quickly a band can get popular and then have those same fans turn on them when their material itself actually got stronger.

So that jaded mentality caused their (up till recently) final album Waiting For The Punchline (released in 1995) to reak of mediocrity with only a few good songs on it. They just sounded unhappy on it and not really wanting to record an album at that point after the sales debacle of their fantastic 3rd album.

3/4's of the original lineup (minus the original drummer who is a successful manager of bands such as Godsmack in addition to Extreme as well now) has returned though in 2008 with an album called Saudades De Rock which is for the most part a proper return to form for this underrated band. It definitely makes the bad taste of Waiting for the Punchline a complete afterthought as this new album contains some of their better songs since their 3rd album.

The album retains for the most part the raw production style of their 4th album but the songwriting is much improved. The album just rocks from start to finish with great variety throughout. The only thing keeping me from giving this a full 5 star rating however is that there really aren't that many songs on here that jump out at you like a lot of their classic material did, but for people who have been waiting for Extreme to get back to making music, it will make them very happy indeed. The band sounds energized, relaxed and having fun again which is what fans want to hear.

There isn't a bad song on the CD and the variety of styles is great.

This has been quite a comeback year for veteran acts from the 80's with fantastic new albums by Whitesnake, Dokken, Testament and now a splendidly solid release from Extreme. Hopefully there's more from where this came from in the near future."

It's about time.

Eric Larson | Waverly, New York United States | 08/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most underrated bands of all time is back with a new album. Extreme's Saudades De Rock is the type of album I have been waiting for. Straight up rock! It does not try to reinvent the wheel, yet manages to sound fresh and fun. Gary's vocals are a bit raspy this time around but I like it as it fits the style of music they are now playing. Nuno is great on lead guitar as usual. Pat Badger tears it up on bass. Pat has always been a great bass player but has been overshadowed by Nuno through the years. New Drummer Kevin is the perfect fit and gives Extreme a new dimension that they have never had before. Admittedly this album takes a few listens to really catch on but once it does there is no stopping it. Fans of the band or just plain ol' great rock and roll should pick this up.

1) Star - 6/10 - I can't get past the chorus. I love the rest of the song. Not the best way to start off the album but many other fans I know love it.

2) Comfortably Dumb - 10/10 - Love this song. I read that it has grown on some. This was great to me on listen #1.

3) Learn to Love - 10/10 - WOW! Just WOW! First time I listened I thought it was good but now every time I hear it I just get pumped. My fav. Chorus on the album.

4) Take Us Alive- 8/10 - First off this is a GREAT Live song! Loved it in concert. Rockabilly is alive and well.

5) Run - 8/10 - A lot of people like this song and think it' the best on the album. Not my fav. but a good tune.

6) Last Hour - 8/10 - A great rock/blues song that takes some time to catch.

7) Flower Man - 7/10 - This sounds like Nuno's Solo work.

8 ) King of the Ladies - 8/10 - A fun rock, almost hip/hop song that shoul never be taken too seriously.

9) Ghost - 8.5/10 - An Almost perfect ballad

.

10) Slide - 10/10 - took a bit but I LOVE this song.

11) Interface - 6/10 - I never cared for this song when it was done by Dramagods. But it is growing on me. First listen of this song by Dramagods or Extreme I would have given it a 3/10. So it has grown on me but I don't think it will much more.

12) Sunrise - 8/10 - It's a really good rock song that sounds nothing like the rest of the album. I may end up loving this one.

13) Peace - 8.5/10 - I nice way to end a great album.

14) Bonus track (americocaine demo) No rating because it's not really part of the album.

As a whole I would give this album 9/10. Not perfect but close."

This is Extreme for 2008

Daniel Calcagno | Welland, ON Canada | 10/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got into Extreme in 2000 and therefore had the opportunity to experience their albums well after they disbanded. Not only that, in recent years, I've immersed myself in all of Nuno's solo bands. I was delighted when I found out that my favourite band was making a new album. I was surprised with how long, though, it took me to get into this album. Firstly, as a drummer, Paul Geary and Mike Mangini have been major influences. I happened to really like Kevin Figueiredo and enjoyed his work on the Dramagods album. He does a great job on this album but I would have really loved to have had a full Extreme album with Mike Mangini (as opposed to 3 songs on Punchline).

Anyway, I would describe this album as combination of the straight-ahead rock attitude of the first album, some of the rawness of Waiting for the Punchline and the sensibilities of Nuno's solo material. As with any Extreme album, you'll find many different types of styles.

Star = Extreme's take on classic rock

Comfortably Dumb = This song could have been on Waiting for the Punhcline (that's a really good thing!)

Learn to Love = Incredibly funky beat/riff with a great, catchy chorus.

Take Us Alive = Fun little song

Run = Funky and one of my instant favourites

Last Hour = To be honest, this is probably my least favourite song despite some great vocals by Gary

Flower Man = Punkish type feel. I absolutely love Nuno and Pat's background vocals, especially in the last chorus.

King of the Ladies = Awesome song. I love the fact that Nuno sings lead.

Ghost = Amazing pop rock song. An Extreme classic.

Slide = One of Extreme's funkiest songs. Love it.

Interface = A great re-do on this Dramagods song. Took a while but I came to really like this version.

Sunrise = One of those songs that you don't "get" right away but I've come to like it.

Peace = Another Extreme classic. One of the songs that made me feel like this was a "real" Extreme album."

The Good and Bad

Mark V. | Porter, IN United States | 09/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Often Extreme is compared to Queen, and deservedly so. Like Queen, they don't settle for one style of music. They enjoy writing music that pushes them and their listeners. The cool country riffs of "Take Us Alive" contrasted against the funk fills of "Comfortably Dumb" or the orchestral piano of "Ghosts" or the shear silliness and hilarity of a man looking back believing he could be someone else in "King of the Ladies". What other band seems to be doing this? This is where Extreme is coming from. Where they've always come from. The reason they could do an acoustic love song like "More Than Words" and still rock the house with a political/social commentary in "Warheads" or have a dark, ethereal mood of questioning the purpose of living with "Tell Me Something I Don't Know". It's why they named the band Extreme. So they wouldn't be pigeonholed.

After seeing them in concert my wife said to me that it's really Nuno's band. I have a feeling just about everything Nuno does is Nuno's band. In fact, I am a big Nuno fan and have been following him with his many projects (Nuno, Mourning Widows, Population 1) since he left Extreme. The guitar playing on this CD is some of the best he's had in a while. The fills will leave the guitar fanatic mindblown. Which is what we want from a Nuno/Extreme album. Add to that some killer melodies that stick with you and it's worth the purchase.

But there is a slight down side to this CD. It doesn't always feel like a band, but another Nuno project with Gary and Pat along for the ride. After all, Nuno has taken up production and all songwriting, except for lyrics. (I know for sure that Gary didn't pen Interface and I question whose lyrics are on a couple other songs.) This is not a bad thing, as I truly enjoy hearing Nuno's playing and sometimes quirky songwriting. But Gary's vocals haven't retained the power I remember; he seems to be straining a lot. And Pat's playing, while nice, doesn't seem to showcase his funky fun playing of old, mostly just straightforward bass work. Not that keeping up with Nuno isn't amazing in its own right.

This CD seems to me a continuation of Waiting for the Punchline, without its darkest anger. There are hints of III Sides art-rock here, but they never quite live up to the grandiose level of that CD. The power chord songs with intelligent play on words of Pornograffitti and self-titled are limited here, too. The band has moved on. And while the moods on this CD are all over the place, this is both good and bad. As I mentioned earlier, this is who Extreme is and what we like about them. But it doesn't really feel like an album with any unity to it, just a bunch of decent songs thrown together. The production is mediocre to me, too. Nuno's guitar sounds good, but there is a flatness to the overall quality of sound that I find a little bothersome. I wonder that if Nuno really would like to stretch himself in a different direction, would a new producer add something to the mix? Think of what Bob Rock did for Metallica or Motley Crue. Or if Nuno has to be a part of it, consider co-producing like Def Leppard has been doing lately, with exceptional success on Songs from the Sparkle Lounge produced by Def Leppard & Ronan McHugh. It's that next level of full sound that seems to be missing a bit here.

As for the songs themselves, there are songs I love and songs I'm just OK with. And those songs change from listen to listen because of the mood I'm bringing to the CD. If I'm in a rocking mood, Star, Comfortably Dumb, Run and Slide suit me just fine. And if I'm in a more reflective mood, Learn to Love, Ghost, Last Hour and Peace do well. But if I'm looking for that uniqueness, that quirky but sly songwriting, Take Us Alive, King of the Ladies and Flower Man are just that. The only question from a song standpoint is the inclusion of Interface, which was a Population 1 song. In an interview Nuno mentioned he included it because he liked that Gary and him get to sing a duet and play off each other. I understand that, but it seems like a filler song that could have been a bonus track on i-tunes instead of being included on the CD. Especially since it its arrangement is nearly the same as Population 1's version. There is a song on the Import called Americocaine. It was a song that they recorded a long time ago and have tacked onto the import. I believe it was recorded in '85, but am unsure about that, since Extreme's major label inception wasn't until a few years later. Most people won't have it, so a brief commentary will suffice. It is not one of the better Extreme songs, and sounds like really early work from them. Very Van Halen. Thankfully, they've grown since then. It is a complete misfit on the CD. Both song structurally, and mixing and lyrically. If you're a huge Extreme fan, go find it online and purchase it separately (I did). But it's not worth the extra money for an import for such a mediocre song.

To sum up, I really enjoy this album. How often I will be listening to it years from now, I'm not sure. But, like all of Nuno's work, this one doesn't disappoint, it may just take more listening to in order to get to where the boys are coming from. I can't wait to hear what they learn from this CD and where they go next."

Good, but not in the league of "III Sides" or "Waiting For T

Mawkie | 08/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If I could copy any of the reviews already posted, I'd copy the one by John S. Harris, who eloquently said much of what I feel about Extreme's latest album. I am a big Extreme fan who was -- and is -- "extreme"ly happy about the fact that the band is back together and touring in support of a new album. However, after several listens of the new CD, I find that I like this album but am not blown away like I was with their previous two albums ("III Sides To Every Story" and "Waiting For The Punchline"). That's not to say that the album isn't a good one -- it is -- but it's not in the league of their previous two releases.

Before I digress, I'd like to say that if you have a chance to see Extreme live, GO SEE THEM. I saw them fairly early on the Saudades de Rock tour, and they were incredible on stage. Can't wait to see them again.

Back to the CD. While I understand that it's good for a band to evolve and keep its sound refreshing and current, for some bands it's also good for them to keep the things that have always distinguished them from other acts. In Extreme's case, it's the complex songs with wonderful harmonies that don't take away -- but rather add to -- their overall sound. Pornograffitti and III Sides showcased wonderful harmonies and many very great songs. Waiting For The Punchline did not have as many harmonies, but the album is still incredible because of the fantastic tunes and excellent production. (I am surprised to see on this website how many Extreme fans don't like that album.)

Some people have ripped the production and mixing of Saudades de Rock, but I don't have any problem at all with the sound. My one problem, if it can be called that, is that there aren't enough tunes on this CD that make me go "wow" as are on their previous two albums.

My favorite song is "Comfortably Dumb", a fantastic rocker that sounds just like what I would want Extreme to sound like in 2008. This song should have been the opening track on the CD, instead of "Star", which should be the second track instead of the opener.

I like "Star" a lot, too, so the first couple of songs on this CD are just what I wanted to hear. However, the rest of the CD isn't as strong. "Learn To Love" is pretty good, but nothing special, and I don't get the love others have expressed on this website for "Take Us Alive". The bluegrass-type sound just doesn't work for Extreme.

Gary Cherone is an incredible lead singer whose voice still has power and grace. However, Gary's voice sounds best when he isn't having to scream or strain to reach very high notes. "Learn To Love" and "Last Hour" could be better songs if Gary didn't have to sing so high.

I'd like to end my somewhat downer review with some positive comments. "Ghost" and "Interface" are tunes that could easily be radio hits, and that's a compliment in this case. I especially like "Interface" and its beautiful harmonies and acoustic guitar. (I could see that song becoming Extreme's new "More Than Words" and bringing them many new fans.)

The final track, Peace, is a nice soft song, too, but I'm not sure I like the fact that this CD has three soft tunes on it. I am much more a fan of Extreme's harder songs."

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