It’s the summer of 2023, Extreme has released its latest album Six, and it’s simply the finest effort the Boston band has ever come up with. That’s saying a lot since 1990’s Pornograffitti was a double-platinum monster ably written and well recorded that spawned the #1 hit “More Than Words” and solid follow-up single “Hole Hearted.” The third release III Sides to Every Story, while not as strong a seller, was even better as a concept and performance in the studio.
So how do I get off saying this new album is Extreme’s best? At this point in Extreme’s timeline, at one point taking more than a decade off and spinning off to Nuno Bettencourt solo projects, Gary Cherone’s Van Halen experience, and Pat Badger’s Californian foray with the Dark Desert Eagles, you could expect that any reunion would yield limited results when stacked up against the platinum past. Folks, that just isn’t the case.
You might also say that since I’ve known and worked at one point with Gary’s pre-Extreme band The Dream, and MC’d for Extreme bunches of times (it was standard operating procedure to run for my life from the mic since Nuno and Gary were already in the air hurtling at me for their first number), that I need to recuse myself from writing this. But really, if I had problems with Six, I’d simply not open my trap. There’s enough negative energy flying around these days – why add to it.
First off, the sound of the band is right on top of where rock music is in 2023. There’s no embarrassing 80’s echo-polish spoiling the production of these tracks. When you crank “Rise,” the initial single release, Nuno’s guitars growl and chug right through your forehead and also your butt (stereo – lol). “Rise” is the first track, followed by two more locomotives, “#Rebel” and “Banshee,” which suggest that aging as a band doesn’t necessarily imply mellowing. Ditto for the tracks “Thicker Than Blood” and “Save Me.”
The songs are among the best they’ve ever written with “Other Side of the Rainbow” and “Small Town Beautiful” both combinations of rocking power and careful acoustic restraint. These days you kind of have to be a pop diva, Nashville cowboy, or hip-hoppin’ poet to get any kind of action at the pop charts, but if it was a different time, I’d lay odds that either of these songs could duplicate the success of “More Than Words.”
I’ve got to keep this short – nobody has time to read a long review these days in the Twitter- or Threads-verse, but my favorite track “X Out” doesn’t even appear until Track #10.“The Mask” zooms over an uncluttered Billy Idol-styled dance beat from Kevin Figueirdo with direct blasts on guitar and some Edgey metallic swipes circa Zooropa/Pop. “Hurricane” is the mellowest song – but the unsettled lyrics justify the ominous title. Then there’s the bouncy, reggae-ish “Beautiful Girls,” incongruous on this release, but nevertheless, as welcome as a taste of ginger in the middle of a sushi dinner. If you don’t eat Japanese, you won’t get that, but as Prince said, “Sue me if I go astray.”
Then there’s the album closer “Here’s to the Losers” that recalls for me the Kinks “Celluloid Heroes.” Wait. Did I mention the Kinks and Extreme in the same sentence? Yes, I did. If you’ve ever been into Extreme, you’ll love this album. And if you never were, you wouldn’t go astray if you got a copy or checked it out on your subscription service. What are you reading this for? Go listen!