Extreme - Saudades de Rock Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 08.15.2008

Boston rockers Extreme return with their first new album in over a decade. Can the funk metal band pull out a worthy follow-up to their earlier works?

The Band

Gary Cherone-Lead Vocals
Nuno Bettencourt-Guitars, Piano, Backing Vocals
Pat Badger-Bass, Backing Vocals
Kevin Figueiredo-Drums


The Track Listing

1. Star-4:11
2. Comfortably Dumb-4:44
3. Learn To Live-5:27
4. Take Us Alive-3:23
5. Run-4:41
6. Last Hour-5:37
7. Flower Man-3:54
8. King Of The Ladies-4:22
9. Ghost-4:58
10. Slide-4:35
11. Interface-4:34
12. Sunrise-6:14
13. Peace (Saudade)-6:35





The Review

Extreme is known more for their ballads than their funk metal fused sound that fans grew to love. We all know about “More Than Words” and “Hole-Hearted,” but the Boston band was more than just a bunch of guys playing acoustic guitars and bringing tears to the eyes of women worldwide with cheesy lyrics. They had an edge to them; one that the mainstream saw little of. After Extreme’s fourth release, 1995’s Waiting For The Punchline, became a commercial failure, the band broke up, with guitarist Nuno Bettencourt starting a solo career and vocalist Gary Cherone infamously singing for Van Halen on the worst album of their career.

In 2004, Extreme re-united for a few shows and then went back on hiatus. A few years, and several successful tours later, Extreme has released their first studio album in 13 years, Saudades de Rock. Like most of their earlier catalog, the album is an eccentric mix of funk metal and hard rock, with a balance of acoustic and piano ballads. Extreme keeps things interesting for over an hour and puts in an inspired effort, one that will stir images of Pornograffitti and III: Sides To Every Story, without sounding retro or the act of a uninspired band treading similar ground.

From the first note of “Star,” Extreme makes the last 13 years seem like a grain of sand in time. The band sounds full of new-found energy, something that seemed to be lacking on Waiting For The Punchline. The chorus is fantastic and Nuno shows that 13 years hasn’t done anything to his technically-proficient guitar playing, as he unleashed a minute-long solo that will leave the listener stunned. Single “Comfortably Dumb” is a great follow-up to the blazing opener, with Cherone sarcastically ripping into our society’s dependence on technology.

“Learn to Live” and “Slide” could’ve been B-sides off of Pornograffitti, with a heavy funk sound that the band become well-renowned for. The former has an excellent dueling guitar/bass section that comes out of nowhere and the latter will have air bassists going crazy, leaving them with sore fingers.

Extreme has always been a band of diverse and conflicting styles, putting together songs that seem alienated from the rest at first, until you dwell deeper into the lyrical content and structure. While there isn’t a concept behind Saudades de Rock, a few of the tracks seem to build off each other. No where is this more evident than in the two piano-driven ballads, “Ghost” and “Peace (Saudade).” Both are structured similarly (both slowly build from a piano/Cherone melody to introducing the rest of the band). However, “Ghost” goes for a classical sound, due to the underlying piano solo displayed in the song’s emotional second half, while the latter is more epic in nature, with a heavy emphasis on Cherone’s brooding vocal performance. Both seem to be about death and the acceptance of letting go of the pain and anguish, leading to the most impactful moments of the album.

While none reach the emotional impact that “More Than Words” hit, the acoustic tracks are good enough to satisfy the fans who can’t get enough of the soft side of Extreme. “Take Us Alive” is the band’s attempt to go country, which makes for a solid, if goofy, tune. “Interface” was originally on Dramagods’, Nuno’s side project, 2005’s Love. I haven’t heard the original version, but this version seems to be competent enough, with a strong melody and a soaring performance by Cherone.

The three original members of Extreme jell well together. After Cherone’s less-than-stellar work on Van Halen III, he sounds more comfortable and in control as Extreme’s frontman. Nuno Bettencourt is Nuno Bettencourt, which means lots of fantastic guitar work all throughout Saudades de Rock. Pat Badger keeps up with Nuno, which is an accomplishment in itself, and the production is clean and organic, which makes hearing Badger’s funky bass work easier. In his first album with the band, drummer Kevin Figueiredo fills the shoes of Paul Geary quite nicely. His drumming is the backdrop with which the rest of the band works around. He’s a great fit for the band and a good choice to replace a great drummer like Geary and Mangini.

13 years can be a long time for any band to release an album and Extreme avoids the pitfalls that many re-united bands have recording a new album. Saudades de Rock takes all the best aspects of Extreme’s early sound and adds a modern touch to it, keeping things interesting from track to track. Obviously, there will be comparisons to the first three albums, but Saudades de Rock is able to stand on its own. It isn’t the band’s best album, but it is one that sounds like a band that hasn’t lost a step.

The 411: Extreme has shown that even after an extended hiatus,they can pull it together and craft a great album. Saudades de Rock is just that, a solid collection of songs that are jammed pack with variety. No one song sounds the same and for that, I give Extreme a lot of credit. While not as hyped as some re-united bands' current albums, Saudades de Rock is the real deal and an album that will satisfy fans both young and old.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]