Extreme
Waiting For The Punchline

THE REVIEW

One thing is certain: Extreme have never bowed to the laws of the market. Year 1995, they return to the field with an unexpected and startling product, for better or worse (unfortunately for them, mostly worse): "Waiting for the Punchline." Another thing is certain: Extreme have always had the courage to dare, to provoke; but not with rock-star attitudes, rather by always diversifying their musical offering.

The years following the release of "III Sides to Every Story" were difficult ones. It was an excellent album but undoubtedly complex, difficult to categorize, and thus appreciated by few. This fact led to its low sales success, marking the beginning of the end for the Boston combo: internal tensions within the band became a daily occurrence, so much so that in '94 historic drummer Paul Geary left and abandoned his bandmates. He was replaced by Mike Mangini, no less (former Annihilator, among others...)

It might be the atmosphere that was no longer as serene as before, or the fact that the previous work was not fully appreciated and understood, or many other things, but the fact is that this fourth studio work marks another turning point in the sound of the Boston quartet. Forget the cheerfulness and light-heartedness of their debut, forget also the irresistible and boisterous funk-rock of their hit "Pornograffitti," and forget about the pomp, fullness of sounds, and magnificence of the arrangements of their immediate predecessor "III Sides..." because you won’t find any of this in "WFTP".

Four people, each with their instrument: Gary Cherone on vocals, Nuno Bettencourt on guitar, Pat Badger on bass, and Mike Mangini on drums (although his contribution on the CD is limited to just 3 songs, with Geary still present on the others); simple, direct, hard and raw sounds like never before, no overdubs, no orchestra, even the piano and brass inserts so dear to Nuno disappear: just 3 instruments and a lot of skill and ability to sell. Already the opening "There is no God" is a signal, a direct energy surge, without too many frills. Sure, here and there flashes of the Extreme sound return to be heard, and the engaging "Cynical", "Hip Today" still maintain the feeling and groove of their previous productions; nor is there a lack of the classic ballad, represented here by "Unconditionally", which seems to initially retrace the famous "More than Words", but is appreciated for its melody and some variations in the central part.

What's surprising, however, is the lack of that atmosphere (almost playful, of four friends playing for passion) that hovered in their past works: here the atmospheres become dark, suffering, at times angry as if to say "you first criticized us for being a one-hit group, then for being too arrogant and pompous; you didn't understand us... we'll show you that we can also make raw and tough rock!" All this manifests in Gary’s voice: sometimes melancholic and chant-like in "Leave Me Alone" (almost a lullaby accompanied by Nuno's guitar whine, yet beautiful and enchanting), sometimes angry in "No Respect", a fast, biting, direct song, and sometimes almost defiant in the concluding "Waiting for the Punchline", a song where slight grunge influences, prevalent at the time, can be seen.

In short, once again a different album, difficult to listen to in one go, but one that requires attentive listening to be assimilated and to appreciate the refinements scattered here and there in every track: sure, some songs aren't up to par, being a bit repetitive without offering particular insights ("Naked" and the banal bonus track "Fair-Weather Faith") and some sampled voice inserts seem out of place and annoying ("Evilangelist" above all...), but there is also a little gem: the acoustic instrumental "Midnight Express", which alone is worth the price of the CD: an album that unfortunately will represent the swan song of the group, proving even more than the previous one, a true sales flop, demonstrating that it is not enough to be masters of the instrument and to write excellent songs to achieve deserved success... as usual, it's always the best ones who go away.