Extreme
Waiting For The Punchline

THE REVIEW

Hello everyone. Today I happened to listen again to a CD that I really liked a lot in the second half of the 90s. It's called "Waiting for the Punchline" and it is the last work by Extreme, a band famous for having written one of the most beautiful ballads of the past decade, "More than Words" (later covered in Italian by Jovanotti).

Compared to their previous works, the album sounds darker, more melancholic, and strangely mean, especially considering the previous album had love as its central theme, possibly also due to the change in lineup. In fact, the work opens with "There Is No God", a song that I find very beautiful and gritty, alongside a trio of catchy yet at the same time edgy songs. "Cynical Fuck" quite drags you in, and "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" is sophisticated and enjoyable, with the following "Hip Today" being very nice.

The album then takes a bad downturn where the beautiful instrumental "Midnight Express" stands out. The CD then recovers with "No Respect", a gem that gives you the right energy to confront the "Evilangelist" of the next track, which is unusual for their style. The last track we find is "Shadow Boxer", which concludes Extreme's career in their own way and with the style of their past works.

What I liked about this CD. The skill of the four guys, especially Gary Cherone with a truly spectacular voice (perhaps slightly sacrificed here) and Nuno Bettencourt (can anyone tell me if he's related to the one from Angra?) truly talented.
What I didn't like. Truth be told, I liked everything when I was thirteen, but listening carefully now, it seems here and there I've already heard some things around. And then, by the time they emerged, there were already countless bands like them, and significantly better (who said Guns, Red Hot, Van Halen...).

In short, a CD that in the end doesn't have much to say, but is well-made and evokes good memories for me.