Review Summary: Extreme bow out with a mixed bag of an album, but one which undeniably has some golden tricks up its sleeve.
III Sides to every Story was something of a landmark for Extreme in 1992. Whilst it didn't quite achieve the levels of success that Extreme's sophomore effort
II: Pornograffitti did, it still remained a career-defining record which undoubtedly set the band apart from their peers. It may have seemed absurd in 1992 for a former glam metal group to have achieved such a high level of respect among fans both old and new, yet that's exactly what Extreme's third album ambitiously set out to do, and consequently succeeded.
So, it was inevitable for many to expect quite a lot from the band's fourth album,
Waiting for the Punchline. Sadly, it ended up being quite a mixed bag, if only when one compared both albums in terms of musical quality as well as chart-bothering success. Extreme's fourth album suffers from being too long and too laidback for its own good, but it does have a few tricks up its sleeve, just as its three predecessors did. It's just that these "tricks" are too few and far between to call
Waiting for the Punchline anything more than simply a good album. Maybe the band felt the pressure when writing and performing tracks like "There is no God" or "Naked", but here are two examples of how the band's creative juices just weren't flowing well anymore. At least it doesn't sound like they were.
The guitar work feels heavier and for that reason has much more in common with the alternative grunge scene of the early 90s than the confident glam metal leanings of earlier material, and the same funky rhythms, prominent mostly in songs like "Cynical" and "Hip Today" than anywhere else, are infectious enough to get heads nodding to the beat. That said, the other instruments, as well as the half-hearted vocal delivery simply can't keep up. This is the reason why at least half of
Waiting for the Punchline sounds so weary and tiresome, and it's probably a good thing the band decided to go on hiatus after the album's release. Whilst this wasn't to be expected from the same band that crafted
III Sides to every Story, there's still a fair amount of ambition going on. The band confidently kick out the jams on the likes of "Tell Me Something I don't already know" and the anthemic closing title track, and Gary Cherone certainly manages to hit the stronger high notes of his personal range in the former.
Waiting for the Punchline's biggest problem is how long the album unnecessarily is. Sure, the previous two albums verged on running times which should have been spread out evenly over two discs, but at least the consistency was kept at a relative high. Here, and specifically towards the last quarter of the album, the general experience seems to drag, but only in the last minute or so of songs like "Leave Me alone" and "No Respect", not to mention the lazy musical approach towards performing "Naked". Surprisingly enough, the one outstanding highlight of Extreme's fourth album is the quietest albeit most experimental song, the mostly acoustic, charming "Unconditionally". It's such a shame that it didn't take place at the album's midpoint, given that it both gives the listener a break from the plodding, grungy heaviness in favour of a more relaxed, autumnal vibe. Aside from this, the solo sections of most songs are also very well-executed as expected, and it only goes to prove Nuno Bettencourt's musical talent is more underrated than you'd think.
Considering everything,
Waiting for the Punchline is decent for what it is. Maybe it's the fact that the album was so overshadowed by its ambitious predecessor
III Sides to every Story, and because of that it should be listened to without even comparing the musicianship and quality to Extreme's earlier material. As well as this, Extreme's fourth album ended the first era of the band's musical career, before they would return in 2004 to eventually record
Saudades de Rock. Whatever the reasons are for
Waiting for the Punchline being somewhat of a mixed bag, it should still be an enjoyable release for both new and old fans alike.
