Review Summary: The Extreme debut offers slightly more than many other glam metal records.
At first glance, it would seem that the Extreme debut is not all that different from the other bands which actively multiplied in the second half of the 1980s and overrun the radio waves and TV screens. On the album cover we can see for young men with standard facial expressions of glamorous bad boys and mandatory long, Aquanetted hair. Their poses and clothes scream of undoubted coolness and contempt for public foundations. Indeed the cover creates certain expectations, but it is difficult to call them positive. One imagines run-of-the-mill glam metal based on power chords and devoted to the standard concerns of average glamorous rocker: where can we have fun, with who and how. Even though it is present on the record in one way or another, there are some differences that allow to distinguish the Extreme album among others.
The first, and without exaggeration, main attraction of Extreme is guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, despite the fact that the virtuoso is still looking for his own voice, only occasionally deviating from the glam metal norms. In terms of his playing, he still diligently apes Eddy Van Halen, showing off his enviable technical skills through concise rhythm and fast solos, but there is no individual sound yet. His upbeat funky groove, which blossoms on later releases, is in the embryonic state on this album. Riffs and licks Nuno puts out are fairly standard (but appropriately effective) for the genre, but timid attempts to move away from said standards are noticeable, for example represented on track
Play with Me, which ends the album on a frenetic note.
Being the second notable band member Gary Cherone also tries to stick to the norms, but some shift is clear there too. Despite following the accepted topics, it is as if he attempts to look at them or deliver them from a different perspective. Majority of the songs is connected to childhood and youth, and corresponding feelings and emotions. It’s hard to say whether this was done out of artistic (or nostalgic) intentions, or materialistic interests, in an effort to win over younger audience, since everything is neatly wrapped up in loud and accessible choruses. Granted, it should be noted regardless of the pursued goals there is a feeling that the vocalist sings with a certain tongue-in-cheek or ironic attitude filling his words. If this is the case, then it’s definitely a plus.
In all other respects those familiar with their subsequent releases will be under impression that the band is trying to find itself. The first record is a kind of test case, their first steps into the waters of commercial hard rock, hence certain abidance by the norms and rules. One of the Extreme features – harmonies of Bettencourt and Cherone – only takes root on ballads
Watching, Waiting and
Rock a Bye Bye (the latter song recalls the works of
Queen, one of the band’s inspirations). So it is difficult to claim that with their debut Extreme successfully made it to the top of the charts and achieved wide popularity, but the solid foundation that would serve as a basis for subsequent records has been laid.
