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As always, with Extreme, expect the unexpected. They take you on a wild ride through the entire album, as they are known to do. You go from full on 80s rock and roll nostalgia with Banshee, then get a much more raw sound on Rebel (AWSOME solo on Rebel, btw, yeah I know, I love the solo on Rise, too, but honestly, I think the one in Rebel is better, it's not as polished and feels like it just highjacked Nuno's fingers and forced it's way out.) And Gary's vocals and absolute raw talent will punch you in the gut. Kevin was also an ace on both Banshee ave Rebel. Just riddiculous how well these guys play together. Not to dismiss Rise. That was an incredible solo. But it just didn't grab me by the guts like the Rebel one. I get why it had to be the first single. But it's not my favorite song of the album.
Other side of the rainbow was a great Rock and Roll balad. Very musical, gorgeous harmonies. Once again, Nuno hits it "just right". I love that he never tries to push on for more than what the song needs. Of course he could, and I could listen to him play for hours on end. But this wasn't Midnight Express, and the song didn't need a 10 minutes solo. As always with Nuno, he puts the song first. A word about Gary's performance on this song, that has been vastly overlooked. This is a very rangy song, hard to sing and sing right. And Gary never shies away from the hard note. Great control, amazing vocals on that one.
Loved the Mask. I loved the darkness of it, and the "real" feels of it. It's so very current to the times we live in. I also loved that Nuno opened it with the vocals. His voice isn't as polished as Gary's, obviously, but he has a deep rasp Rock vibe that I always found really cool. And I love the lyrics, and that the boys aren't afraid to go there. May I just say, if you pardon the pun, that I got a very Brian May feels on the guitar sound of the solo. Really cool stuff.
Thicker than blood is all Extreme. Do a 180 in the middle of the album, why don't you? Pat was incredible on this one. I don't know that people understand how incredibly important a good bass player is. Often understated in a song, it's still providing the backbone to the melody. It makes everything sound better. And Pat is an incredible bassist. Kevin was amazing, as well. This song has such a great raw feels to it, it always amazes me they can get such a full sound with just the 4 of them. And the reason, it's that they don't try to shadow each other. They are playing off each other and making each other shine, no egos allowed. I guess McCartney was right, all along. The more you give, the more you get!
X-Out was, in a word, AWSOME. This song takes you for a ride, and you can never predict where the ride will take you. Shout out to Kevin, once again. Pat truly shines on this one. Gary's vocals are incredible. Nuno blew my mind (yet again) on the solo, which had almost arabic musical undertones. I guess that he can tap into his Portuguese heritage, since Fado had a lot of Moorish influence. Being from mixed descent myself (French, Italian, Lebanese, yeah, it's a melting pot), it really spoke to me. Nuno is so mind blowingly musical, it's just riddiculous.
A word on the lyrics of X-out, because they SO deserve it. Incredibly intense. Doubly so, for anyone who is blessed with faith. I don't know which of the guys wrote the lyrics on this one, but let me just reassure whoever he is, that he must not fear ever running out of light. It shines so bright it made my eyes water as I listened to the song.
Save me was also a really solid song. It took me a solid 10 minutes to wrap my mind around where the ongoing riff starts and fits in the beat of the song. Nuno really has a metronome in the back of his brain. Unreal.
Beautiful girls is a great little fun detour, in a decidedly Rock and Roll album. Very light song, full of sunshine. Extremely well written. It was a nice interlude in the album.
Here's to the losers is one of my favorite songs in the album. Is it the best vocally? No. It's it the best solo? Nope, although for the few seconds that it lasts, Nuno is incredible. Again. But it's a life lesson, from people that lived, loved, bled, fought, cried, won some, and lost some. It's as real and as true as it gets. Great ballad, amazing lyrics, great play swich from minors to majors. I can see myself going back to that one often, when I need a pick me up. And Gary definitely channeled his inner Freddie on his very last verse of this song. It gave me chills.
And then, there's Hurricane. My God, that song. How much it punched me in the guts. I've lost both my mom and my brother in less than a month's time, and grief at that level is a very hard thing to deal with. It's a pain that you need to have the strenght to embrace, if you want to be able to overcome it.
This song truly helped me with that. It spoke to that part of me that was still a child, broken and crying for her mamma and her big brother, and it held me in it's embrace and helped me heal. I will never be able to hear that song without thinking about my mom and my brother (who was also a huge Extreme fan). But that song made it possible for me to cry and heal at the same time. Bless you for that one, guys. Really. And I'm sorry for your loss, as well, because there's no way you can write that song without knowing what grief is.
So, yeah. This is more than an incredible album. This is an incredible Extreme album. And to those who are complaining about not one hundred percent of the songs being Rock and Roll, I guess you have no clue who Extreme are. Because that's what they do. They change it up. Always have. Don't bother trying to put a label on them. Queen influence, perhaps, since they pretty much invented the concept... I don't know. But I guarantee that somewhere in Heaven Eddie and Freddie are having a blast listening to it.
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Reviews with images
Slams Front to Back A+++++
Haven't been this excited about a new album in a long time. Does not disappoint. The pre release singles are all great! Rise , Banshee, Rebel, Other Side of the Rainbow are all great, but, as usual, Extreme is never happy with status quo. Check out Thicker Than Blood, X Out, and Beautiful Girls for something different. I LOVE this album.
