James Justice's Album Reviews
This Boston based legendary band had its debut album come out on March 14, 1989. It spawned 4 singles and sold around 300,000 copies thanks to the international success of its single "Play with me" which was featured in super popular "Bill & Ted's excellent adventure" as well as their much greater success with the follow-up album "Pornograffiti". The album itself was met with criticism: both Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone rated it 3.0/5. So, does the record still holds up after 30+ years?
My answer is yes and here's why...
From the country-flavored opener "Little girls" to the Mozart-influenced hard-rocking feast "Play with me" the record contains raw but bridled energy with the strongest emphasis on Nuno Bettencourt's guitar genius that is without a doubt the main highlight of the album and is a trademark of Extreme's own style of music, along with Gary Cherone's soulful vocals whom the whole band backs up perfectly, Pat Badger's funky bass (although almost inconspicuous throughout this record but is so much more than just a rhythm section instrument) and Paul Geary's powerful drumming. The weakest part of the record is its lyrical content and its unrelated topic variety, from standard glam metal kid anthems about sex and parties to more serious songs dealing with religion and death. Reviewing the record as a whole I can say with assurance that it's a solid debut and a fun album with tons of headbanging moments and singalongs that just gets better with every other listen.
I give Extreme's debut album 4.0/5
My answer is yes and here's why...
From the country-flavored opener "Little girls" to the Mozart-influenced hard-rocking feast "Play with me" the record contains raw but bridled energy with the strongest emphasis on Nuno Bettencourt's guitar genius that is without a doubt the main highlight of the album and is a trademark of Extreme's own style of music, along with Gary Cherone's soulful vocals whom the whole band backs up perfectly, Pat Badger's funky bass (although almost inconspicuous throughout this record but is so much more than just a rhythm section instrument) and Paul Geary's powerful drumming. The weakest part of the record is its lyrical content and its unrelated topic variety, from standard glam metal kid anthems about sex and parties to more serious songs dealing with religion and death. Reviewing the record as a whole I can say with assurance that it's a solid debut and a fun album with tons of headbanging moments and singalongs that just gets better with every other listen.
I give Extreme's debut album 4.0/5
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