III Sides to Every Story

III Sides to Every Story

Track Listings

1. Warheads

2. Rest in Peace

3. Politicalamity

4. Color Me Blind

5. Cupid's Dead

6. Peacemaker Die

7. Seven Sundays

8. Tragic Comic

9. Our Father

10. Stop the World

11. God Isn't Dead?

12. I Rise 'N Shine

13. II Am I Ever Gonna Change

14. III Who Cares?

III Sides to Every Story,Extreme,A&M,Hard Rock,Heavy Metal,Pop-Metal,Pop/Rock,Popular Music,Rock

Average customer rating:

An Extreme (-ly bad) version of a Beatles Broadway musical

Simply Amazing Album!

A logical destination

Extreme - One Of The Most Underrated Albums Of The 90's

Great rock album for non-rock fans!

III Sides to Every Story
Extreme
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Pop Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
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Extreme II: Pornograffitti

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Waiting for the Punchline

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Lean into It

ASIN: B000002G0P
Release Date: 1992-09-22

Tracks:

Warheads
Rest In Peace
Politicalamity
Color Me Blind
Cupid's Dead
Peacemaker Die
Seven Sundays
Tragic Comic
Our Father
Stop The World
God Isn't Dead?
Everything Under The Sun: I. Rise 'N Shine
Everything Under The Sun: II. Am I Ever Gonna Change
Everything Under The Sun: III. Who Cares?

Customer Reviews:

An Extreme (-ly bad) version of a Beatles Broadway musical.......2007-05-28

Let's face it; Extreme was really nothing more than a hair metal band; concerned more with appearance than with art. In fact, they were of the second generation of hair metal bands, which means they were really nothing more than an imitation of a hair metal band. I know, they had an amazing guitarist, but so did Dokken, White Lion, Ratt, and many others. Having a talented guitarist clearly would not exclude them from the characterization. Nuno, after all, had the prettiest hair of any of them.

Maybe I'm not giving Extreme enough credit. But I do give them credit for what they attempted to do with this album. It sounds like they were trying for a metal-sounding Beatles Broadway musical, which is quite an ambitious undertaking! Frankly, they weren't good enough to pull it off.

The album does have some redeeming qualities. The tone of the guitar is superb, Nuno's abilities definitely shine, and there are a few memorable songs, such as Am I Ever Gonna Change and Rest in Peace. Most of the other songs, however, are less memorable and really without much significance. The drummer plays fairly well, but the bassist is only average and can't really even be heard, and the vocals are terrible. I've never been impressed with the quality of Gary Cherone's voice and it's no more impressive here. Most of the lyrics are pretentious, intentionally abstract (as abstract as a hair metal band can be, I suppose), and ridiculous.

There are few bands that can pull off anything close to what the Beatles did. And, with or without having heard this album, it'd be hard to believe any proclamation that Extreme was a band who could.

Simply Amazing Album!.......2007-05-10

In 1992, if an interviewer had asked who their most influential band had been, chances are that Pat Badger, Nuno Bettencourt, Gary Cherone, and Paul Geary of Extreme would answer with the 70s hard-rock band, Queen. With a flair for the dramatic, and the fluidity of vocals to back it, Cherone ably reproduced the presence that was Freddie Mercury - yet maintained a uniqueness all his own. Mixing one part Brian May and one part Eddie Van Halen, the blazing guitar riffs by Bettencourt set him apart from the pack of late 80s hair-metal, due mainly to his ability to aptly devise melody and funk rhythms throughout his work. Rounding out the quartet, Badger on bass guitar provided a strong undercurrent of sound and Geary was rock-solid in his timing and fill on drums. Based out of Boston, Massachusetts, the band had had some commercial success from their previous albums with "Play with Me" from Extreme I appearing in the movie soundtrack for "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," and "More than Words," from Extreme II: Pornograffitti, being broadcast incessantly over the radio waves. When they released their third album, "III Sides to Every Story," Extreme showed their roots with a concept album. Like Queen in previous years, they decided to create an opus, or story, broken into three sections labeled: "Yours," "Mine," and "The Truth." It was diverse, original, and stunning, and although not as successful as their second album, was masterfully crafted and has been heralded as their finest work to date.

All of the songs on this album aren't just good, they're damn good, but two that will push their way forward are "Peacemaker Die" and "God Isn't Dead?" With the former, strong rhythms and musical hooks are coupled with vocal harmonies distinctive to Extreme's overall sound, and are again reminiscent of Queen. Powerful lyrics with a dash of sound bite from none other than the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech captivate the listener and evoke emotions of loss for such a great man. Although not a fan of musical overdubs, the orchestration of this song is layered and thick with such a good sound, it hardly goes noticed. As in previous albums, they blend smooth vocal patterns with lightning-fast guitar riffs, thumping bass, and crisp rhythms, but this time to produce a chilling view of how the world's leaders do not allow a dissonant voice of reason that is calling for peace to live. In sharp contrast to this, "God Isn't Dead?" starts softly, with just piano and vocals beseeching listeners to help Cherone through his drought of faith and bemoaning his fate in the world. Building throughout the song in an undertone, a full 70-piece orchestra supports the duo, which breaks from their previous album work of just keyboard and synthesizer. This shows a commitment to a full-fledged opus and not just another album. As the flutes, strings, and horns begin their slow, steady crescendo, the corresponding vocals follow to a harsh and hooking abrupt halt. Here, Cherone's passionate fortissimo, "Please tell me God Isn't Dead!" ends the song with the denouement of "I want to know..."where he is accompanied only by piano again. Haunting and beautiful, the song will stick with a person for years on end.

Overall, Extreme's third release shows their extreme (pun intended) versatility and daring, with a mix of hard rock, symphonic orchestrations, and melodic ballads to tempt the soul. Unbelievable vocal harmonies make this a delight to listen to, and the lyrical content is unsurpassed, as the listener will find himself or herself actually paying attention for a much-needed change. This is their best work without a doubt, followed closely by the funk-laced and rock-driven "Pornograffitti" following a close second; and an album highly suggested. It contains many of the band's "trademark" sounds and will most likely not disappoint. But, it is recommended to at pick III Sides up first, for a masterpiece work of music that will keep the listener enthralled for years.

A logical destination.......2007-02-28

Extremes third LP was highly anticipated. After shifting serious units with their sophomore effort the band were on a roll. And on this album a number of Extremes points of reference are taken to their logical conclusion. Whether or not this works is very much a matter of taste. And since the band split the disc up into three conceptual sections, I'll do the same with putting into words my feelings towards different aspects of this disc.

The Rock - Warheads is a great heavy rocker. Anti-authoritarian, anti-militaristic and dead on musically. This is a great and appropriate use of the bands rocking sensibilities and a dead ahead follow on from When I'm President from Pornograffiti. The spirit infuses Rest in Peace and Politicalamity, obvious results of the social concerns that started to be heard in tunes like Money (In God We Trust).

The Ballads - Not so obvious here until you listen to how some of the songs are constructed. While this album isn't in posession of a More Than Words, the construction of many of the mellow cuts here do owe a big debt to the bands softer side. The fuller orchestration on some of the tracks are a true follow on from the soppy ballads from the bands previous disc.

The Brains - once again you get the feeling that this band, musically and intellectually, were way above the norm for the usually numbskull hair metal genre which they were so unfairly lumped in with. Approaching Queen in some ways, Extreme are here bursting at the seams of possibility and daring their fan base to follow.

The potential downsides here are a lack of getting down to business, not much headbang for your buck. And the pretentiousness that this release feels steeped in, well it's never gone down well with the hard rock community. And without the sappy ballads to get the little girls buying it the bands target audience for this album is hard to guage. After all, though Brian May all but publicly bequethed Extreme the crown worn by Queen, the fans of Queen were unlikely to appreciate a new band taking over the niche of their heroes. And all the pontificating does get overmuch very quickly.

Call me a philistine, but having quite enjoyed their first two, after hearing this album I didn't buy any more Extreme. Neither did most other people. A sadly derailed release from a multi-talented band.

Extreme - One Of The Most Underrated Albums Of The 90's.......2007-02-23

"3 Sides" is simply put, one of the most underrated albums of the 90's, from one of the most underrated bands of the 90's. After the success of "Pornograffitti" the band could have played it safe and done a copy of what they had done before. Instead they put out this album that really moved the band into new territory. Unfortunately the album did not sell nearly as well as it's predecessor. I honestly think the material was too good (challenging?) for many of the people who just liked the band for "More Than Words". People just looking for top 40 radio fodder probably hated this album because it required the listener to really take notice and get into the nuances contained within. It also did not help that "3 Sides" release coincided with the whole grunge movement that killed many 90's era bands. Many of those bands deserved to be pushed aside, but Extreme was not one of them. The album is broken up into three sections. "Yours", which is mostly metal, hard rock and funk, "mine", which is more acoustic, folk, melodic oriented, and "The Truth" which moves into progressive rock territory. These guys really tried to cram a little bit of everything into this album and it is a resounding success. Nuno is brilliant on guitar and keys throughout the disc as is Charone on vocals. The rhythm section is also solid throughout. The lyrics are for the most part very good, touching on a whole range of subjects including political and world issues, religion, and relationships. Many of the lyrics on this album are more relevant today than when they were written. The album is recorded really well too. In fact it sounds better than many modern day productions, and is a great headphone album. If you are one of those people who wrote Extreme off as just another hair metal band with limited talent, check this album out. This album proves that Extreme were one of the best bands of the 90's, it is just too bad that the public didn't get it. Sadly Extreme's next album "Waiting For The Punchline" would be a big disappointment. I don't know if it was a reaction to the way "3 Sides" was received or record company pressure, but "Waiting" would be an attempt at a straight forward basic rock album and in my opinion was a big letdown from "3 Sides". The band would then break up and go their separate ways. Too bad, because it would have really been interesting to see where these guys could have gone had they continued down the path forged on the "3 Sides" album.

Great rock album for non-rock fans!.......2007-02-19

i totally agree that a great track, don't leave me alone, right after the song 'god isn't dead' doesn't appear on the cd as it was on the cassette. not sure if the earlier releases has the track on. this album is by far one of the greatest rock albums for all time.. for me ... since i am not into rock, heavy metal, and alternative. i guess this album is unique since it has 3 parts and though the first part can be considered noisy, extreme delivered it nicely still lyrically and melodically which captured those who aren't digging this genre.