EXTREME: "Rise" from "Six" --- June 9, 2023

[jingle.boy]

I trust that everyone ragging on Beautiful Girls has similar issues with Take Us Alive?  There's a pseudo-Rockabilly feel if I ever heard it.

[Samsara]

I trust that everyone ragging on Beautiful Girls has similar issues with Take Us Alive?  There's a pseudo-Rockabilly feel if I ever heard it.

Yep, not a fan. That said, the Mrs. dislikes Beautiful Girls, but likes Take Us Alive. 

Edit - Stads, yeah, if Nuno was writing with dudes and jamming and brought those ideas to Gary, obviously, that's a co-write. What I'm saying is that there was no need to do that. Nuno and Gary ARE Extreme in the writing department. Seems silly to co-write with folks. I agree with whoever said a producer could have (should have) brought songs together. But when you produce yourself (as Nuno did with this Extreme record), things happen.

I'm not saying I dislike the new record. I like it. it's better than SdR for me, and has about five songs I can listen to with regularity (the four singles and X-Out). But while the album is good, it bothers me that after 15 years, they didn't write the songs completely themselves.

[Kwyjibo]

I trust that everyone ragging on Beautiful Girls has similar issues with Take Us Alive?  There's a pseudo-Rockabilly feel if I ever heard it.

No, because Take Us Alive is a decent song, whereas Beautiful Girls is a steaming pile of shit. I don't mind the pseudo-rockabilly feel (although I think it's more country) and I wouldn't kind the pseudo-latin feel, if the song was at least solid.

Re: Outside writers: I know that a lot of people, especially here, think it's important, that a band writes its own music. And I never understood that. If a song is good, I don't care if it's written by a band member, or with help from others. Not every good musician is a good song writer and not every good songwriter is a good musician.
But I give you that it's strange, that after they've written five records almost all by themselves, for the sixth they took in a lot of help.

[Stadler]

I just watched a KILLER two hour interview with Noel Gallagher and he talked frequently about the difference between being a great guitar player and being a great songwriter.

[Samsara]

I think we're all intelligent enough here to know that just because someone is a great musician, doesn't necessarily mean they are great songwriters, or vice versa. But this doesn't apply in Extreme's case. Cherone/Bettencourt obviously are a great songwriting team, Bettencourt is a virtuoso musician, and Cherone one of the most gifted vocalists in hard rock.

So none of that really applies in this case. Clearly, they don't NEED help. They CHOSE to have help. And that is the question I'd like for someone to ask them and get an answer to, that is more than just a soundbyte.

As for a band writing its own music, yes, I for one think it is vitally important, particularly in the hard rock/metal genre. Pop music is wonderful, and there are a lot of talented songwriters who write for gifted pop performers and artists. But rock/metal is, and should be, IMO, different. To be honest, I respect someone like Adele, Pink, or even Taylor Swift, who all write their own songs (so I am told), a lot more than an artist who literally is on stage performing songs written by everyone BUT them. To me, that separates the hard rock/metal genre from much of pop. That doesn't mean there can't be exceptions, but in general, for me personally, I want my hard rock/metal bands writing their own stuff.

[Stadler]

I think we're all intelligent enough here to know that just because someone is a great musician, doesn't necessarily mean they are great songwriters, or vice versa. But this doesn't apply in Extreme's case. Cherone/Bettencourt obviously are a great songwriting team, Bettencourt is a virtuoso musician, and Cherone one of the most gifted vocalists in hard rock.

So none of that really applies in this case. Clearly, they don't NEED help. They CHOSE to have help. And that is the question I'd like for someone to ask them and get an answer to, that is more than just a soundbyte.

As for a band writing its own music, yes, I for one think it is vitally important, particularly in the hard rock/metal genre. Pop music is wonderful, and there are a lot of talented songwriters who write for gifted pop performers and artists. But rock/metal is, and should be, IMO, different. To be honest, I respect someone like Adele, Pink, or even Taylor Swift, who all write their own songs (so I am told), a lot more than an artist who literally is on stage performing songs written by everyone BUT them. To me, that separates the hard rock/metal genre from much of pop. That doesn't mean there can't be exceptions, but in general, for me personally, I want my hard rock/metal bands writing their own stuff.

Sidebar, not really argument, but clarification: you know full well that songwriting credits are at their best misleading, and at their worst currency.   Elvis famously wanted to sing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton, but she would NOT give any publishing to Elvis, as Col. Tom demanded.  I'm not up to speed on all the subsequent negotiations, but for the longest time, every Van Halen song was credited to Anthony/Roth/Van Halen/Van Halen, when the reality is, Roth and Van Halen wrote almost all the cataglogue.   Gene Simmons famously credited Howard Marks, his accountant (not really, but something like that) on "Charisma" as a favor.

[WardySI]

I'm not sure if it's the surprise enjoyment of the album after expecting nada, but while the co-writes would normally bother me greatly they well, don't!?

Really digging the album.  Minus those couple WTF moments the album is killer and I maintain the appeal is the semi-Punchline vibe and darkness buried in the X- Out, Save Me, The Mask and Thicker Than Blood.  Those are the standouts tracks fer me. The underdogs if you will 

[hefdaddy42]

The cowriting thing is completely irrelevant for me.  It happens all the time in the music industry.  The only thing that matters to me is if the songs are good or not.

What bothers me is when acts don't contribute at ALL to the songwriting (Spock's Beard, I'm looking at you).

[bosk1]

That's more where I fall as well, generally speaking.  Although songwriting credits can sometimes impact my enjoyment of the music if I come to learn something that makes me feel the artist was deliberately misleading about outside writers.

For this particular case, the explanation that seems most logical to me is that Nuno and/or Gary had been working with a lot of different people over the long period where Extreme wasn't doing anything, and they got ideas from a lot of those collaborations, so crediting those other people was logical.  But that's pure speculation on my part, since we don't know anything.  It could be any number of reasons.  We just don't know.  I would like to know, since it's been brought up.  But it's just a matter of curiosity as opposed to it bothering me seeing others credited as cowriters (which it doesn't). 

[EPICVIEW]

Im not connecting with this CD the way I had hoped.  I hope others are enjoying more than me, even the good songs simply dont hold me

[WardySI]

Im not connecting with this CD the way I had hoped.  I hope others are enjoying more than me, even the good songs simply dont hold me

Yet I find I'm connecting with the album way more than I expected.  Even after however many weeks it's been this has lost nothing.  In fact it's gotten better to the point I can enjoy a couple the ballads I otherwise couldn't before.

Faves remain Save Me, Thicker Than Blood and X-Out!  There's a real Punchline darkness about the album I thoroughly enjoy and tbh front loading the album with the more traditional Extreme numbers was (IMO) a mistake (as was releasing all those before the album dropped but is what it is now I guess)...

It was a toss up whether to grab this on vinyl or new Sevendust but in the end old faithful Sevendust won out for delivering such a return to form record, but it was close.

Outside of an upset, I suspect these two records could be duking it out for my AOTY come December 

[King Postwhore]

Saw them last night. They were amazing.

[TAC]

Saw them last night. They were amazing.

Where was that Joe?

[King Postwhore]

Roadrunner in Boston.

[Stadler]

Im not connecting with this CD the way I had hoped.  I hope others are enjoying more than me, even the good songs simply dont hold me

Yet I find I'm connecting with the album way more than I expected.  Even after however many weeks it's been this has lost nothing.  In fact it's gotten better to the point I can enjoy a couple the ballads I otherwise couldn't before.

Faves remain Save Me, Thicker Than Blood and X-Out!  There's a real Punchline darkness about the album I thoroughly enjoy

That makes me want to skip this one (I do not like Punchline at all; it's my least favorite of their albums), but this:

and tbh front loading the album with the more traditional Extreme numbers was (IMO) a mistake (as was releasing all those before the album dropped but is what it is now I guess)...

It was a toss up whether to grab this on vinyl or new Sevendust but in the end old faithful Sevendust won out for delivering such a return to form record, but it was close.

Outside of an upset, I suspect these two records could be duking it out for my AOTY come December 

... makes me want to hear it.   I really enjoyed them opening for Aerosmith last fall.  I'd like to see them this week in Hartford, but I'm going to be in Cross Plains, TN, so...

[EPICVIEW]

Im not connecting with this CD the way I had hoped.  I hope others are enjoying more than me, even the good songs simply dont hold me

Yet I find I'm connecting with the album way more than I expected.  Even after however many weeks it's been this has lost nothing.  In fact it's gotten better to the point I can enjoy a couple the ballads I otherwise couldn't before.

Faves remain Save Me, Thicker Than Blood and X-Out!  There's a real Punchline darkness about the album I thoroughly enjoy and tbh front loading the album with the more traditional Extreme numbers was (IMO) a mistake (as was releasing all those before the album dropped but is what it is now I guess)...

It was a toss up whether to grab this on vinyl or new Sevendust but in the end old faithful Sevendust won out for delivering such a return to form record, but it was close.

Outside of an upset, I suspect these two records could be duking it out for my AOTY come December 

That makes me happy my bro   glad you are enjoying this CD !!!  maybe I will try it again in a few months

[Samsara]

What I really like is Extreme is rotating stuff from Punchline into the set. They played "There is No God" a couple days ago. be cool to see that. Can't wait for later this month!