Over the past couple of weeks as I’ve argued with congressional Republicans from Iowa over their obscene obsession with fascism I have found myself listening to III Sides to Every Story by the rock band Extreme almost daily. If you haven’t heard the album please go give it a listen. There is some fantastic music making on this record. It is incredibly creative and I find it is more relevant today than it was when I bought it in 1992.

Extreme is a hard/progressive/funky rock band. They originated in Boston during the mid 1980’s. They have released six albums over their sporadic career and despite several personal changes three quarters of the original group are still together. The three members are: Gary Cherone-Vocals, Nuno Bettencourt-Guitars and Keyboards and Pat Badger-Bass Guitar. The band is on their third drummer and his name is Kevin Figueiredo.

You may know the band Extreme for their biggest hit More than Words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIiLvg58SY&list=RDUrIiLvg58SY&start_radio=1 Or the famous spoof by Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ISYT6EeUM0 Both are great listens for completely different reasons. What came after this song was their magnum opus III Sides to Every Story. This concept album is in three sections (three album sides.) These sides are “Yours, Mine, and The Truth.” Each side is an expanded metaphor on perspective. “Yours” is the most political of the bunch. The songs use war, peace, government, racism, media, and closes with the song Peacemaker Die! The final song uses Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have A Dream Speech as a soliloquy to the darkness of this side of the story. I have found Politcalamity, Cupid’s Dead, Color Me Blind, and Warheads to be particularly appropriate for the shit show in D.C. we are currently experiencing. It was appropriate in 1992, but the fascist backdrop of today has brought me back to this record for a sense of emotional release (anger.) I am needing this to keep me from losing my marbles. Cherone and Nuno created something special here musically that got lost in the grunge movement. The music now feels timeless to me.

The “Mine” side of the recording deals with mysticism, idealism, introspection, philosophy, and faith. The songs depart from the harder edged metal of side “Yours.” There is more keyboard work, more dynamics in the songwriting. Lots of sweeping changes in style, time signature, and orchestration. Tragic Comic, Stop the World, God Isn’t Dead?, and Don’t Leave Me Alone (deleted from the original cd for length) go into Queen musical territory. The melodies, dissonance, resonance, and harmonies go further musically than anything the band did prior to 1992. Where “Yours” is cynical and driving “Mine” is hopeful and idealistic.

“The Truth” is a symphony for rock band and orchestra. Everything Under the Sun is a three movement work that transcends the two previous sides. The music transcends the subject matter of the deeply layered metaphors from the two previous sides and pulls you up. The truth reminds me of the Kurt Vonnegut quote, “No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious & charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful. “

This Extreme record is 33 years old this year and I think it has found a time where it needs to be shared with the masses again despite the homogenized sounding pop music of today. Music has its place and time at its creation and it has its place and time again and again with whomever that listens to the music. I’ve always loved this recording. It was ambitious in 1992 as the popular styles were moving away from “hair metal” that Extreme was lumped into. I always felt the band Extreme picked up Freddie Mercury’s torch and walked forward with it. Gary Cherone is a different type of vocalist than Mercury was, but his delivery is just as sharp and clear. Nuno Bettencourt defines the artistry of Extreme. His creativity with the instruments support the songwriting to masterful levels. They really do transcend their place and time, and they capture Freddy Mercury’s creative spirit together. It is a shame this recording is considered a commercial failure at 700,000 units sold, only due to the rise of Nirvana and grunge music as a whole. I still think this recording is excellent, and I am finding new nuances I have missed over the years.

No one is making music like this anymore except for Dream Theater and a few other art-progressive-metal bands. Playing a musical instrument with mastery, control, dynamics, and phrasing is lost on today’s computer generated pop music. This type of music requires attention to detail, reflective listening, deep thought regarding metaphor, and an ability to relate your feelings to this glorious sound. Extreme’s III Sides to Every Story does this for me during this difficult time in American Politics. Go listen to it, or go watch the videos. Whatever format you digest your media I think you can find something interesting.

Final thought: Nuno Bettencourt is an incredibly underrated guitarist and musician. It is his fireworks and musicing that attracted me to Extreme. It wasn’t More than Words, but that was good too. Thanks for your time… on it goes!