Extreme II: Pornograffitti

Extreme

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 19, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 7, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002GJ7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,291 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Extreme's best recording displays this band's considerable talents to their best advantage, particularly those of guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and vocalist Gary Cherone (as of this writing, sounding a lot like Sammy Hagar as the current singer for Van Halen). The album's success has mainly been due to the soft-spoken hits "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted," but there's plenty to like on this album, which explores the very general theme of love in a cynical world. Extreme had a lot on their minds when they recorded Pornograffitti, as evidenced by the songs "Decadence Dance," "When I'm President," and "Money (In God We Trust)." Aside from the aforementioned ballads and the loungey "When I First Kissed You," this album rocks out, examining serious themes with considerable humor, which prevents Extreme from ever sounding preachy or condescending. --Genevieve Williams

Product Description

Limited edition Japanese pressing of the of the 1990 album. Extreme came into its own on the concept album Pornograffitti, with the band's strongest set of songs and an intellectual theme revolving around the struggle for genuine love and romance in a sleazy, decadent society full of greed and corruption. The band shows a strong desire to experiment and push the boundaries of the pop-metal format, adding a funky horn section on 'Get the Funk Out' and displaying progressive compositional leanings throughout, and virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt puts down his guitar for the enjoyable pseudo-lounge piano ballad of 'When I First Kissed You'. But of course, the album is best known for its two acoustic-guitar-only hits, the number one ballad 'More Than Words' and the equally fine full-band rocker 'Hole Hearted'. Other highlights include 'Decadence Dance' and 'Song for Love'. A&M. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most fun CD I own--awesome to listen to cranked UP!!, September 9, 2001

By	Matt "mattfl1" (Naples, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This CD is so cool in every respect. The songs are well written and fun to listen to (see "When I'm President"). The musicianship on this record is incredible--it's no wonder Eddie Van Halen chose Gary Cherone to be the (short lived) vocalist for Van Halen. As for Nuno Bettencourt, I think he's a very underrated guitar player. Maybe not underrated, but unknown? At least I rarely ever hear about him, and I'm a guitar player. Check out the intro to "He Man Woman Hater," called "Flight of the Wounded Bumble Bee" (and YES, Nuno *did* play that, contrary to what another reviewer said...that was *not* Dweezil Zappa. He played on a different song.).

The recording quality of this CD is great. It's how every metal/hard rock CD should sound. The guitars aren't all muddy and washed out. They're loud, but clear, and you can still hear the vocals and everything else over them. Sounds GREAT cranked up. Extreme's best album without a doubt.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly accomplished., January 29, 2000

By	Karl John Krumrey IV (Detroit area, Mi) - See all my reviews

In every era of music, there's those bands that just have talent coming out their orifices, yet somehow slip through the cracks of the mainstream audience. Extreme is this era's underrated wonder. Sadly they are categorized by their two mainstream hits (from this album) 'More than Words' and 'Hole Hearted'. While they're both great songs, lord, there's so much more to this band.

From the power-chord kickoff of Decadent Dance, the listener knows that their proverbial a**es are about to be kicked for an hour. Aside from the occasional ballad, this album rocks out without a shred of filler. Cherone finally settles into a comfortable Freddie Mercury-ish vocal style that suits him and the music perfectly. Nuno's guitar playing is kicked into high octane from their debut album, it's more well-timed, restrained, yet way out of the league of 95% of the musical population. The rhythm section is at their best on this recording, as well.

This album's only shortcoming is that it loses it's momentum towards the end. Suzi (Wants her all day What?) seems to be a filler song, and 'When I First Kissed You', while certainly loungey, loose, and different, won't appeal to everyone. It picks up again with Nuno's blistering 'Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee' guitar interlude, and the final three songs are more masterpeices.

Pornograffiti is the album to start with when looking into this sadly overlooked group. Their best was yet to come, though.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How about a fun album for a change?, May 21, 2001

By	Bill Allison "Bill Allison" (Southwest Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was really late, discovering these guys. Sure I had heard "more than words" and "hole hearted" but I always just kinda blew them off. In 1994, the heyday of grunge and doom-rock, A musician friend of mine turned me on to Extreme. It seems that most guitar players listen to these guys because of Nuno Bettencourt's guitar playing. It's pretty amazing. To me these guys came across like a breath of fresh air. This album is full of suprises. The guitar playing is some of the best I have EVER heard and Gary Cherone's vocals are solid. My only problem is actually keeping a copy. They always get "borrowed" by my friends. After seven years, this album has never gotten old. One thing that seperates Extreme from the rest of the bands to come from their era (Poison, Whitesnake, Kix, SLaughter) aside from talent, is their song-writing skills. They sang about more than just driving fast cars and getting laid. Their debut album was good, but this is way better.

It's still nice, in a world full of Godsmacks and Slipknots, to be able to throw something like this in the player from time to time. Great album.