Customer Reviews

Waiting for the Punchline

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I had to review this album so that I could help get the word out to other possible consumers. Put simply: BUY THIS ALBUM! Obviously, I feel very strongly about this. For fans of the guitar, whether it be electric, acoustic, whatever, you must listen to Nuno's work here. He is amazing.

I lean more towards the bluesy guitar players of the seventies. Page, Kossoff, Bolin, Clapton, West, Lowell George, etc. These are my mainstays. I also really enjoy the 80's players, Gilbert, VanHalen, Malmsteen, LeTekro (if you haven't checked out his work with TNT you're missing out), Wylde, Jake E. Lee, and a host of others. In short, I dig good guitar playing.

Well, to my ears it just doesn't get much better than this. It's not so much Nuno's solos that give me the shivers, cause they often do, but it is the rhythm work that is staggering. I don't know else how to put it. Shadowboxing gets me everytime, puts me in a whole other world. All I know is that out of my nine hundred or so titles, this one gets played as much as any other. Maybe that's the best compliment that I can give it.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. Listen to it, listen to it again, and then again. I almost guarantee that if you are into quality guitar work, that you won't be dissappointed. Also, try Cry of Love and Brother Cane for great guitar work.

Extreme's fourth major release was a move that threw most of their longtime fans for a loop. Their self-titled debut toyed around with childhood through a mature perspective, their second album "Pornograffiti" raised the bar a little bit by emphasizing a little stronger on the concept apprpoach. It dealt with finding love in a cynical world. The music was more fun, the band had grown more comfortable playing together, and Cherone had fully matured as a vocalist. III Sides to Every Story (their best work in my opinion) was talent pure and simple. I still play that one at least once a week.

In 1994, the band released "Waiting For a Punchline". The fourth installment featured a new drummer, a darker, more serious tone and an almost-angry overall feel. It was too late by then. The music scene had changed drastically by then and with the masses preferring Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, no one really gave Extreme the full attention that they deserved. It's really a shame. There are some really great songs on this record. "Shadow Boxing", "There Is No God", "Leave Me Alone", and "Unconditionally" are just a few of the songs that many, many people missed out on. Now, if you can find this album, you've really found something special.

It may be somewhat drier than their previous efforts, but upon multiple listenings, you will get the full jest of it. Man, I hope these guys get back together.

Extreme was a band that was maddeningly confusing. Were they pop schlock balladeers ("Hole Hearted") ambitious progressive rocksters ("The Truth" section of III Sides to Every Story), blues based hard rockers, straight up metalheads, or symphonic world musicians incorporating Portuguese folk music into their musical stew?

The answer is all of the above and more. Let me tell it to you straight: this is an excellent album, played at a very high musical level, and lyrically very strong. Not overproduced or overengineered, this is also a record that allows the players to showcase their considerable musical skills.

Are there elements of "grunge" on this record? It depends how that question is asked, the last track ("Waiting for the Punchline") which is embedded in the "Unconditionally" track certainly could pass for it in some circles. In my mind, this is still Extreme, however. They were making heavy guitar based music with fattt blues basses a few years before the Seattle explosion (witness "Get the Funk Out").

The world is still catching up with Extreme. Someday, perhaps, it will get there.

Excellent album! I love this band. Seems to be a lot of downers from the world on this album I disagree. The best music is never on the top 40!! Excellent Rock during a time that most mainstream rock was in the toilet (still is). Its got a couple of slower songs on this that are really catchy as well. Good investment.

I used to think that Extreme was a miserable excuse for a band ... until a friend loaned me WFTP. One listen, and I had to have a copy. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt was brilliant, Gary Cherone sang with emotion, the songwriting was strong, and varied. Simply, the best music the band released, and a shame that Cherone took 5 steps backward to work with Sir Van Halen.

Upon one listening of this disc, I knew the end of Extreme was near. The soaring art-rock masterpieces of previous albums are nowhere to be found on this joyless effort. Also gone is the hint of spirituality found toward the end of "III Sides to Every Story. Song quality suffers throughout the album. None of the expertly crafted types of songs found on the previous two albums can be located on this disappointing album. Instead of "Waiting for the Punchline," this album should have been entitled "Going Through the Motions." A sad end for this underrated and talented band.

I was surprised at the bad reviews for this, but maybe they came from people expecting the same old sound from Extreme. So, I thought I'd put in my two cents, in case it might matter. Yes, this is different, so anyone expecting the same sound will be disappointed. I don't hear much "grunge" in there, however. Some of the songs have a funky, bluesy feel to them, which is fun, and the lyrics are fairly cynical, but they've got style. The band really has its own sound on this album. I am surprised by all the disgust with "Naked," which I think is awesome, guitar and vocals both. It's sexy (maybe guys wouldn't like it for that reason) and it just kind of meanders around and has some fun, which is a good change of pace from their faster stuff. At any rate, I thought the album was good overall.

This would be the final album from Extreme, as the band broke up a year later and lead singer Gary Cherone went on to join Van Halen in 1997 (and leave in Nov. '99). As it stands, WFTP is Extreme's least-heard and most misunderstood album. But the very element that many criticize it for- it's dark side- is exactly what makes this Extreme's most accomplished and satisfying album. Cherone and co. are not creating accessible music here, they are creating art. As such, it may take a few listens before you discover the joy--but it's there. I know this has an expensive price tag as an import, but it's worth it. WFTP is really the finest music that Extreme would ever release.

Of all the four, this happens to be my favourite. The production of the album is great, has a very live feel to it, the songs are great (not just for guitarists, although Midnight Express definately shows Nuno's Al Di-meola influence)and in comparison with the self titled "Extreme", shows much maturity, perhaps a lot to do with the fact that Nuno produced the album. It is a shame that Extreme ended at this time, Paul Geary having left and Mike Mangini (Only the most accomplished drumer I have ever seen in my life, possibly because he used to pratice sixteen hours a day....eight left handed, and eight right! It's sick, you don't need to tell me). Not to take anything away from Paul Geary, an excellent drummer in his own right, but I felt that the presence of Mike Mangini added an extra spark with splashes of Genius here and there to the three tracks he plays on this album (One of which he had a hand in writing). As ever Pat Badger's basslines are superb, and he also plays a role in the writing of two of the tracks. Gary Cherone's showmanship shines through on all the tracks and many times the comparison has been made with the late Freddie Mercury. Last but not least(!!!) the amazing talent that is Nuno Bettencourt. What can be said about his playing that hasn't been said already. His sound is a lot different to the other three albums, opting for the N4 and a Fender Twin, with a Hughs & Kettner tubeman in front, a Vibro-King (also Fender) little in the way of effects other than an MXR Phase 90 and 100. The album is different from the others, and when I first got it, I didn't like it as much, but believe me, when I stopped trying to find the sound of the other three I realised that it is great in it's own right. Plus they are all really nice guys.

Turn off the lights,listen closely and keep an open-mind. This album begins with "There is No God" (one of the finest extreme songs in years). This song is not saying that there is no god. It's pointing the finger at the non-believer. Your typical atheist. There are many wonderful rock tracks on this record. "Hip Today" analyzes the music industry. "Cynical" yaps about the selfishness in us all. "Leave Me Alone" is apparently about a recluse. The whole band extreme does a wonderful job creating a live feel on this album. Buy it! It's awesome!