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The Band – The Band
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
Following their huge Pornograffitti album, Extreme were determined to push things as far as they could go.
“Be careful what you wish for,” frontman Gary Cherone told Classic Rock. “‘What do you mean we can get a 75-piece orchestra at Abbey Road?’.”
Their third album, the three-part Extreme: III Sides To Every Story, was the sound of a band over-reaching themselves. Informed as much by guirarist Nuno Bettencourt’s love of Genesis and Yes as it was Aerosmith and Queen, it was epic in scale and ambition. Too epic, as it turns out.
“We had all this material, there were themes running through the lyrics, so I said, ‘Let’s try and put together a concept album,’” said Bettencourt. “Yeah, we were ambitious. It came out in 1992, that’s when Nirvana’s stripping down the whole world.”
Even at the time, it was obvious that III Sides didn’t stand a chance. It wasn’t, strictly speaking, a flop. But Extreme found themselves quickly slipping from the lofty peak that Pornograffitti had placed them on
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in September 1992
- Tubular Bells II – Mike Oldfield
- Mondo Bizarro – Ramones
- Nerve Net – Brian Eno
- Paul Weller – Paul Weller
- Copper Blue – Sugar
- Kingdom of Desire – Toto
- America’s Least Wanted – Ugly Kid Joe
- Bone Machine – Tom Waits
- Slide On This – Ronnie Wood
- Sweet Oblivion – Screaming Trees
- Comfort – Failure
- Hollywood Town Hall – The Jayhawks
- Blind Melon – Blind Melon
- Broken – Nine Inch Nails
- Here Comes Trouble – Bad Company
- Amused To Death – Roger Waters
- Tomb of the Mutilated – Cannibal Corpse
- Us – Peter Gabriel
- Back To The Light – Brian May
- Core – Stone Temple Pilots
- Dirt – Alice in Chains
- The Triumph of Steel – Manowar
What they said…
“Having made their reputation on acoustic ballads, Extreme’s leaders, Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, here reassert their loyalty to art rock. Guitar virtuosity and quick stylistic turns dominate III Sides. Feedback mingles with four-part harmony; hard funk slides into lush strings. Standard pop-metal production blends these disparate ingredients into an easily digestible pudding. (New York Times)
“The album is wildly uneven, but amidst the indulgences there are some fine songs to be found: Rest in Peace displays both Bettencourt’s technique and melodicism as a soloist, while Seven Sundays continues in their occasional lounge ballad vein, and Tragic Comic and Stop the World are two more intelligent, wounded-romantic pop gems.” (AllMusic)
“With melodies far less lucid than those in the other songs, the art-rock finale sounds willful, even puffy. Worse, the album’s well-intentioned lyrics – ”I read the news today oh boy/About a tragic comedy” – come off as derivative and far too naive. Bettencourt and Extreme grasp at far more than they yet can reach. Rich as their record is, it falls heart-stoppingly short of the band’s lofty goals.” (Entertainment Weekly)
What you said…
Henry Martinez: Sound (3.5/10) – This LP would have greatly benefited from ’70s era recording techniques. The production is almost antiseptic, with Paul Geary’s drums suffering the most. It’s the biggest thing holding back this record.
Musicianship (8/10) – This rating is almost exclusively due to Nuno with his flourishes and acknowledgements (like the nod to Hendrix and Voodoo Chile in the Rest In Peace solo) that are truly inspired. Cherone sings well but his vocals lack Hagar’s depth for the range he attempts (partly explaining VHIII).
Concept (10/10) – Pretentious? You bet. But it’s well-executed pretentiousness. Since it was the CD era, it’s not truly a triple album but it’s easier to describe that way. Part 1 is VH-inspired hard rock with some stylistic departures centered on the darkness and selfishness of the world (by the way, still applicable). Part 2 is a genre exercise that delves deep into Cherone’s spiritual beliefs, coming close but not crossing the line of preaching. Part 3 is the Abbey Road-inspired suite (Everything Under The Sun) that may exceed its grasp with swelling orchestras, but compelling nonetheless. The music box intro and outro are nice touches.
Overall (7.5/10) – The album loses a whole point for the nonsensical decision to leave off what may be the best song, the Queen-inspired Don’t Leave Me Alone. It’s on the cassette version but left off the CD due to space limitations (and confusingly left off the streaming version as well where there’s no space limitations). It should be the last song of Part 2, an emotional gut punch leading into the suite.
Nevertheless, this is an album that rewards repeated listens – lots of stuff buried throughout – from MLK speeches to actual Latin speak. Of course, if the content comes across as proselytizing, then it’s likely not for you. I don’t take it that way. It’s more about the overall message, which is that we should treat each other like we want to be treated ourselves. Considering our world today, that’s not such a bad message.
Chris Elliott: I like their second album – it’s hit and miss but there’s a few great tracks – there’s a weird naivety about the “funk” that actually works. This however has none of the “fun” bits you can dance to – which just leaves you bored very quickly.
The moment Metal takes itself too seriously it pretty much loses the point
Chris Layton: This is a much more mature effort. Loved the second album, but the writing on this album is much more thoughtful and has some definite standout lyrics. Am I Ever Gonna Change is one of my favourite songs of all time.
The instruments might be a little less flashy this time around, but songs like Peacemaker Die, Politicalamity, Color Me Blind, Don’t Leave Me Alone and Stop the World have some great lyrical moments, and songs like Tragic Comic and Warheads are just fun. For me, the album is top shelf. They show much more depth on this album than on any other album.
Greg Schwepe: Like many others, I became aware of Extreme through their breakout album Pornograffiti, which featured the bouncy acoustic Hole Hearted and the lighter-waving ballad More Than Words. And I instantly found out that those two songs were the outliers, not really what Extreme was all about. The rest of the album really rocked, which I really liked. “Wow… who knew?”
And after that, the cassette got moved to the Next! pile, never played again, and Extreme faded from memory.
So, now I have a fresh start on an Extreme album I didn’t even know existed; III Sides To Every Story. Immediately I noticed the running time on this album, one hour, 16 minutes. Oh boy. I will repeat a funny line I read in some article about how CD technology gave artists a big upgrade from the limits of vinyl. Some producer said “Just because you can make an album longer, it doesn’t mean you should…” Something to that effect. And that applies here.
And due to the length, it literally took me three sittings to listen to the album in full. For one, strap yourself in and make that your task if you want to listen and take it all in to get the full effect of the album.
I really like Nuno’s guitar style and Gary Cherone’s vocals, but besides my stop-start listening experience, I found it hard to stay engaged with this. Styles jumped around, which is to be expected on a long sprawling album, but I kept looking at the tracks to see how soon I would be done; “Whew…only three more to go”, etc,). Ironically, the song I liked the most was waaaaay at the end of the album; Am I Ever Gonna Change.
If this was a concept album, I get the length as you have to go through the various moods and such. But as a follow up to Pornograffiti, I don’t think they kept that momentum going with this album. Talented band, but this was a little overblown for my tastes. 6 out of 10 for me on this one.
Extreme – Rest In Peace – YouTube 
Nigel Taylor: It’s got a few good songs on it, but on the whole it was just a bit dull and bloated to these ears.
Just brings back memories of them trying to follow Sepultura and Pantera at Donington and getting everything including the kitchen sink thrown their way, and deservedly so.
Shayne Ashby: Definitely a good album. It lacks the youthful exuberance of their debut and the catchy funk songwriting chops of their second.
A few killer songs, but not enough to make it a great album. Feels like it’s weighted down somehow. Some songs are too slow to get started, some don’t stop when they should’ve. Nuno is obviously one of the all time great guitarists and it’s worth a listen just for him, especially his rhythm playing which, like EVH, can get overlooked by their amazing solos.
I’ve seen them live a few times and as much as I like their music there seems to be something missing. Hard to put my finger on it but I feel it’s Gary. Great vocalist, technically, but comes across a bit pantomime at times, like he is acting like a rock singer. I don’t believe his lyrics like I believe Bon Scott’s lyrics.
Didnt help being released in 1992 but I think this album would’ve also struggled to cut through in 1987 or 2000. 7/10.
Keith Jenkin: A classic example of musical ambition over compositional ability for me this one. Nuno at least has the chops on guitar but the overall music is a pretty hard trawl and there are very few memorable moments here, something that would also typify their follow-up records.
Brian Hart: This is always my go-to album when it comes to Extreme. Pornograffiti was a cool album but I think this album really showcases the band. It has everything you’d expect from Extreme – funk, acoustic, and big orchestral arrangements. I’ve read some of the reviews from other readers and I’m surprised at the mixed reviews. Some have knocked Gary’s vocals but I think he’s an amazing vocalist. He can belt it out on the rockers and sound downright angelic on the softer songs. The rhythm section is super tight and probably doesn’t get enough recognition. As far as the guitar, Nuno is Nuno – he is a guitar god!
I went back and listened to this album again before giving my two cents. This album is a great listen. Had it been released four years earlier, I think it would get classic status. There really isn’t a bad song on the album (Politicalamity is the weakest song, and even that song is listenable).
The highlight for me is three-song suite that ends the album – Rise n Shine, Am I Ever Gonna Change, and Who Cares. It’s very ambitious and very Beatlesque. I also love Peacemaker Die. It’s too bad that Extreme gets lumped in as a one hit wonder.
Thankfully, their latest release, Six, has garnered rave reviews and given them the recognition they deserve. And with the passing of Eddie Van Halen, Nuno definitely makes a case for consideration as the new king.
Mike Canoe: So long, so very, very long. Extreme’s III Sides To Every Story is another release from the CD era that would have been considered a double album if it came out a decade earlier.
The length, in itself, of course, doesn’t make it a bad album but, for me, there are not enough highlights to justify the 76-minute runtime. Presented as a three-part concept album representing the proverbial “three sides,” the majority of the rockers are front-loaded onto the Yours side. That leaves roughly 45 minutes of pop songs and ballads to fill out the rest.
In the entire sprawl, Warheads, Rest in Peace and Peacemaker Die, stand out from the Yours side, then just one each from Mine and The Truth, Tragic Comic and Am I Ever Gonna Change, respectively.
My ears are now craving something from the 1970’s, if only because it means a max 45-minute runtime.
Extreme – Tragic Comic – YouTube 
John Davidson: I almost didn’t listen to this album. My ears didn’t feel the need for over an hour of funk rock ballads from the band who gave the world the insipid More Than Words. But I did, and the album wasn’t entirely what I expected.
Overall I’d still say the album is less than the sum of its parts. It’s very technical, but lacks soul and more importantly lacks a killer song to really draw in the listener. For the most part it sounds like Dream Theater doing a pastiche of Bon Jovi songs.
The drums particularly suffer from being overly tight and precise on many songs while the bass (another Dream Theater failing) disappears into the background.
The final section where the band attempt something slightly more ambitious is to my ears the most successful. As a result id say Am I ever Gonna Change is probably the best song. 6/10.
Björn Ahrens: Stop The World is one of the finest tunes of the early 90s, and you know it.
Chris Downie: Along with Swedish stalwarts Europe, among others, Extreme are a superior melodic hard rock band, whose credibility has been unfairly maligned by the oversaturation of one hit song, whose admitted over-exposure continues to grate with many, decades later.
In truth, they made a fine debut and a fabulous second album (Pornograffiti), the latter of which had a scope that transcended their ‘hair band’ contemporaries. A captivating musical amalgam of boisterous Van Halen-style heavy rock, theatrical elements reminiscent of 70’s Queen and a social commentary that recalled classic The Who, it was a deserved multi-platinum hit, regardless of the More Than Words staple, which was unrepresentative of their sound.
Where things came undone slightly for this band, was in the follow-up here, which was ambitious in its undertaking, but ultimately just fell short of where it needed to be, to be the classic it so could have been.
The impressive vocal versatility of Gary Cherone, always the perfect foil for Nuno Bettencourt’s Van Halen-meets-Queen guitar pyrotechnics, is just as evident here as on the previous album, as is the right rhythm section of Pat Badger and Paul Geary, but for every great moment like Stop The World and the brilliant closing part including Am I Ever Gonna Change there is simply too much filler among its bloated 75+ minute run-time (the definition of the ‘CD bloat’ prominent at the time) which weighs it down.
As a result of the above, III Sides… failed to capitalise on the previous album and ultimately saw the band never quite reach their true potential. As a result, their disappointing fourth effort three years later saw them continue to miss the mark and then go on hiatus for several years, before admittedly successful sporadic reunions post 2008. Over three decades later, this album is a look at what night have been, for a band who deserved so much better than to be sidelined as a one hit wonder. 7.5/10
Brian Carr: Man, am I glad I had chunks of driving time this week to invest in III Sides to Every Story. By the time of its release, I was a reasonably big fan of Extreme, so I was looking forward to it. I wasn’t disappointed – wow, what an album!
Unfortunately, it suffered from long album syndrome, which many times lands in overindulgence world, though I never felt that way when listening to III Sides. The problem I have is that I’ve always preferred to listen to albums in their entirety, so even a killer record gets fewer spins for me if I don’t have the time to invest.
So what is the line between excellence and overindulgence? For me, it comes down to filler. Maybe a song or two on III Sides could be pared down a touch, but there is nothing on this record that I want to skip. The album is vocally exquisite, with the possible exception of Cupid’s Dead. But the blistering musicianship is so killer that the vocals don’t bother me in the slightest. The synchronisation of the instruments – the playing is tighter than sheets in an army barracks!
Nuno is one of my absolute favourite guitar players and he shines throughout. The entire band is just spot on and leaves me wondering why III Sides To Every Story hasn’t inhabited my ear canals more often. Poor judgment on my part.
Final score: 6.79 (62 votes cast, total score 421)
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