More Than Words

"More Than Words" is a song by American rock band Extreme. The song is a ballad featuring acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and the vocals of Gary Cherone (with harmony vocals from Bettencourt). The song represented a departure from the band's usual funk metal style.[3] "More Than Words" was released as the third single from the band's second album, Pornograffitti (1990), on March 12, 1991. The song was a number one hit in the United States, where it was certified gold.

For other uses, see More Than Words (disambiguation).

"More Than Words"
Single by Extreme
from the album Pornograffitti
B-side
  • "Nice Place to Visit"
  • "Kid Ego"
ReleasedMarch 12, 1991 (1991-03-12)
Genre
Length
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Michael Wagener
Extreme singles chronology
"Get the Funk Out"
(1991)		 "More Than Words"
(1991)		 "Hole Hearted"
(1991)
Music video
"More Than Words" on YouTube

Content

"More Than Words" is a ballad.[4] It features acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and vocals by Gary Cherone (with harmony vocals from Bettencourt).[5]

In "More Than Words", the singer wants his lover to do more than simply saying "I love you" to demonstrate her love for him. Bettencourt described it as a warning that the phrase was becoming meaningless: "People use it so easily and so lightly that they think you can say that and fix everything, or you can say that and everything's OK. Sometimes you have to do more and you have to show it—there's other ways to say 'I love you'".[6]

Release

The band fought with their record company to get "More Than Words" released as a single. At one point, Bettencourt even quit the band over the issue. In 2016, Bettencourt told Billboard: "'Our label at the time [A&M Records] didn't want to release "More Than Words" as a single because there was nothing on the radio like that at the time. The label said, "Who's going to play it?" Everybody was doing big power ballads at the time, and this was more like an Everly Brothers or Beatles track. But we fought for it'".[4]

"It became a monster. It took a life of its own and we couldn't kill it. ... I think it'll pass the test of time."

—Gary Cherone talking about the song.[7]

"That song gave us the freedom to make the record we really wanted to make when we started recording our third disc," Cherone told KNAC. "It got us doing huge tours all over the states and around the world... As the nineties went on, however, we really started to resent the song. We were tagged 'the More Than Words guys'. We didn't like the perception the song created about the band. I remember being on tour with Aerosmith in Poland... it was on that tour we decided we would not play the song. We just didn't do it. A couple nights into the tour, Steven Tyler writes in big letters on our dressing room door, 'Play the fucking song!' His attitude was almost father-like. He was like, 'Look, this is your first time in Poland. When do you think you will be back? They want to hear it, so play it!'"[8]

Critical reception

AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann noted that on the song, the band pursued "acoustic balladry".[9] Kira L. Billik from Associated Press described "More Than Words" as a "sweet, pure acoustic ballad" "whose message is that the words 'I love you' are becoming meaningless".[10] The song was also labeled as a "nontraditional love song".[7] Billboard stated that this "tender, sparsely produced rock/love ballad proves that sometimes less really is more. The spotlight here is on the band's striking vocal harmonies, as well as its shimmering acoustic guitar work".[11] The Daily Vault's Sean McCarthy called "More Than Words" a "beautiful, minimal acoustic number [that] made the band huge" and added that "for the band, 'More Than Words' is the song that will still get airplay."[12] Diane Cardwell from Entertainment Weekly called it "a simple, almost folkie ballad using just two voices and a single acoustic guitar."[13] Kirsten Frickle from El Paisano described it as an "all-acoustic ballad that is so beautiful it will make your hair stand on end".[14]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media labeled the song as "folky"[15] and "a calming piece of music, aptly produced by Michael Wagener." They added, "It shows the band from a totally different angle. And it must be said, they handle this ballad extremely well."[16] Alan Jones from Music Week stated that it is "a subdued, lilting acoustic workout that suggests nothing more than Simon & Garfunkel in its more angelic passages."[17] Carrie Borzillo from Record-Journal called it an "Everly Brothers-style" song.[18] A reviewer from Sandwell Evening Mail wrote, "If ever a song could be unrepresentative of a band's output, Extreme's worldwide smash hit ballad More Than Words is it."[19] Marc Andrews from Smash Hits said it is "eye-moistening".[20] Tom Nordlie from Spin noted it as "a love ballad that sounds like the Everly Brothers or early Beatles." He added, "Singer Gary Cherone harmonizes with himself as guitar-friend Nuno Bettencourt strums clean, jazzy chord accompaniment, and that's it. No sudden escalation to bombast in the middle, no reneging on the song's original promise."[21] Chad Bowar writing for LiveAbout placed the song on his list of the "Best 20 Hair Metal Ballads of the '80s and '90s".[22]

Chart performance

On March 23, 1991, "More Than Words" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 and soon after reached number one. It also reached number two in the United Kingdom and reached number one in four other countries.

Music video

The song's music video[23] was filmed in black and white[4] and was produced and directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It starts with Pat Badger turning off his amplifier and putting down his bass, and Paul Geary putting down his drumsticks. Nuno and Gary are then seen performing the song, while the other band members are shown in front of them, holding up their lighters. In the video's music rendition, the song ends abruptly before Nuno's final solo and coda.

Track listings

CD maxi

  1. "More Than Words" — 5:33
  2. "Kid Ego" — 4:04
  3. "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16

7-inch single

  1. "More Than Words" (Remix) — 3:43
  2. "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "More Than Words"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[60] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[61] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[62] Gold 35,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[63] Gold 75,000^
Sweden (GLF)[64] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[65] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[66] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "More Than Words"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 12, 1991 Cassette A&M [66]
Japan June 5, 1991 Mini-CD [67]
United Kingdom July 15, 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [68]

References
  1. "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  2. "Best Acoustic Rock Song of All Time Poll: "More Than Words" Vs. "Layla (Unplugged)"". Guitar World. NewBay Media. July 18, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. Wardlaw, Matt (June 14, 2023). "How Extreme Finally Moved Past the Stigma of 'More Than Words'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  4. Kroll, Katy (September 21, 2016). "'More Than Words' at 25: Nuno Bettencourt Recalls Battle to Release Extreme's No. 1 Hit". Billboard.
  5. "Extreme - More Than Words". July 10, 1990 – via www.discogs.com.
  6. Billik, Kira L. (June 20, 1991). "Extreme: Boston Group Riding the Funk-O-Metal Machine". Albany Herald. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  7. "The tree sides of Extreme's own story". The Daily News. October 10, 1992. p. 15. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  8. Carr, David; KNAC.com; July 16, 2009
  9. Ruhlmann, William. "Extreme - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of Extreme". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  10. Billik, Kira L. (July 12, 1991). "'Funk-o-metal' band hits it big with acoustic ballad". Rome News-Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  11. Flick, Larry (March 23, 1991). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 75. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  12. McCarthy, Sean (August 8, 1997). "Extreme - Extreme II: Pornograffitti". The Daily Vault. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  13. Cardwell, Diane (August 2, 1991). "Extreme: More than metal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
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  17. Jones, Alan (July 20, 1991). "Mainstream: Singles - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 10. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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  19. Sandwell Evening Mail. November 18, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
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  62. "Italian single certifications – Extreme – More Than Words" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 13, 2022. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "More Than Words" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  63. "Dutch single certifications – Extreme – More Than Words" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved April 28, 2020. Enter More Than Words in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1991 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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Further reading
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