Extreme (album)

Extreme is the first studio album by the American glam metal band Extreme, released in 1989 by A&M Records. The album reached No. 80 on the Billboard 200,[4] and produced the minor Mainstream Rock hit "Kid Ego".[5] The single "Play with Me" is featured on the soundtrack for the comedy film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure,[6] an opening episode of season 4 of Stranger Things,[7] and the 2007 rhythm game, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.[8]

Extreme
Studio album by
Released1989
Genre
Length45:00
LabelA&M
ProducerMack, Extreme
Extreme chronology
Extreme
(1989)
Extreme II: Pornograffitti
(1990)
Singles from Extreme
  1. "Play with Me"
    Released: February 1989
  2. "Kid Ego"
    Released: March 1989
  3. "Little Girls"
    Released: July 1989
  4. "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)"
    Released: September 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Music

The album has been primarily described as glam metal,[9][10] but has also been described as funk-metal,[11] and hard rock.[12]

Reception

The album sold modestly well at around 300,000 units,[13] and was favored by heavy metal fans, but did not achieve significant mainstream success.[14] Three of the album's singles, "Little Girls", "Kid Ego", and "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)", received medium airplay on Headbangers Ball.

Extreme was met with mixed reception. AllMusic gave the album three stars saying,"Extreme's first album shows the band struggling to shed their influences, particularly Van Halen, and develop a style of their own; consequently, it's wildly uneven, but guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is always worth hearing".[1] In his review for Extreme II: Pornograffitti, Bryan Rolli called the album "rote glam metal".[9] Rolling Stone writer Kim Neely gave the album three stars, but called it an "extremely good listen".[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Cherone & Bettencourt, except "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)" by Cherone, LeBeaux & Hunt.

No.TitleLength
1."Little Girls"3:47
2."Wind Me Up"3:37
3."Kid Ego"4:04
4."Watching, Waiting"4:54
5."Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)"4:52
6."Teacher's Pet"3:02
7."Big Boys Don't Cry"3:34
8."Smoke Signals"4:14
9."Flesh 'n' Blood"3:31
10."Rock a Bye Bye"5:57
11."Play with Me" (not present on any vinyl releases except Australia and New Zealand)3:29
Total length:45:00

Personnel

Additional musicians
Production
  • Mack – producer on all tracks, except 2, 3 and 4, engineer, mixing
  • Bob St. John – engineer, mixing
  • Nigel Green – mixing on tracks 2, 3 and 4
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
  • Jeff Gold – art direction
  • Harris Savides – photography

Charts

Album

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] 97
Billboard 200[4] 80

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1989 "Kid Ego" Mainstream Rock[5] 39

Accolades

Publication Year Country Accolade Rank
Guitar World 2008 US Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties[10] 8

References

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Extreme - Extreme | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  2. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  3. Neely, Kim (July 13, 1989). "Extreme: Extreme - Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  4. "Extreme by Extreme | Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  5. "Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  6. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-08-08
  7. Romano, Evan (2022-05-27). "The 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Soundtrack Is an '80s Nostalgia Trip". Men's Health. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  8. Bergman, Kieth. "'Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s': Complete List Of Songs Revealed". Blabbermouth. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  9. Rolli, Bryan (July 1, 2021). "Top 30 Glam Metal Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2021-07-16. Extreme built upon the rote glam metal of their self-titled debut
  10. "Guitar World - Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties". Guitar World. December 12, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  11. DeRiso, Nick (August 7, 2015). "Revisiting Extreme's Path to Success With 'Pornograffitti'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  12. Draper, Jason (March 14, 2021). "Extreme – And The Debut Album That Tapped Their Maximum Potential". uDiscover Music. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  13. A&M Records History. A&M Records. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  14. "Extreme: More than metal". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  15. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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