Published on Aug 8, 1997
Pornograffitti came at the tail end of the heavy metal Roman
empire in the late 80s and early 90s. While Nirvana would
eventually slash the jugular vein of this beast, it was still an
amusing era to look back on. I have to admit Cinderella’s
Night Songs is still one of my favorite CDs that’s not on
public display in my apartment.
Extreme was ridiculous: they had big hair, their lyrics came
straight out of a ninth grade journal, but they were indeniably
fun. Though Gary Cherone should be sending a royalty check to Paul
Stanley, his voice lifted Extreme out of the wuss metal pits
occupied by White Lion and Winger.
For slobbering musicians out there, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt
gave a performance that was par none. His solos on “Li’l Jack
Horny”, “It ‘s AMonster” and “He-Man Woman Hater” were jaw dropping
marvels. Even a staunch Velvet Underground fan would have to fight
off the urge to pick up the ol’ air guitar in
Pornograffitti‘s best moments.
Pornograffitti already ranks up in my top ten “guitar”
albums. What’s truely great though about the album is the
harmonies. The lyrics for “When I’m President” are more dated than
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but the harmony play between
Bettencourt and Cherone still are hard to resist. For full no-brain
fun,
Pornograffitti rarely disappoints.
Unfortuantely, the ever present power ballad did this band in.
“More Than Words”, a beautiful, minimal acoustic number made the
band huge, but it only represented about a tenth of what Extreme
could do. Any person who bought the album from hearing “More Than
Words” on a soft rock station had to be shocked when the white boy
Parliament nod “Get the Funk Out” came on. For the band, “More Than
Words” is the song that will still get airplay. The rest of the
album is either too innocent and poppy for the Tool-dominated hard
rock stations or from the fact that many radio stations don’t want
to acknowledge that cheesy heavy metal were their bread and butter
in the late 80s.
Aside from the funk experimentation, Extreme tried to cover
other genres of music in
Pornograffitti, with differing amounts of success. The
Beatles influenced “Song For Love” has a nice sing-along appeal to
it. Their nod to Sinatra lounge territory, “When I First Kissed
You” fell flat though. Surprisingly though, that song came nearly
seven years before the lounge fad broke out. For that weak moment,
Pornograffitti was ahead of its time, savor the irony.
The rest of the album does show a great deal of age, as with
most heavy metal albums. The Desert Storm flag-waving patriotism of
“When I’m President” had me wincing, especially after hearing of
all the civilians lost in that war. Cherone also seemed to be
suffering from a inner personality crisis in
Pornograffitti. In the title track, he damns our lustful
nature behind a crisp whallup of electric guitars. But “Suzi (Wants
Her All Day What?)” sounds like the exact song that Cherone would
condemn.
Okay, I got a little too analytical with the group there. Like
gangsta rap, lyrics take a full back seat for the sound. And few
metal bands had the chops that Extreme possessed. Bassist Pat
Badger and drummer Paul Geary were never far behind the spotlight
that Bettencourt and Cherone shined in. And when they all were on
the same level…damn. In “He Man Woman Hater”, probably the finest
song on the album, the chorus will be buzzing in your head like a
double gin and tonic. “Sooner or later you’ll be a he-man woman
hater/it’s inevitable,” it’s not Voltaire, but its something that
you can’t put out of your head, due to great musicianship.
Pornograffitti was a mini-concept album, which Extreme would
embrace fully with their next release
III Sides To Every Story. It’s one of few concept albums
that actually works. Most of the songs deal with sexual lust in one
way or another. What makes it work though is the songs are so
irresistable, it’s addictive, just as sex is.
Other metal albums accomplished more than
Pornograffitti. Albums like Metallica’s
Master Of Puppets, AC/DC’s
Back In Black and even Tool’s
Aenima have elevated heavy metal to new levels. What
Pornograffitti did best though is show heavy metal at its
most appealing and accessible. A pretty boy lead singer, a killer
guitarist and harmonies straight out of the Beatles, it’s a
formula, though sadly dated, that Extreme had nailed down.