III Sides to Every Story in Bloomington, MN

Extreme
's brand of hard rock balanced ambitious, progressive tendencies with catchy melodies owing more to
the Beatles
than anthemic arena rock; on
III Sides to Every Story
, the former tends to dominate. The album is divided into three "sides of the story" -- roughly speaking, "Yours" concentrates on politically oriented rockers showing off
Nuno Bettencourt
's virtuosity; "Mine" leans toward pop songs with warmly romantic sensibilities, plus an occasional philosophical lament; and "The Truth" tries to wrap things up into a coherent whole but dissolves into indigestible prog-rock excess. Thus, the thematic material can be likened to a less focused version of
Pornograffitti
. 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. ~ Steve Huey