Illegal Foreign Object

Full disclosure: I hated Extreme’s Waiting For The Punchline when it came out in 1995. I thought it reeked of selling out to the grunge sounds of the day, a move I found particularly gross after releasing an almost perfect, Queen-like masterpiece with III Sides To Every Story three years prior.

I had high(ish) hopes after hearing “Hip Today”, the first single off Waiting For The Punchline — based on my enjoyment of that song alone, I scooped up the album. Then, I just got angry. Weird vocal effects, muddy guitar tones, and a clear attempt at maintaining relevancy amid an ever-dwindling fanbase left me thoroughly unimpressed. I give everything multiple listens — I’ve always believed in giving my ears a chance to hear what the artist heard when they wrote/recorded/released the music — (I thought) this just sucked. I tossed Waiting For The Punchline into my collection of 5,000+ CDs and forgot about it for roughly a dozen years.

I randomly decided to give the album another shot in late 2007 after I read that Extreme had re-formed and was working on new music. The album still didn’t do much for me, and back onto the shelf it went.

Fifteen years later, and here we are all over again. Track by track, I’m running through Waiting For The Punchline to see if time has done anything to quell the disappointment I’ve always felt when listening to this album.

Admittedly, “There Is No God” cooks. I’ve always liked the groove to it, and Gary Cherone’s vocal has just enough “piss and vinegar” that I can almost ignore the silly lyrics. That part he sings right after the solo at 4:47 is fantastic. “Cynical” follows, and two songs into this listening exercise, I might be forced to change my tune. “Cynical” has a decent groove, and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt’s playing, though swampy as shit, is funky as hell. The drumming on the verses drives me insane, however.

I still can’t wrap my arms around “Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know”. It’s jammy and rough, and despite Cherone singing his balls off, it feels like a demo. The intro is cool, and bassist Pat Badger and drummer Mike Mangini go for it, but a 6-minute and 24-second song should take the listener somewhere (this one doesn’t).

In retrospect, “Hip Today” may have as much to do with me never getting into this album as any of the sonic choices made by the band. I dug this song from the first time I heard it. It’s hooky and has a huge chorus, but the rest of the album is much darker, which initially threw me off and colored my opinion.

“Naked” and “Leave Me Alone” sound like Extreme trying to sound like Soundgarden. I’m not entirely convinced they weren’t — these songs just don’t do anything for me. Also, the vocal effects still annoy me to no end. Sandwiched between these heartless attempts at genre-biting, however, is the finest moment on the album, Nuno’s “Midnight Express”.

I have to accept that I’ll dislike “No Respect” forever. The robotic “Reeee-speeect” actually pisses me off. They’re going for a David Lee Roth “Skyscraper” thing there, but it doesn’t work. Nuno tries to save it with a killer solo, but there’s just no saving this song. Let it drown. “Evilangelist”, however, is a song I used to despise. Now, well, I don’t hate it. I actually love the intro — it grooves like a motherfucker.

When I bought Waiting For The Punchline in 1995, “Shadow Boxing” was “the other song I like(d)” from it. The drum sound is brutal, but Nuno’s playing is perfect. I also like the shared vocals between Nuno and Gary in the chorus. “Unconditionally is another tune about which I’ve changed my tune. The harmonies are beautiful, and Gary’s vocals are off the charts. The vocal part at the 3:20 mark has serious balls.

The title track on the album bums me out, but not because it isn’t good. Nuno plays his ass off, but the vocal effect and garbage production/mix make it impossible to embrace. “Fair-weather Faith” wasn’t included on the US album release of Waiting For The Punchline, but I’ve included it because I dig it a little. It has a “Politicalcalamity” groove to the verses, and I like Pat and Nuno’s harmonies on the choruses — very Pornograffiti.

I write what I think and feel, but I’ve never gotten too heavy into eviscerating an artist for their choices. AC/DC isn’t wrong for making the same-sounding records for 50 years, and Radiohead isn’t wrong for making drastic album-to-album changes. The role of the artist is in the creation of the art. After that, it’s up to the person consuming the art to go for the ride or hop off the train (but never to dictate the direction).

Waiting For The Punchline is an album I’d love to hear remixed. I’d love for Bob St. John, who mixed this album back in 1995 to take another stab at it (with Nuno tied to a chair and gagged in another room). As presently constituted, I no longer “hate” it — but it might be another fifteen years before I give it another shot.

Tracklist:

1. There Is No God 7/10
2. Cynical 6/10
3. Tell Me Something I Don’t Know 5/10
4. Hip Today 8/10
5. Naked 5/10
6. Midnight Express 9/10
7. Leave Me Alone 5/10
8. No Respect 3/10
9. Evilangelist 6/10
10. Shadow Boxing 8/10
11. Unconditionally 8/10
12. Waiting For The Punchline 4/10
13. Fair-Weather Faith 6/10

Grade: 62