1989 studio album by Extreme
Extreme Released 1989 Genre Length 45 :00 Label A&M Producer Mack , Extreme "Play with Me" Released: February 1989 "Kid Ego" Released: March 1989 "Little Girls" Released: July 1989 "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)" Released: September 1989
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]
The album has been primarily described as glam metal ,[ 9] [ 10] but has also been described as funk-metal ,[ 11] and hard rock .[ 12]
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]
All songs written by Cherone & Bettencourt, except "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today)" by Cherone, LeBeaux & Hunt.
Title 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
Pat Badger – bass guitar , backing vocals Nuno Bettencourt – guitar , synthesizer , piano , backing vocals, percussion, orchestration, mixing Gary Cherone – lead & backing vocals, design, logo design Paul Geary – drums , percussion, backing vocals, logo design 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 Year Single Chart Position 1989 "Kid Ego" Mainstream Rock[ 5] 39
Publication Year Country Accolade Rank Guitar World 2008 US Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties[ 10] 8
^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas . "Extreme - Extreme | Songs, Reviews, Credits" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 16, 2021 . ^ 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 . ^ a b Neely, Kim (July 13, 1989). "Extreme: Extreme - Music Reviews" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2015 . ^ a b "Extreme by Extreme | Billboard 200 Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-08-08 . ^ a b "Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-08-08 . ^ Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic , retrieved 2021-08-08 ^ Romano, Evan (2022-05-27). "The 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Soundtrack Is an '80s Nostalgia Trip" . Men's Health . Retrieved 2022-06-05 . ^ Bergman, Kieth. " 'Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s': Complete List Of Songs Revealed" . Blabbermouth . Retrieved 11 August 2022 . ^ a b 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 ^ a b "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 . ^ DeRiso, Nick (August 7, 2015). "Revisiting Extreme's Path to Success With 'Pornograffitti' " . Ultimate Classic Rock . Retrieved April 17, 2021 . ^ Draper, Jason (March 14, 2021). "Extreme – And The Debut Album That Tapped Their Maximum Potential" . uDiscover Music . Retrieved April 17, 2021 . ^ A&M Records History . A&M Records . Retrieved March 3, 2021. ^ "Extreme: More than metal" . EW.com . Archived from the original on 2021-08-08. Retrieved 2021-08-08 . ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6 .
Studio albums Live albums Compilations Singles Tours Related articles