What goes around eventually comes back around.
FINALLY, the rock gawds are back with a vengeance!
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Thank-you, Dave.
We've all been waiting a very long time for rock to return. Now, we get to savor new music from two legendary, insane rock bands. These two bands were huge at the very end of the 1980's into the early 1990's...then grunge came along and these two insane rock bands got pushed aside. Both bands have two of the most unbelievable virtuoso guitarists. Both bands have legendary lead singers, and both bands are back to shine a new light on what real rock and roll is all about. I'm talking about Winger and Extreme!
A very long time ago, one of the first CD's in my collection was Winger's (self-titled) first album, released in 1988. It boasted hits like "Madalaine", "Seventeen" and "Headed for a heartbreak". The entire album was solid rock with insane guitar work from legendary rock guitarist, Reb Beach.
Since I did not have a CD player in my 1989 Pontiac Firebird, I copied the CD to a cassette tape and played it in my car, nearly every day. I was an immediate Winger fan. Then, in 1990, Winger released their second album, "In the heart of the young". This album had hits like "Miles away" and "Easy come, easy go".
1990 would prove to be a banner year for rock.
Another insane rock band, Extreme, with an equally insane virtuoso shredder, Nuno Bettencourt, raised the bar just a little higher. Even though Extreme was known more for their two hits, "More than words" and "Hole Hearted", the rest of the album hid some deep treasures like, "Get the funk out", where Nuno shreds a solo like nothing I had ever heard before.
In my humble opinion, Reb Beach and Nuno Bettencourt are arguably two of the top five virtuoso's of rock guitar gawds in the world.
The world of rock guitar has been waiting for thirty-plus years for the light to finally be focused in a much more promising direction. Even though Winger has released several albums since those early days, "Pull" released in 1993, was really, the last real successful album for Winger. Remember "Down incognito"? This is in no way meant to imply that Winger's music wasn't good. It was unbelievably good. Everything they've ever done has been unbelievably good. Why? Because of the musicianship and the songwriting. Kip Winger is one of the most underrated musicians of our time. Somehow, Winger has survived all of these years by writing and recording high-end, quality rock music. Yes, originally, Winger was one of the last gems of the glam-rock hair era of the 1980's, but the band has long since grown exponentially, and has long since shed those ridiculous identities to become bona-fide legendary rock musicians.
I have been an unconditional diehard Winger fan since the beginning. I was lucky enough to see Kip Winger do his solo acoustic show way back in 2002. I was completely blown away by Kip's talent. Unfortunately, I still haven't seen the entire band play live, but I have seen most of the videos.
Okay, so what about Extreme? Extreme released their second album, "Pornograffitti" in 1990. It was a hugely successful album. Then, for whatever reasons, it all fizzled out for them. Nothing they did after that ever really made it to the charts. The lead singer for Extreme, "Gary Cherone" actually joined Van Halen, after the band had a falling out with Sammy Hagar, and failed attempts to bring David Lee Roth back to the band.
Van Halen released "III" in 1998 to less than stellar reviews. Unfortunately, the album bombed. Meanwhile, Extreme all but disappeared until the middle of the digital age when many of those old songs began popping up on playlists. The grunge era had all but ended by the early 2000's, and rock music had all but disappeared from the mainstream music world.
Now, here's the good part...
Winger just released their new single "Proud Desperado",
…and let me tell you, it rocks! Winger "Seven" is due to be released in May 2023. Pre-order sales are available online now. These guys are taking back the very definition of Rock Star.
Guess what…
Extreme just released "Rise"
Holy balls!!! My faith has been restored! It is so refreshing to hear great rock and roll from great rock and roll musicians again. In a perfect world, this new rock will sweep the planet and make believers out of cynics.
"Proud Desperado" and "Rise" have made me a believer, once again. I have hope for the future of rock and roll, and I hope these albums become the catalysts for great rock bands everywhere to make great rock and roll once again.