RATINGS: A = must own B = buy it C= average D = yawn F = puke

Extreme - Pornograffitti Live 25: Metal Meltdown
Loud and Proud Records
http://loudandproudrecords.com/?post_type=releases&p=28593

Rating: B

Yes rockers, rocker-chicks, metal heads and headbangers… gone are the big hair, the spandex, the mullets and the padded bras... (Victoria made me say that... gotta keep the Secret.)  We’ve grown up. And unless we are baggage handlers at airports or work for our uncle, society has taken its toll on us and made us change our looks.  As what we have left turns gray and begins to sag, we must also put up with the hard fact that we’ve been left behind, a dying breed… the modern day cowboys… we’re renegades of a bygone era.

Need more proof?  Let this one gnaw on ya a bit… the massively successful double platinum album by the band Extreme titled Pornograffitti is now a quarter century old.  Hell… I’ve got kids older than that!

Despite the constant reminders that the rock ‘n’ roll universe has vanished away like your daddy’s best jeans… wait… how did I stray from funky metal to Cat Stevens?  Shit.  Well, you know what I’m trying to say.  Back to the story… despite the fact that 25 years have come and gone, we can still rock in America (sorry Hillary)… hmm… not Extreme, but rather Night Ranger.  This review is really going off the rails... Thanks, Ozzy. What I’m getting at is that the music is not dead and there is proof that it is still vital and has passed the test of time.

The classic multi-platinum album has been recently performed live, videotaped, and recorded and will hit the virtual shelves, where an actual product can be ordered and shipped to your door.  It is titled Pornograffitti Live 25: Metal Meltdown... and it rocks.

This is part of the four-part release from Rock Fuel Media and Loud & Proud Records.  The video was directed by Brian Lockwood and the package is a monster that includes a Blu-ray, DVD, and audio CD of the complete concert that was filmed on May 30, 2015 at The Joint inside the world famous Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. As if that were not enough, this release also includes a Rockshow, which is a documentary of the band, complete with exclusive interviews and archival footage.  As great as the concert is… the documentary is even greater!

Gary Cherone commented on the concert in the press release for the package, "It was a great thrill to perform 'Pornograffitti' in its entirety. Some of these songs were never played live before so we had to go back and relearn them for the tour. The album was a watershed moment in the bands career… it's when we came in to our own and it will always be special."

Hell, this damn review can be best summed up by the producer of the set, a guy named Barry Summers of Rock Fuel Media.  Barry said this… and Classic Rock Revisited agrees, “Over 25 years after this iconic album was released, we captured the band at their very best. Watching Nuno Bettencourt's off-the-charts guitar solos is simply mind-blowing, as confirmed by Queen's Brian May and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, whom we filmed paying homage to the Guitar God himself in the 'Rockshow' documentary. One of the highlights of the documentary is a moment where Gary and Nuno are sitting on the doorstep of Gary's childhood home, and they perform a spontaneous version of 'More Than Words'."

There ya go… if you need visual and audio proof then click below and check out the trailer.

"Pornograffitti Live 25: Metal Meltdown" track listing:
01. Decadence Dance
02. Li'l Jack Horny
03. When I'm President
04. Get the Funk Out
05. More Than Words
06. Money (In God We Trust)
07. It's A Monster
08. Pornograffitti
09. When I First Kissed You
10. Suzi (Wants Her All Day What?)
11. Flight Of The Wounded Bumble Bee
12. He-Man Woman Hater
13. Song For Love
14. Hole Hearted
15. Play With Me*
16. Cupid's Dead*

By Jeb “Oh Very Young” Wright