Extreme, "Christmas Time Again"

[jazklash]

From 1992, one of the tracks included in the second volume of the charitable A Very Special Christmas series. If anything, it confirmed (if any more proof was needed) that melodic hard rock was just the tie which held Extreme's music together, as they encompassed influences as disparate as funk, soul, psychedelia, prog or, like the case of this song, pure Brian-Wilson-esque pop. Which, in practical terms, wasn't very far from making a case for Extreme as one of the true heirs of Queen's OTT eclectic approach to hard(er) rock.
Anyway, if Extreme were thinking about this song as mere throwaway for a charity compilation, then their plans backfired, as "Christmas Time Again" is a more than half-decent addition to the Christmas music canon.
Oh, and probably due to Nuno Bettencourt's well-publicized Portuguese origins, this song has become one of radio's standards during the holidays in this very country.