| CD REVIEW Chickenfoot |
 |
|
Band : Chickenfoot You might be surprised to find another review of this band’s debut album but for some reason our editor-in-chief felt that initial review (by a collegue, posted at the end of June), didn’t quite meet the quality this band exhudes…so he threw the job at me! Supergroup Chickenfoot came into being after some incidental jam sessions in early 2008! Supergroup? Yeah, that’s what a band can and must be called when the likes of singer Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony (both previously of Van Halen, Hagar since then also back active with his solo band The Waboritas, having moved to Pabo San Lucas in Mexico where he opened his Cabo Wabo Cantina club and started his own brand of tequila), drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and guitarist Joe Satriani put their combined talents together! Actually, Smith had already been jamming with Hagar & Anthony for a while (and already gelled to the point of wanting to start a band with the addition of a smoking guitarist) when Satriani stumbled in and plugged in his guitar as well. Although the guitarist is mainly known (and popular) for his solo instrumental music, it is a public secret that ever since his beginning days Joe has wanted to be part of a real band, fronted by a classy singer. Somehow attempts of joining a band (he’s had plenty of offers), but after that memorable first jam session he knew that he’d found the people he wanted to be in a band with. The band’s first public performance was in February 2008 at a Hagar concert in Las Vegas. The three-song set played included cover versions of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock And Reoll” and Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy”. By that time Satriani had already set out composing most of the music which would eventually land on this album, addapting his usual style to that for a song-oriented band. That the synergy is this band works both ways, is proven by the fact that Hagar from his side also adapted hís vocal stylings somewhat, after having heard what Satriani was preparing. In his own words (see myspace.com/chickenfoot), the material made him reach & stretch, sing in a way he normally wouldn’t have done! The illustrous four eventually came together at George Lucas’ Skywalker Studios with renowned producer Andy Johns during the Fall of 2008 to record the 11 songs that can now be found on Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut album (the name, by the way, a reference to the dispariging term used to describe the reversed peace symbol, also known as the “footprint of the American chicken”, and therefore not without a certain political stance-taking). Lyrically, Hagar reached to subjects far and wide apart, starting the album with the socio-politically laden “Avenida Revolution” (in which Hagar voices his feelings about the drug wars in Tijunana). More “mature” themes for the lyrics come with “Runnin’ Out” (about a world stretched to the breaking point) and “Learning To Fall” (about the singer’s relationship with his wife)…but of course you do get some of the “usual” Rock ‘n’ Roll lyrics dealing with life on the road (“Soap On A Rope”) and the conquest of the more appealing portion of music fans (“Sexy Little Thing” and “Oh Yeah”, for instance). What’s more important than the lyrics though, is the way the 11 songs crawl under one’s skin with each additional listening session one gives it. Personally, when I’m listening to new albums there comes a time when I’ve listened to ‘em long enough to get saturated by ‘em, and I’ll quite gladly turn over to something new…not that I’m getting bored with what was on offer, just that I’ve had enough of it, see? This does not happen with Chickenfoot! I’d have to say that the several mood changes (from serious to more superficial, from touching ballad to heavy outbursts, from rather “normal” Rock song to exhuberant display where both Hagar and Satriani go all the way giving each other competition in “craziness”) help out in wanting to listen to the album over and over again! Hagar ocasionally doés go all the way vocally, and although Satriani adapted his play to suit a Big Vocals band, there’s still plenty of moments where he gets to show off some! On top, there’s the expert foundation laid down by both Anthony and Smith (who’s proven before to also be a great Rock drummer, having sessioned, among others, for Glenn Hughes). Yep, this is definitely one of those rare recordings destined to become a classic album. You can listen to some 30-second song samples and a full-length “Sexy little Thing” (which is weird since in the US it’s “Oh Yeah” which was chosen as the album’s first single). Ooh, before I forget…I’ve been wondering whom was responsible for the sparce bits of keyboards played on the album (additional atmospherics during “Oh Yeah”, some background drone during “Down The Drain” and “Learning To Fall” and some moody but well-placed piano during album closing Rock ballad “Future’s In The Past”)…probably Satriani himself, eh? But how they’re gonna do those songs on stage? With the album out since the beginning of June, I can already tell you that over in the States it already went up high in the US charts (#4 in Billboard, one step higher in the US Rock charts, and even to the top place in the US Indie charts…and a 5th place in the Canadian album charts). In Europe it didn’t do as well (best positions were #23 and #25 in the UK and Dutch charts respectively), but then Europe has always shown itself a slow starter for new things. In fact, I predict sales in Europe might continue for a while to come. And I’m sure the band’s recent European tour (started late June with separate shows alternated with appearances at such big festivals like Austria’s Nova Rock, Belgium’s Graspop, Italy’s Blues Festival, Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival, Sweden’s Rockweekend, and Holland’s Bospop) has given the band a couple of additional fans which may be looking for the album at this very moment. Notations in the US charts may linger a little longer as well, as Chickenfoot only started their tour over there in August (for more specific dqtes, check out the bqnd’s Myspace page)! If you’re looking for tickects in presale for any of those shows, I can tell you you’re too late, since everything’s been sold out in advance. Still, some tickets may still be floating around (as usual). Right…so Chickenfoot gets a definite “Best Album Of 2009” notation, see?!!! Darn…I’m sorry to be at the end of this review…because now I’m gonna have to turn my attention to the couple dozen of other reviews I’ve pushed back again and again to allow me to give Chickenfoot another turn in the cd-player! 99/100 Tony. |