Hierophant Nox

ALBUM REVIEW

Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot
Edel Entertainment
"Supergroup" – usually a word that fills anyone with an ounce of common sense with nameless dread! So why should this conglomeration of colossal superegos be any different? Well. You can take it from me – this "supergroup" is genuinely refreshingly different! If you’ve not heard of Chickenfoot, which cave have you been hiding in? these guys are sensational as a working unit, and are simply (musically speaking) in a league of their own!
Collectively ‘they’ are Sammy Hagar (vocals), Joe Satriani (guitars), Michael Anthony (bass guitars), and Chad Smith (drums). So we have (solo stars who just also happened to be members of ‘minor league’ little known acts such as Montrose/Van Halen, Deep Purple, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Glenn Hughes Band/G3/Mick Jagger Band etc – who now are kickin’ ass as a tighter than fuck band in their own right! And doin’ it mighty fine they are too!!! Hell yeah!
So NO, its not in any shape or form ‘extreme’, in fact its American stadium/arena Rock plain and simple – but Gods and Goddesses it is so SO good! I know that the Van Halen brothers have young ‘Wolfie’ in on bass guitars, and have lured "Diamond" Dave back onboard now… but now VH is in major trouble! The deities know, I was never a fan of Van Hagar, but this Hagar fronted album is simply sublime – and IF Van Halen does actually manage to put a new studio album out, it is going to have a colossal struggle to be a fraction as good as this seemingly effortlessly is!
The Red Rocker and ex VH bass slinger Michael Anthony must be laughing fit to burst now. Mike has the most reason to gloat than anyone, shamefully ‘removed’ from that band in favour of Eddie’s son, he (Mike) now is a full partner is something absolutely remarkable – and totally deservedly too I might add! Sam the Man is in sublime vocal form, he sounds absolutely sensational, if I were DLR…I would be a very frightened man right now. Dave might be a brilliant frontman, but Sam is just light-years ahead as a singer…all that soul and emotion? Wow!
Chad Smith is a swingin’ powerhouse, his thunderous yet loose and almost jazzy drumming is an absolute delight. I’m not a huge RHCP fan, but I could listen to him play with these guys all day and all night too! HOWEVER…the real ‘revelation’ here (for this humble scribe anyway) is the ‘Satch! What The Fuck? He has become the consummate ‘team player’, tastefully reserved and laid back for the most, his tuneful fretwork being just perfect, then when he does need to ‘cut loose’ – simply glorious! It’s all gracefully tuneful too, not ‘widdling’ for the sake of it! Joe Satriani comes of age in the most creative of ways! Who would have guessed he could be part of a team, not just the centre of it? Brilliant!
The production is absolutely spot on, Andy Johns has done a stunning job, and the mix is cleanly and deftly handled by Mike Fraser, congratulations to them both, you’ve done sterling work gentlemen! AND…there are songs! (REAL songs!) are all absolutely top notch, not a single weak link to be found anywhere. The album itself is beautifully presented and packaged in heat-sensitive (thermo-graphic) ink, so when held, reveals a host of hidden images front and back – nice touch guys! This 12 track debut is absolutely corking, a genuine pleasure to experience, and has been jammed in my CD player set on ‘continuous play’ for what feels like ages now – a real rarity for this jaded old hack I can tell you! A rare gem! Destined to be a classic! BUY OR DIE.