CDReview: Chickenfoot

 

      Chickenfoot

S/T

It is the hottest time of the year in ....Texas.... right now. I should know because I am spending a majority of my time under that huge sun; not for fun though, but because I have to work in it. Exactly what do I mean by that? It’s quite simple. When your professional job—you know, the one you went to school for and spend all hours doing—forces you to take a mandatory weeklong furlough and a five percent salary cut, it makes you have to do as many others at the moment and seek another job to help makes the ends meet. It feels as though I am reliving the college life with two or three jobs! I thought that life would be well behind me now.

So, what is this new side job? Well for now I am working as a ranch hand. I’m no stranger to that kind of work; I grew up on a farm. Sadly though, it is not my family’s farm but another and it is in central ....Texas....…and I bunk with a few other guys. The good news there is that I am in a run all by myself. The days are long but never boring. If we are not in the field, we might be herding cattle or breaking horses. That was the job for today, breaking the horses, and a sore one at that! Several beautiful and expensive equine are now ready for riding for sure…my ass assures me of that.

With a late day coming to a finish, the equine housed, I along with the other ranch hands rushed to the kitchen for a good hot and filling meal: pork chops, smothered potatoes, grilled corn, stuffed peppers and a big ole glass of ice cold milk. Of course there was dessert to accompany the entrée, homemade peach pie right out of the oven. With a meal of this size, I was stuffed and tired to boot. I took a hot shower, and then decided to call it a night and go to bed. The next morning we were to be cornfield and it was to be a pretty hot day, so conserving my energy for that would benefit me in the long run.

I climbed into my bed, turned off the light and enjoyed the refreshing chill from the air conditioner. I was trying to sleep, which was a feat in itself due to the noise from the other room from the guys drinking and playing cards. I’m not the type of person spoil everyone’s good time in order for my convenience, but I was also too tired to join in on the fun. And since there way no sweet little thing to cuddle with, I grabbed my mp3 player and headphones, which had several new albums on it I needed to enjoy. One release did stick out in name alone, and I knew it would bring the rock. It was something I definitely wanted to hear. I put on my headphones, pushed play, closed my eyes and prepared for some rock and roll.

Leave it to Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Chad Smith to form a super group with a name that stands out: Chickenfoot. They have been around long enough that in addition to all their talent, with a name and logo such as Chickenfoot is a great promotional and marketing tool! Besides bringing in a brilliant and unique band name, this group of super rockers also has brought back what real rock and roll sounds like and the return of working together as a band! Each member brings something unique and compliments one another. Guess what? It works!

Now, with such a caliber of musicians forming Chickenfoot, one might think that from the beginning to the ending of this self titled release would be the most creative and groundbreaking material; something that would unite pastel colors and unicorns with the dark cloaked creatures of the night! Guess again. These guys are not together to be bigger rock gods that they already are (been there and done that), but to have fun and just jam. In today’s musical world, most musicians have forgotten that it is okay to be fun and have a good time; that’s what rock and roll used to be, that’s its purpose. Chickenfoot is funny in name, and damn fun rock and roll the way it should be.

Solid musicianship pours the foundation for a straight rock album. Stated before, each musician brings something different to the music and it meshes well. Sammy’s vocals are still climbing and soulful; Satch provides the emotion in his fretwork, while Anthony and Smith do not miss a pounding beat in the rhythm. All through the release classic rock elements of early Montrose and the Hagar era of Van Halen can be heard, specifically on the tracks Soap on a Rope, and Avenido Revolution and Runnin’ Out respectively. Let’s not forget the funk and groove that these souls display showcased (in what a way) in the closing number Future in the Past. All the while, Michael Anthony’s harmony vocals with Sammy are just phenomenal! I don’t think the Van Halen brothers knew exactly what they were losing, and if they did—shame on them!

Chickenfoot is not an album to break down the walls to the next biggest step in the rock world, but it is a damn fun one…and those are hard to come by nowadays. Not too bad for four guys who get along good, then and now.

I was sleeping rather soundly, dreaming I was a contestant on Big Brother and having a showmance when I was awoke by the other farmhands busting into my room freaked out about something. They were nervously excited about something and told me to follow them. I grabbed my clothes, boots, and hat as I ran out of the farmhouse…just after sunrise at that. They were speaking in Spanish and something about the alien and surfing amongst the crops. We ran up a small hill above the 20 acre field of corn we were to work this day. Down below amongst the field was a crop circle, circular shape with lines. I could do nothing but shake my head as I hung it. The crop circle was the logo of the group I had been listening to all night: Chickenfoot.

Sammy and those boys just have way too much fun…