846. Chickenfoot / Chickenfoot. 2009. 3/5

Every so often a so-called "super group" will come along that sparks excitement and curiosity in the music world and everyday pundits alike. The relative interest in such groups will generally intensify up until that initial album release, and once it is out in the open they tend to fall back to the level of interest shown in just how good their material is. In recent times none was shown more interest than Chickenfoot, and this is the debut album from the star studded quartet.

Anyone who came in looking for similarities to the Hagar-era Van Halen or Satriani solo material or Chili Peppers funkiness can leave the room now, because that's not what this is about at all. Sure, the initial buzz you get from anticipating what a foursome that includes Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith is that this should be a sure thing, an album that ticks every box and produces a masterpiece in a fusion of all of their styles of music. Well, as you will have guessed, that is exactly what we didn't get. Instead, we have a solid hard rock album that combines a little from a lot of music styles, but I guess mostly centring around Hagar's more recent Cabo Wabo style. In essence we have an interesting album that doesn't produce anything groundbreaking or outstanding like you have hoped they would. Instead they have stayed within the parameters of comfort, not breaking new ground but not disturbing the old ground either. Certainly the more outlandish of the musicians here, Satriani and Smith, stay remarkably cool and don't break the constraints of the song structure. That's not to say they aren't given their moment in the sun throughout the course of the album, but they are much more restrained in their output compared to their other day jobs, which is probably where this sometimes feels a little too structured. Sure, Joe gets to break out on a solo around the place, and Chad even breaks out of that 2/4 rhythm every now and then to lay on a roll or two, but then they are reigned back in to follow the basic hard rock song formula. And that's merging of the two real styles of the two halves of the band. While Sammy and Michael have played together for a long time in Van Halen, they have made these kind of songs their own, and the style just rolls off their instruments with ease.
The more you listen to the album, the more natural it feels, and you can't help but be impressed by what they have achieved. It will appeal to hard rock fans more than the heavy metal brigade, if only because of songs such as "Learning to Fall" which draw from the soft rock ballads heart, a follow-the-numbers track that covers every required aspect of that type of song. Those that enjoy ballads will be satisfied. Those that do not will question their reasons for buying this album. There are plenty of good hard rock tracks here though where the real roots of the quartet come to the fore, such as "Sexy Little Thing" and "Runnin' Out" and "Get It Up". The musicianship is superb, and Sammy and Michael's vocals are as good as ever. Satch's trademark guitaring still breaks out enough in places to steal the show, such as in "Turnin' Left", while Chad's wonderful drum sound is still up there with the best in the business.

Chickenfoot might be a dreadful name for a band, and it mightn't be the first thing I reach for when I'm looking for a album to put on in most circumstances, but I can say with certainty that having listen to it again over the past few days in order to write this review, it's one that I won't put to the back of my mind in the future. It is an album that is better than it first appears once you get past the old "super group" analogy.

Rating:  Stand up or be degraded, some things are simply overrated.  3/5