Supergroups are often motley groups seemingly formed at the end of an after-concert party but few are quite as strange as
Chickenfoot, an endeavor featuring
Van Halen's
Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, guitar legend
Joe Satriani, and drummer
Chad Smith from
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These four musicians are tied together by their many years playing in the arena rock trenches, a circuit that doesn't necessarily yield common musical ground although it does lend its veterans a certain knack for pleasing crowds. This eagerness is evident on the band's eponymous 2009 debut, which should come as no surprise seeing that
Sammy Hagar has never seen a party he couldn't rock, but this mentality doesn't quite jibe with
Satriani's immaculate, tightly controlled playing.
Satch always seems to want to burst out but can't help leaning on precision, a problem that's the polar opposite to
Hagar's let-it-all-hang-out philosophy, and this dichotomy is mirrored in the rhythm section, where Anthony's chugging bass doesn't quite fill the gaps
Smith leaves. All this means is that
Chickenfoot's big picture is roughly in place but the pieces don't quite fit. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine