CHICKENFOOT - Chickenfoot I I I

After the decent self-titled debut, here comes the second effort (curiously called "Chickenfoot III" even though no album came out in between) from the hard & heavy supergroup led by Joe Satriani. Easy enthusiasm aside, it's fair to ask, as always in these cases, how much is genuine and how much is "publicity stunt" in a band like this, which besides the virtuoso guitarist features Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums and two former Van Halen members, vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony.

Well, fans of good old-fashioned hard & heavy, at least in this case, can rest easy. "Chickenfoot III" has no pretensions of being in any way revolutionary; it simply aims to be a solid dose of hard rock embellished by Satriani's soloing gems, who much more than on the previous record truly plays the "Satriani" here, coloring Chickenfoot's music with his famous legato runs in the mid-to-high register of his Ibanez.

"Last Temptation" and "Alright Alright" immediately make clear the precise, well-defined direction this second incarnation of the band takes, with the solid verse-bridge-verse-solo formula guiding the listen throughout the record. "Different Devil" and "Up Next" conjure atmospheres that inevitably evoke classic '80s rock tied to names like Toto, Journey or Van Halen themselves. In "Up Next" especially, Satriani delivers a remarkable solo soaked in effects (a clear legacy of his electronic period) that doesn't clash at all with the song's classic structure, but rather lends it an aura of modernity that considerably enriches its appeal.

The minutes fly by, and Chickenfoot build their solid wall of sound track after track, between excellent guitar overdubs, well-crafted Satriani solos, powerful rhythms from Smith and Anthony, and Hagar's voice, particularly in good form here. Indeed, it's Hagar, together with the guitarist, who represents Chickenfoot's greatest asset, as shown by "Lighten Up", faster and punchier, and "Come Closer", more reflective and, in mood, closer to a ballad.

Echoes of Zappa resound in "Three And A Half Letters", characterized by spoken word and by the apparent sonic anarchy dominating the track's structure, one of the album's best and certainly its most experimental. The sound immediately returns to classic hard-rock territory with "Big Foot" and "Dubai Blues", which at times recall the early Aerosmith sound, while "Something Going Wrong" is the album's second (and final) slow track, with poignant lyrics enriched by the depth of Satriani's phrasing, who here plays (superbly) the role of deluxe accompanist before launching into a sober, intense solo. The album closes with "No Change", striking both for the solid bass-drum rhythm underpinning the track's structure and for the wild guitar solo intervention, as if letting loose one last time in this final song.

Ultimately, "Chickenfoot III" is a solid effort, recommended to diehard fans of classic hard rock on the lookout for a new band to sink their teeth into, and to Satriani devotees, who can't help but appreciate the New York guitarist's mastery as he navigates a role that's unusual for him.

Everyone else might well find it rather superfluous.

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22/12/2011