OK, it’s the first I’ve heard of this so-called rock supergroup named Chickenfoot. And I’m guessing you’ve missed the newsflash too.

Chickenfoot is a band made up of guitar-whiz and Coldplay-litigator Joe Satriani, ex-Van Halen members Sammy Hagar (vocals) and Michael Anthony (bass). And long-time Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith. It seems to be a strange, giddy mix, as evidenced by the video on chickenfoot.us, their official website.

Satriani describes their music as:

The style is high-energy, kick-ass rock n’ roll. We all bring to the table some unusual influences and then we also share a lot of roots. We’ll draw from funk, blues and experimental. We know what we want to get out of it. We want passages in songs that develop and we want everyone’s personality to be able to come out.

You can keep up with bassist Michael Anthony’s blog for more Chickenfoot news. Sammy Hagar’s blog is on his official website.

Anyway, the group is planning to release a self-titled debut album this summer. It’s due out in June, and will feature 11 tracks.

The band will commence touring Europe in support of the album. The first date on the tour is Austria on 20th June.

Track Listing

1. Avenida Revolution
2. Soap on a Rope
3. Sexy Little Thing
4. Oh Yeah
5. Runnin’ Out
6. Get It Up
7. Down the Drain
8. My Kinda Girl
9. Learning to Fall
10. Turnin’ Left
11. Future in the Past

As a fan of all these guys previous ventures, I’m looking forward to hearing what they’ve cooked up together. From the snippets on the Chickenfoot website, it’s sounding good so far. I need to hear more though.

Hey, Chickenfoot – get in touch! I want a review copy of that album!

Recently, I got a copy and took it out for a drive. What did I discover? A hard rockin’ album with real teeth, that’s what! VH purists knock F.U.C.K. as being one of their worst albums, but I was blown away by the sheer power and consistency of the album – you can just feel the energy on every track.

The Singles
Easing you into and out of the album are the two big singles, starter Poundcake and closing track Top Of The World. It’s hard to believe the video for Poundcake was made nearly thirteen years ago. It had the stock busty girls, but it’s best bit was every time Sammy Hagar sang loud, the microphone seemed to swell and throb which was just brilliant! I always thought Top Of The World was the weaker track, but after a few weeks, that intro riff really gets into your head and the lead break is fantastic. It’s a really heavy pop/rock track that grabs you from start to finish.

Best Bits
Needless to say, the two singles are amazing tracks. The rest of the album is excellent, particularly Judgement Day, Runaround, The Dream Is Over and Right Now. If you think about it in context, this album came out during the emergence of the ‘Seattle scene’. Although it went multi-platinium, it doesn’t get much recognition these days. But FUCK is a pounding heavy rock album which keeps the energy up throughout, by a powerful, tight and talented group who seem to be really enjoying themselves.

Songs To Skip Over
You need to be warned about the (only) two weak tracks here: Spanked and Man On A Mission. Neither do much for me and interrupt the flow of the album. Spanked, in particular, is terrible. AC/DC or Aerosmith could do a mean sex song, but it’s not Van Halen’s strongest area! 316 is the customary bit of guitar noodling from Eddie. It would normally annoy me, but serves as an extended intro to Top Of The World, so it escapes my wrath!

All in all, though, this thirteen year old record (I can’t believe it’s been that long!!) is truely excellent. If you’re revisiting your youth or simply want something to bop along to in your car, get FUCKed!

This review was kindly donated by The Levee Breaks blog.