Written by General Jabbo
It’s been a great first year for the super group Chickenfoot. With a critically acclaimed album and tour and a Gold Certified record, it’s been as good a start as former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani could have asked for.
Now the band is giving something back to the fans by releasing a deluxe, limited-edition version of their CD exclusively through Best Buy. The CD contains the original album, as well as the previously only available through iTunes and vinyl bonus track “Bitten by the Wolf” — a heavy blues track that would be at home on the acoustic side of Led Zeppelin III with its distorted vocals and slide guitar.
In addition to the CD is an hour-long DVD filled with studio footage, interviews, live clips and the full-length music video for “Soap On A Rope.” The band intros all of the clips by singing a variation of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” substituting Chickenfoot for the word Christmas and with each band member setting up the footage. It’s clear from these clips, as well as the other studio footage and interviews that these guys love being in a band together, which is refreshing to see, especially considering the sometimes rocky internal politics of both Van Halen and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Live footage is taken from a number of locations, most notably the band’s appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, though additional audio was taken from Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut and the House of Blues in Atlantic City. While the studio versions of these tracks are strong, live is where Chickenfoot really shines, extending solos and driving the songs much harder than on CD.
While some fans may accuse the band of double dipping by rereleasing their album, the CD is limited edition and the DVD is worth the price alone. Chickenfoot is a band whose members play purely for the love of music and it shows. After a successful album and tour, the future looks bright for the band.
Article comments
1 - luvj
double dipping? i say BS! chickenfoot have brought good hard rock back again. My Kinda Girl is the best!!
2 - General Jabbo
I think it's a strong release and like I said, the DVD is worth the price of this disc alone.
3 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
While I agree it's not a bad album, these guys had an opportunity to forgo the commercial appeal and actually record a ripping, kick-ass album. Honestly, with the talent that was enlisted, I was rather disappointed with a lot of the lackluster material on this CD,but, I would definitely like to get the DVD just to see the studio antics.
4 - JeroSmith
Great album, the more I listen to it the more it grows on me. There are very few bands that I would buy the same album twice, and I think I may add Chickenfoot to that list. Sammy Hagar said the sound was like zeppelin, but I think it's more like a lost VH album, Satch more than fills Eddie's shoes, and Chad is a great drummer. I wonder what the future of the band is because the Chili Peppers are making a new album and plan to tour in '10.