Chickenfoot

If you wondered why Michael Anthony was replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang for the Van Halen 2007–2008 North American reunion tour, it’s because he was playing in the high-energy rock band Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar. Along with guitar luminary Joe Satriani and drummer Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot are an arena-trained supergroup. Their self-titled debut plays like a supercharged Hagar solo album where his over-the-top, party-guy singing style contrasts well with the flawlessness of Satriani’s disciplined shredding. Anthony and Smith’s rhythmic chemistry fleshes out the sound with competing dynamics. “Soap On a Rope” riffs hard and heavy on fist-pumping power chords that play over a meat-and-potatoes rhythm where Hagar’s chicks-and-cars lyrics give the tune a classic tone that begs to be blasted from the speakers of a customized Chevy van. The sultry “Oh Yeah” slithers with a serpentine cool, sounding like it was carefully crafted to accompany the pole dancers of gentlemen’s clubs.