Review: Chickenfoot - III

With the release of the new Van Halen CD right around the corner, I thought I would check out the new Chickenfoot III. I must admit I was disappointed at the first Chickenfoot attempt, so it’s taken me this long to give it a listen.

In case you don’t already know, Chickenfoot is: Sammy Hagar (Lead and Background Vocals), Joe Satriani (Guitars, Six String Banjo), Michael Anthony (Bass and Background Vocals) and Chad Smith (Drums and Percussion).

I am always a little disappointed that Joe Satriani behaves himself so much in this band. But I know he is doing it because he wants to let Chickenfoot be a band and not just a bunch of super stars putting out an album. That leaves room for some of the most interesting bass lines I have ever heard from Michael Anthony. Check the intro on Dubai Blues to see what I mean.

“Up Next” is like a modern version of “Purple Haze”, I love the guitar and bass playing lines that double each other. It happens a lot on the album. The drums are just as funky as you would expect from Chad Smith. Together the rhythm section locks into a fluidic groove and the result is nothing less than musical alchemy.

Sammy’s lyrics are intelligent, his vocals rugged and determined, and with Michael Anthony singing backup vocals, Chickenfoot III sounds like it could be a Van Halen album. Maybe more than Van Halen’s new album will.

My favorite track on Chickenfoot III is “Something Going Wrong”.  It’s a nice acoustic bit with, surprise… a banjo part. There is also a very heartfelt song “Three and a Half Letters” in which Sammy recites some letters from people who have had a hard time making it in this slow economy. I do believe Chickenfoot may have their fingers more on the pulse of this nation than our politicians do.

The band has said they named this album Chickenfoot III to avoid the dreaded second album that many bands put out. What they don’t realize is that Chickenfoot I was that album. Chickenfoot III delivers the kind of album I was waiting for the first time around.

4/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Something Going Wrong, Three and a Half Letters, Alright, Alright

Kirk Bullough

Tracks: 1.    Last Temptation 2.    Alright Alright  3.    Different Devil  4.    Next 5.    Lighten Up 6.    Come Closer 7.    Three and a Half Letters 8.    Big Foot 9.    Dubai Blues 10.    Something Gone Wrong 11.    No Change ( Hidden Track)

Artist:  Chickenfoot

Title:  III

Genre: Hard Rock  

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Label:  Entertainment One Music

Website:  http://www.chickenfoot.us/

Review: The Weber Brothers - Baddest Band In The Land

When I first listened to The Weber Brothers new CD Baddest Band in the Land, I pictured a bunch of guys in their late fifties who spent the last 30 years paying their dues playing in a Classic Rock cover band. Boy was I wrong.

Brothers Ryan Weber (vocals, guitar) and Sam Weber (bass) were born in 1980-83 in Baltimore, MD. They started playing in 1992. By the time Sam was 15 he was playing in bars at night and then getting up to go to school the next morning.

In 2001 Ryan emailed Ronnie Hawkins and through that email Ryan and Sam ended up working his farm in the day and being schooled by him at night. They eventually became official members of his band before breaking out on their own.

In the line-up for the Baddest Band in the Land the Weber Brothers are joined by: Emmet Van Etten (Drums), Shai Peer (Keyboards) and Tim Bracken (Multi-Instrumentalist).

Baddest Band in the Land gets off to a strong start with a hard rocking song “Stay in the Game.” It has a groove that reminds me of something Zeppelin would play. It’s littered with excerpts of American political activist, Mario Savio’s “Bodies upon the gears” speech. The vocals and keys remind me of the Doors. It’s probably my favorite track on the CD.

“Can’t Help Feeling Bad,” is like a cross between Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie. “Nothing We Can’t Get Through” reminds me a little of the Flaming Lips. Then the band switches it up with a classic Rockabilly style song, “Sell, Sell, Sell”.

The track “Who Ever Would Have Thought” is the low point of the CD for me; it’s a less catchy rip off of “Whiter Shade of Pale”. Things look up though with, “Things Are Looking Up For You.” It’s a cross between Tom Petty and The Who. The song “Panic Attack” could easily be an AC/DC song with a little REM thrown in. Baddest Band in the Land Ends with “Different Day” which reminds me of “Trampled Under Foot,” by Zeppelin with some REO Speedwagon and Kansas thrown in. The whole album seems to be sprinkled with a bit of the Beatles.

If you took all the best recordings from classic rock, diced them into little pieces and glued them back together in different places you would have this CD. It was recorded live over two days live. It feels nice and raw. The vocals and musicianship are great and the band really lives up to its claim of being the “Baddest Band in the Land”.

I would recommend this CD to anyone who likes Classic Rock, Heavy Rock or Album Oriented Rock.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Stay in the Game, Can’t Help Feeling Bad, Different Day

Kirk Bullough

Tracks: 1.     Stay In The Game 2.     Can’t Help Feeling Bad 3.     Nothing We Can’t Get Through 4.     Sell, Sell, Sell 5.     Who Ever Would’ve Thought 6.     Things Are Looking Up For You 7.     Windbag 8.     Origami Rose 9.     Move Over The Mountain 10.  Panic Attack 11.  I Still Believe 12.  Miles Away 13.  Different Day

Artists: The Weber Brothers
Title: Baddest Band In The Land
Genre: Classic Rock
Label: Last Jack Productions
Website: http://www.weberbrothers.com

Review: Thin Lizzy - Live at the BBC

Thin Lizzy was founded in late 1969 when guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon went to see the band Orphanage, which featured vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. They formed with Lynott taking on bass as well as singing. Eric Wrixon left shortly after.

The band put out several records that charted in their homeland of Ireland, but failed to do much outside of their own country. At the time the band was playing Celtic music infused with spatterings of Hard Rock.

In 1973 Thin Lizzy made it to number 6 on the UK charts with their version of a Celtic folk song “Whiskey in the Jar”.

The following album failed to chart and Eric Bell left the band. After playing with a few temporay replacements including Gary Moore, the band settled on 18 year old Scottish guitarist Brian Robertson, and Californian Scott Gorham. In 1976 this lineup of the band recorded the album Jailbreak which contained the tracks “Jailbreak” and “The Boys are Back in Town”.

The band went through several changes from 1978 – 1983 when the band finally broke up. Phil Lynott focused on his solo career. In 1986 there were whispers of getting the band back together, but Lynott died that year at the age of 36.

Universal released a 2 CD and 6 CD version of Live at the BBC, which cover the different eras of Thin Lizzy and the BBC. The Live at the BBC 2 CD set is like a greatest hits of the 6 CD box set.

Disc one contains material from 1971-1974 which gives you a great feel for what the band was like in its original form. Songs like “Showdown” and “Slow Blues” showcase some great bluesy guitar solos. “Suicide” shows off some great slide guitar playing. Lynott’s ability to sing gruff vocals on songs like “The Rocker” and then sing equally as well on a quiet song like, “Randolph’s Tango” is proof of his amazing versatility.

Disc two covers 1974-1983. This CD covers more of the hit songs from the band. It has songs like “The Boys are Back in Town” with their signature sound of two guitars playing leads in harmony and “Jailbreak” among others.

I was also impressed to find a Reggae song, “Half Castle” and more of a Jazz sound on the song, “Dancing in the Moonlight” in this collection. They save the best for last with the final track being “The Boys are Back in Town” from a concert in 1983 at the Regal Theatre.

It’s a shame that Lynott didn’t get to see his music on the big screen in Toy Story. Or the new generation of fans that are discovering Thin Lizzy’s music now. I still hear a few Thin Lizzy songs regularly on the radio and there are still incarnations of the band that still tour, but without Lynott it just doesn’t seem like Thin Lizzy.

I probably wouldn’t suggest this collection as your first introduction to Thin Lizzy, but for fans of the band these CDs are a goldmine. I also think Universal should get a pat on the back for making Live at the BBC available as a 2 CD or 6 CD collections.

 

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Whiskey in the Jar, Jailbreak, The Boys are Back in Town

Kirk Bullough

Tracks: Disc 1: 1. Look What The Wind Just Blew In 2. Whiskey In The Jar 3. Saga Of The Ageing Orphan 4. Things Ain't Working Out Down At The Farm 5. Suicide 6. Vagabond Of The Western World 7. Gonna Creep Up On You 8. Randolph’s Tango 9. Slow Blues 10. The Rocker 11. Little Girl In Bloom 12. Showdown 13. Little Darling 14. Black Boys On The Corner 15. Sitamoia 16. It's Only Money

Disc 2: 1. She Knows 2. Sha La La 3. Philomena 4. Still In Love With You 5. Baby Drives Me Crazy 6. Rosalie 7. Half Caste 8. Jailbreak 9. Cowboy Song 10. Don't Believe A Word 11. Johnny 12. Bad Reputation 13. Dancing In The Moonlight  14. Renegade 15. Killer On The Loose 16. Cold Sweat 17. The Boys Are Back In Town

Artists: Thin Lizzy
Title: Live at the BBC [Import]
Genre: Classic Rock
Label: Universal UK
Website: http://www.thinlizzy.org/