Posts Tagged ‘Van Halen’

Van Halen have recently debuted their new single ‘Tattoo’, Pete Makowski gives us five reasons to celebrate….

1)  Even though it’s lift from a song they wrote in the 70′s (Down In Flames) Tattoo has all the hallmarks of a great
rock single-Great Riff,Great Solo,Big Dumb Lyrics, Big Dumb Chorus. It’s time to get out the leggings, Cocaine and Hair Gel and celebrate
the 80′s.

2) Dave Lee Roth is back and as mental as ever!!!

3) Eddie Van Halen still pisses over his contemporaries,and judging by the video he’s not even trying!

4) Even thought it’s not the same without Michael Anthony, it would have been worse if Hagar was back on vocals.

5) Van Halen will never record an album with Lou Reed.

Van Halen performing Tattoo. @ 2012 The Three Twins, LLC

Supergroups have a tendency to be a little like those McDonalds employees you see with the coveted ‘Five Stars’ on their badges, you think they are going to be something special but they still sneeze on your fries.

Looking to redress the balance, Chickenfoot return to build on the success of their debut offering and unleash Chickenfoot III.  Titled in true Spinal Tap style, Sammy Hagar explains the numerical anomaly; ‘It’s so good, it’s like we jumped right past having to make a second record’.  A confidence it has to be said is not entirely without merit as Chickenfoot III is good.  Really good.

How much you will enjoy this album depends on your views on stadium sized classic rock, for this is (as you would expect from its contributors) a classic rock record.  A manly slab of riff laden, testosterone driven rock, the kind of tunes that will put hairs on your chest.

Proving this point somewhat is the opening ‘Last Temptation’, Joe Satriani puts his stamp on the intro before it gives way to the bruising syncopated rhythms of the verse and towering vocals of the chorus.  A brute force attention grabber. 

‘Alright Alright’ is a Stones meets Rod Stewart swagger fest, culminating in some serious shredding from Satriani and much like the foot stomping ‘Big Foot’ which sees Hagar in full Zeppelin mode, they are huge slabs of granite riffage and gravel pit vocals, making both hard to resist.

That is not to say that this is an album without subtlety however, ‘Come Closer’ allows the more mellow side of the band to surface whilst ‘Three And A Half Letters’ is a surprising emotive piece.  Based around Hagar reading out first-hand accounts from people who have struggled to find work, make ends meet or cope with the horrors experienced during their service in the armed forces, it maintains a defiant rather than depressing tone expressed through the primal scream cry of the chorus.

On first listen this would almost appear to be the Hagar/Satriani show but on each repeat you realise that whilst perhaps not flashy, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony are the air tight glue holding this collection together, flawless performances from two musical heavyweights.  Far from being an albatross around their necks, these are big tunes, from big stars that can carry the mantle of ‘supergroup’ with ease.

Jules says….

Find out more by visiting the Chickenfoot website HERE.

Following the release of their long awaited second album ‘III’, the hottest rock & roll band in the world, Chickenfoot, have announced a 5-date UK & European tour for January 2012; their first European concerts since July 2009.  Including 2 UK concerts in Manchester and London, tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday October 14th 2011; further info is detailed below, and at www.chickenfoot.us.

Chickenfoot will perform songs from their gold-selling, eponymous debut album, alongside tracks from the critically acclaimed ‘III’, for the very first time outside of the United States.  The European tour kicks off at the Manchester Academy on Thursday January 12th, followed by London’s O2 Academy Brixton (Saturday January 14th), Paris Olympia (Monday January 16th), Tilburg O13 (Tuesday January 17th) and Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall (Thursday January 19th). Tickets for the 2 UK concerts will be available from www.livenation.co.uk/artist/chickenfoot-tickets.

Featuring guitar hero Joe Satriani and Van Halen duo, bassist Michael Anthony & frontman Sammy Hagar, Chickenfoot drummer Chad Smith has temporarily handed his sticks over to the legendary Kenny Aronoff, who will join the band for these concerts.  Says Joe Satriani, “Kenny brings that same combination of super chops and wild energy to the band that we’re used to; and, offstage, he’s just as crazy as Chad”.  Watch a video of Chad Smith introducing Kenny here.

Chickenfoot fans in the UK will be treated to a special Planet Rock pre-sale, where tickets can be purchased 24 hours ahead of the October 14th general on-sale date.  By visiting www.planetrock.com, tickets will be available from 9am on Thursday October 13th.

This week Kodiak Jack drummer and Tape2Tape contributer Matt got to chat to writer, producer, singer song writer, front man, lead guitarist and all round good egg, Butch Walker.

As Matt loves getting elbow deep in cock rock, and with Butch’s beginings being in hair metal out fit Southgang back in the late 80′s there was no better question to ask….well maybe there was but this is definately a good one.

In true rock n roll style, Butch showed a blatant disregard for the rules and gave us his Top 10!

The full interview will follow, keep checking back or follow us on Twitter or Facebook (click the logos on the right) for instant updates on new posts!

Butch Walkers Website:
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