Step right up folks! It’s a battle of the bands — both have heavy guitar cred and both feature vocalists who worked previously with Van Halen. Let’s get it on!
Extreme “Saudades De Rock”
Beyond the fact that this is Extreme’s first album in thirteen years, we have both singer Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt taking this record very seriously. For the band, it’s a welcome return to form on par with the group’s masterwork Three Sides to Every Story as the band proves that they still “got it.” Saudades De Rock boasts Cherone’s forceful vocals and Nuno’s incredible guitar licks on the opener “Star,” about a musical divas fall from grace. Nuno’s guitar brilliance shines on “Take Us Alive” another trademark fast paced rocker full of swagger and bar room funk. The riff on “Comfortably Dumb” sticks in your head, and doesn’t let go either. While the ballad “Interface” won’t make you forget the #1 hit single, “More Than Words”— it does sound melodic and the soulful piano ballad “Ghost” is sincere. And the band is excited to be back together and playing to their collective strengths. And clearly, the accomplishment is not lost on them. “It didn’t take long for us to be reminded of what we were capable of,” Cherone enthuses. “We always knew Extreme was special. We always knew it was a matter of time.” It’s nice to see a reunion that actually works — it’s like they never left.
Chickenfoot “Chickenfoot”
It’s a new “supergroup” featuring Joe Satriani, Chad Smith (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and two former Van Halen members, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. The majority of the Van Halen/Sammy Hagar fan base will enjoy this, as it’s by-the-numbers corporate rock. And let’s face it, Chickenfoot are just slumming it – they are an bunch of aging rockers who used to kick ass, and now they’re just jamming for their own amusement. They aren’t playing poorly, but they aren’t even remotely close to making it sound more than a well-produced garage jam session. Guitar deity Satriani prevents disaster here by adding a few well placed riffs as the skeleton for several songs. “Soap on a Rope” and “Get it Up” prove Satriani and drummer Smith are able to deliver, but the songs simply don’t move beyond a few bars. Anthony’s bass does his best not to upstage, to the point where he’s invisible. The same riff is repeated over and over, while Hagar does his best David Lee Roth impersonations. Most of the music is lifeless and unmemorable – and puts it in the category of generic rock and roll background music.
Winner by a knockdown: Extreme!
Amen.
It's really not even close. Saudades de Rock was one of 2008's best albums and this is just a mere warmup drill for Extreme, I would expect the followup to SDR to be something totally amazing. This band owes it's fans 20 years of touring and albums for being absent those 13 years in the music biz. Glad this band is back as they are truly a great rock band that is capable of a little more than just rock.
As for Chickenfoot, the album has it's moments, but there is no way it ever touches anything the great Gary & Nuno craft, hell no.