If you haven’t been living in a soundproofed cave of late then you’ll probably have heard a thing or two about Chickenfoot, a rock and roll ‘supergroup’ in the truest sense of the word, featuring Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar (of Van Halen), Joe Satriani and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers). Their self-titled album (featuring the rip-roaring singles ‘Soap on a rope’ and ‘oh yeah’) was released to no small amount of acclaim some months ago, but now it’s back in a super deluxe, limited edition, complete with bonus DVD and attractive digi-pack packaging and so it’s high time for a reappraisal.

Supergroups are subject to harsher critical gaze than most because of the heritage that their members invariably drag around with them like the proverbial albatross. Hence Audioslave and Velvet Revolver both found themselves in a far harsher spotlight than they deserved, coming in for a slew of criticism quite unwarranted, but persuasive to some areas of the public nonetheless. Chickenfoot have, thus far, had it easier than most but then they are, perhaps, the best of the three bands mentioned earlier. Possessed of a fire not heard in some time Sammy Hagar simply shines on this album, while the rest of the band show off their undoubted skills with a precision and cohesion not normally found on a debut effort.

Opening with Avenida Revolucion’ the band are clearly out to rock, showcasing a blues/hard rock brand of music that has equal elements of Led Zeppelin and Sabbath and Satriani restrains his more flashy tendencies to allow the band as a unit to prove their skills. ‘Soap on a rope’ is a funky, powerful track with a massive groove that recalls Audioslave at the peak, but with a front-man more obsessed with classic rock than alternative. It’s a great track that gets the blood pumping and features a blistering solo from the irrepressible guitarist. ‘Sexy little thing’ is next – an eastern-tinged romp that is part Zeppelin, part Rolling stones, with Sammy doing his best Mick Jagger turn, while the harmonies on the chorus complete the track perfectly.

‘Oh yeah’ is up next (sadly not a cover of the Ash track!) and is the closest the band come to Chilli Pepper’s style funk, with a spacious guitar sound and Chad’s drums propelling the whole thing along in a manner that is far more satisfying than his more light-weight drumming on the most recent Chilli’s albums. ‘Runnin’ out’ is easy enough on the ear, but is less satisfying than the what has gone before, recalling the sort of hard Blues romps that the Stones instigate in their sleep. ‘Get it up’ by contrast returns to the close-knit vocal harmonies of the first track and couples them with a huge, swaggering gut-punch of a riff that will excel in the live environment. ‘Down the drain’ was, according to the DVD, recorded all in one take – a spectacular feat for this swampy, heavy blues number which sounds substantially different from the other tracks on this album, coming on like RHCP if they’d gone in a heavier, more psychedelic direction. ‘My kinda girl’ is a road-trip song, cruising at a reasonable pace but ultimately nothing special.

‘Learning to fall’ is, as the title would suggest, a ballad, complete with picked guitar and a soulful vocal performance. It’s not bad, if you like that sort of thing, but it’s the only track that recalls the eighties in a negative way and it actually reminded this listener of Foreigner of all people! ‘Turning left’ opens on a promising guitar riff, before turning into an ill-advised funk pastiche complete with seventies vocal harmonies. It’s the weakest track on the album by a long way and it’s a shame something so uninspired made the final edit. ‘Future in the past’ is, thus, something of a relief, reminding the listener exactly why the rest of the album is so worthy of their time and bonus track (exclusive to this edition) ‘bitten by the wolf’ close the album with an acoustic blues jam that works surprisingly well.

Overall, you have an album that is greater than the sum o fits parts. There are one or two moments that fall below the high standard the band set themselves and one track (‘turning left’) that should be written out of musical history if only such a thing was possible, but for a debut album it is fair to say that the group have done a fantastic job of creating a coherent and genuinely thrilling set of songs that do credit to their illustrious pasts and suggest great things for the future.

Special edition supplementary notes.

The DVD is a more than worthy bonus effort which features a whole host of live tracks, behind the scenes footage and promo videos. Of the lot, the promo videos are the least worthwhile, although they’re worth watching at least once, while the live footage (shot at Montreaux Jazz festival) is simply phenomenal and, happily for a bonus DVD, perfectly shot and recorded. The studio footage is amusing, if nothing else, but also highlights the chemistry (a word the band are fond of using) between the members of the band, all seasoned veterans of the music industry, and the humour that they all seem to share. Packaged in a gatefold digi-pack the only minor grumble is that the booklet is one of those download jobs that, while laudable in a green sense, are never as satisfying as having a hefty chunk of paper to sift through at your leisure. However, as deluxe editions go this is a damn good re-issue of an album that, if you haven’t bought already, should most certainly be on your list now.