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.