On disc: Tesla

 
 Into The Now
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Real To Reel
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Forever More
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Alive In Europe!
 
- Lars Bjørn -
 
 


 
 Alive In Europe!
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

Alive In Europe!

(Frontiers Records - 2010)



 
 

 

Last year Tesla toured Europe to promote their latest studio album Forever More live. Now they present us a live recording of that tour, recorded in Barcelona. And so singer Jeff Keith and his mates kick off the show with Forever More. The sound is heavy, well-balanced and so shows how good Tesla are. And so the fivesome take you onto a sonic ride through their career incl. Modern Day Cowboy, Love Song and Signs - like they did in 1990 with Five Men Acoustical Jam. Or with Replugged Live. Just that this time you get some new tunes in a live version like What A Shame off Into The Now. Right before they kick off Love Song the audiences joins in, seems that Barcelona's audience was really great... Coz they 'sang' along the short instrumental part and then joined Jeff Keith right from the start. Definitely one of the shows highlights! The semi acoustic What You Give brings back the Five Men Acoustical Jam feeling for a bit. One of my faves is So What! which live sounds great and it pure fun. And it's always nice to hear them play Signs!

They close the set with Into The Now, and it seems they are living into the now - and not in their past. Another live document of Tesla's live energy and it shows that they are sill alive and kickin'! Looking forward to see them again on stage!






Track list:



Forever More

I Wanna Live

Modern Day Cowboy

Heaven's Trail

What A Shame

Shine Away

Love Song

What You Give

The Way It Is

Breakin' Free

Hang Tough

So What!

Signs

Lil Suzie

Into The Now
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Alive In Europe!

(Frontiers Records - 2010)



 
 

 

So many albums, but Jeff Keith and co. still have the grip and pumps the speakers with their good music performed in their own hard rock style. This is a live album recorded from last years tour across Europe as the title says. The show being performed in Barcelona, Spain. The production sound is really good, even as it is a live concert. That is what Tesla is good at. Performing at festivals where they could feature just under the level the top bands has. Then comes Tesla and makes people keep the good rock spirit. With their years in the business they are sure to make top shows wherever they are.

Now they release 15 songs from their tour last year, and it's a mix between the different styles that Tesla can do. Most of the material is well-chosen and played, and I Wanna Live, What A Shame, and especially Modern Day Cowboy tops the list of the crowd likes from Tesla. They also put in some of the slow songs like Into The Now and Hang Tough. Naturally we get 3 ballads live, Shine Away, What You Give and the most popular one - Love Song. It should not be established songs all of them, so they present us with a brand new track called Breakin' Free. This is also a typical Tesla song. Competent rock'n'roll.






Track list:



Forever More

I Wanna Live

Modern Day Cowboy

Heaven's Trail

What A Shame

Shine Away

Love Song

What You Give

The Way It Is

Breakin' Free

Hang Tough

So What!

Signs

Lil Suzie

Into The Now
 
 










Lars Bj&oslsh;rn


  
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Forever More

(Tesla Electric Co. Recordings - 2008)



 
 

 

Tesla are one of the top hard rock acts and after the Real To Reel cover album they are now back with a new studio album. At Forever More you get a dozen songs from the fivesome and they open up with the title track, a dark rocker which shows them slightly different... The song is heavy and offers great guitars, but is also a bit bulky and more modern then you use to know Tesla. But still the song can hook you up! The push down the accelerator for the following I Wanna Live. And again they combine crunchy riffs with modern sounds and a catchy chorus. The songs show that guitarists Frank Hannon and Dave Rude are open to new sounds and that they don't stick to the 80's sound as so many others. With So What! the rockers from River City present a song with slow passages and fast, heavy rock parts. Quite cool! And with Just In Case they offer a balladesque tune with a sad note which comes alive by Jeff Keith vocals. And this one is touching you! They continue with the power ballad Fallin' Apart which is focused on Keith's vocals, but also can shine through some guitar passages. Very heavy riffs push Breakin' Free forward, here the contrast between crunchy riffs and emotional vocals will enchant you. One of my personal faves is In A Hole Again, that one got me right away! Just great! But there is another song I should mention - Pvt. Ledbetter which is lyrically dealing with a soldier writing home, about the letters going back and forth between him and his family, But then he got killed, something so many families have to go through - even these days. And so Tesla show that you can present lyrics with depth in a light way. And with The Game they come to an end. This one is the heaviest track and they cross the boarder to metal. The European version has 2 bonus tracks, but I can't tell you anything about it. Sorry.

The boys from Sac-Town still know to write good rock songs and they show that you don't have to stick to the 80's sound! They combine some nu rock elements with the classic rock of the past and the blend is really convincing. And with Terry Thomas as a producer there is nothing to complain sound-wise. A powerful album with heavy tracks and balladesque tunes. Well done!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Real To Reel

(Rough Trade - 2007)



 
 

 

For a while now it's a trend to do covers albums - and now Tesla is adding theirs to the long list of covers albums. But as they showed on 1990 Five Men Acoustical Jam cover versions are part of their live set and that they enjoy playing them, so this isn't really a surprise. The songs they chose are 70's hard rock gems and the album has the analog sound of the past. The band decided to work with vintage equipment and tried to keep the 'live in the studio' sound of the past. Btw, a Real To Reel 2 will be a give-away at the coming shows to complete the 'missing' disc in the pack. What about the people who have no chance to see them? Well, I don't have a clue, but I guess that somehow disc 2 will make it's way.

They are opening with Deep Purple's Space Truckin' - and it sounds cool. Sure, Jeff Keith don't sound like Ian Gillan and he don't try to. Some of the songs you might not expect like Walk Away of James Gang, but there is no point in recording the 10,000th version of a song, even if there are a few classic covers... Like Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy) and Rock Bottom (U.F.O.). Somehow Bad Reputation has a Thin Lizzy-feel... Turned out nicely with Keith's deep vocals. The guitars of Frank Hannon and Dave Rude produce the classic Thin Lizzy sound. Well done.

A surprise is probably the funky tune Ball Of Confusion of The Temptations which becomes a funky rocker. Jeff Keith sounds less raspy and perhaps they should consider to use more clean vocals on their next studio album...

Songs like I've Got A Feeling and Dear Mr. Fantasy they present in a Tesla-style. They add their own sound to the songs and so make them stick out. A cool album which is fun to listen and one of the covers albums I can really recommend!





Track list:



Space Truckin' (Deep Purple)

Walk Away (James Gang)

Hand Me Down World (Guess Who)

Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy)

Thank You (Led Zeppelin)

I've Got A Feeling (The Beatles)

Day Of The Eagle (Robin Trower)

Ball Of Confusion (Tempations)

Rock Bottom (U.F.O.)

Stealin' (Uriah Heep)

Bell Bottom Blues (Eric Clapton)

Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones)

Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)

 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Into The Now

(Sanctuary Records - 2004)



 
 

 

I guess every hard rock fan knows Tesla... The five Americans were really successful in the late 80's and early 90's. Their albums got gold status, partly platinum. Then the break. They stayed friends and became closer. In 2002 they did a very successful tour and it was clear that a studio album had to follow. Actually it planned to release an album before the U.S. tour. At that time half of the songs were written, the other half followed after the tour. For the first time they gathered about 20 - 30 songs and chose the 12 best ones. For the first time they worked a democratic way, at least 3 of 5 members had to vote the song for the album. That gave them more confidence. Recorded in Sacramento at Frank Hannon's own studio the band had the freedom and also could keep an eye on the costs. Production-wise Michael Rosen helped them. He changed and re-arranged some stuff, but the main part of the production was done by Hannon.

Musically they stick to their roots, but they are able to include new sounds and work with other structures. Tesla sound heavier these days and has a certain aggression in their songs, e.g. Look @ Me. Interesting is What A Shame. This one could also have been on their most successful release - Five Men Acoustical Jam. An almost acoustic track. Enchanting. The bluesy voice of Jeff Keith gives the certain something. Very intensive. Special is Heaven Nine Eleven - lyrics written by Frank Hannon - which is inspired by the events of September 11th 2001. And this groovy rocker transports the sadness of events, of the tragedy which changed the world. Here the vocals are distorted in the beginning, step back a little... It seems that the drums are more up front then usual... Then the band speeds up, the vocals clear again. Aggression in their music and another break lead back to the opening theme. Melancholy. A touching song! They got more mature and so the songs have a more serious touch. A darker atmosphere as on their previous releases, but far from depressing! Miles Away shows that almost perfectly and also shows the heavy and the mellow side of the rockers.

I picked just a few songs, but I can recommend this album to every rock and hard rock fan. Heavy rockers and beautiful ballads, Tesla as we know them. In my opinion another milestone for the Americans!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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