TESLA-Mechanical Resonance Live!

Frontiers Music srl

Sacramento based Tesla released their second album ‘Mechanical Resonance’ some 30 years ago and the group has made the effort to revisit that excellent album on stage by recording the album live. Since 1986 many albums and some DVD’s have followed (‘2014 album ‘Simplicity’ as the latest sign of life) establishing Tesla as a genuine contender.  I very much enjoyed the ‘Real To Reel 1’ and ‘Real To Reel 2’ CD’s. On these albums Tesla pays tribute to the bands that influenced them. Two great albums filled with sparkling cover songs from Bachman Turner Overdrive to UFO and many others. If you are into Tesla you should check these two out. Currently the band is touring in America opening for Def Leppard while also Reo Speedwagon is on the bill. This CD was recorded in Salt Lake City and songs like ,,Ez Come Ez Go’’, ,,Gettin’ Better’’, ,,‘Lil Suzie’’, ,,Changes’’, ,,Modern Day Cowboy’’ and ,,Comin’ Atcha Live’’ have stood the test of time and still sound relevant and fresh. Singer Jeff Keith still has that raspy voice that makes the band sound so distinctive. Sometimes he sounds a bit pitchy for my taste but he has been doing that for more than 30 years so what?! The strong point for me has always been the relentless heavy guitar acrobatics of Frank Hannon and Dave Rude. Also on this record that duo has plenty to offer backed up by Brian Wheat (bass) and Troy Luccketta (drums), who provide a strong backbone for the band’s musical adventures. There is also a studio track on this CD written and produced by Def Leppard’s Phil Collen. I believe it is going to be released as a single, it sounds radio friendly indeed with its catchy chorus and the ‘nananana’ bit. Good luck with that one, but I do not believe it will have a great impact for Tesla. But this live album itself is luckily a lot better and shows that these five dudes still bring home the bacon.