Tesla
Five Man Acoustical Jam

THE REVIEW

The Tesla are five guys from Sacramento who love rock and know how to play it. Formed in the early eighties, in 1985 they secured a deal with Geffen and the following year debuted with the solid first album “Mechanical Resonance”, receiving decent acclaim from both the public and critics. In 1989, they released the follow-up “The Great Radio Controversy”, an album that refines their melodic lines and boasts a much more polished production. This latest work establishes them as one of the most beautiful realities of the hard rock scene of those years.

During the promotional tour that followed, Tesla improvised a series of acoustic shows that drove fans wild, and following strong demand, Geffen decided to release the recording of one of these concerts (at the Trocadero in Philadelphia). Thus was born the precursor to MTV’s successful “Unplugged” series (or EmptyV, if you prefer) and one of the most interesting live albums in the history of this genre: “Five Man Acoustical Jam”.
The album is the culmination of the group’s musical verb, an hard rock with deep blues hues and a refined melodic taste. But the real star is the raspy voice of charismatic frontman Jeff Keith, who demonstrates his skills as an entertainer as well. 

“Comin' Atcha Live” opens the proceedings with a raw and edgy blues, enriched by the medley with the famous “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead. Two hits from their second album follow: the blues-oriented “Heaven’s Trail” and the romantic “The Way It Is”. The first cover offered by the band is “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles, in a highly successful version. Tesla later tackle classics such as “Mother’s Little Helper” by the Rolling Stones, “Lodi” by the Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the lesser-known “Signs” by the Five Man Electric Band. All songs are performed impeccably and personalized with great taste and quality. But the original songs do not pale in comparison to these tracks.

“Gettin' Better”, a song with two faces, begins slow and melodic before turning into a more classic rock. It serves as a prelude to the most inspired tracks in the group’s discography. The poignant “Before My Eyes”, with Jeff’s gritty and passionate interpretation, pushes his voice to its limits. It continues with the ballad “Paradise”, featuring a delicate piano painting, alongside guitar arpeggios, forming tortured melodies. And if you've forgotten your lighters, all that’s left is to dry your eyes. Following this, the group presents their most successful singles, “Modern Day Cowboy” and “Love Song”. The first, in an acoustic version, maybe loses a bit of its aggressive edge but gains considerably in lyricism. The second is a romantic and inspired ballad with a decidedly exciting crescendo finale. The album closes with two minor country-style tracks, “Tommy's Down Home” and “Down Fo’ Boogie”, which nonetheless smooth out the drama of the preceding pieces. 

We have reached the watershed between the end of an era, that of the so-called hair metal, and the beginning of the new phenomenon of grunge. Despite the decreasing attention from the public and industry professionals, Tesla released two decent works like “Psychotic Supper” and “Bust a nut”, before disbanding in 1994.
They later reunited in 2000, but that is another story. My heart is stuck to this wonderful memory.