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Real to Reel

Tesla - Real to Reel Audio CD

A fair review of the Tesla "Real to Reel" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Tesla reviews here, or go back to the Tesla tabs.

Band: Tesla
Title: Real to Reel
Rating:

Release Date: 2007-06-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Space Truckin' 2: Walk Away [E Flat] 3: Hand Me Down World [A440 Remix Dub] 4: Bad Reputation 5: Thank You 6: I've Got a Feeling 7: Day of the Eagle 8: Ball of Confusion 9: Rock Bottom [E] 10: Stealin' 11: Bell Bottom Blues 12: Honky Tonk Women [E Flat][*] 13: Dear Mr. Fantasy

A must for Tesla fans and classic rockers.
A new guitar player, and covers?? Come on. We were all a little suspicious about this one. . this is a band that writes great rock songs. Why go in that direction? After the first two cuts I realized this is a celebration of the music they love, which isn't an original idea, but man do they do a fantastic job with the material. Tesla has chosen some real gems for this CD and I've played it much more than Into the Now, which is a good record. What really stands out is their rededication to the two-guitar sound which was missing on Into the Now. The new guy, Dave Rude, is a true guitar nut and The CD just burns with dual lead action. When I first heard Tesla back in the 80's I thought they were just another hair band. They have proven me wrong many times since then. In the words of Robert Plant. . . Thank You. Rock on.

Tesla breathe new life into some forgotten classics
The guitar breakdown/solo section couldn't get any more 70s. The Good
"Space Trucking" (Deep Purple) is a little more raw and meaty with Jeff Keith's signature vocal tones. "Walk Away" (James Gang) displays some beautiful multi-part harmonies. "Bad Reputation" (Thin Lizzy) showcases Tesla at their hard-rocking best. Keith slips into an almost sinister tone that matches the crunchy riffage quite well. "I Got a Feeling" (The Beatles) is a song that I normally wouldn't be interested in, but after hearing this version, I found myself tracking down the original. "Rock Bottom" (UFO) is all about the guitar licks and riffs.

The Bad
"Honky Tonk Woman" just didn't cut it for me. It just didn't have the soul that Mick Jagger can inject into it. Also, aren't enough eighties bands putting out covers albums recently?

The Verdict
Tesla made a name for themselves with a cover song, so why not a covers album? Tesla's choice of music may have you scratching your head from time to time, but overall the disc is a winner. Not only does the band breathe new life into some forgotten classics, they also revitalize their career with this spirited collection.

A Surprisingly Good Cover Album
It is one of the best "Cover" cd's ever. First of all, the consensus seems to be in on this cd. Anyone who is either a fan of Tesla or classic rock in general will get a lot of pleasure from this disc.

Now, to some of the nay-sayers. Every person that simply dismisses this cd as an excuse to "make money off other people's music" or just complains that Tesla should write their own songs, it's obvious these people have not listened to this collection of music. Also, contrary to one of the better reviews, Jeff Keith's vocals are NOT weak or a distraction from the music. That may be some peoples (minority) opinion, but I think he did a great job. In fact, he actually makes a conscious effort to replicate the vocals of the original artists.

Basically, Tesla only put this album together because they felt it was something their fans would want, even though the band noticed many other bands release cover albums without much success. It started out with the band noticing more and more young kids showing up at their shows wearing classic rock T-shirts. There does seem to be a resurgence in the popularity of good old classic rock from the 70's & 80's. After the band tried out some of these songs in front of live audiences, and got very positive reactions. So, eventually the band decided to go ahead with the project.

It wasn't as simple as "let's go into the studio and play these older songs. " The band actually went to the trouble of using vintage instruments and amplifiers and recorded the songs in an older style recording studio that had a vintage (Neve) analog console and recorded on TAPE ! That makes a lot of difference in trying to keep these older songs "sounding" like people remember them from the days of vinyl.

I am usually not interested in these "cover" cds. They are about as uninteresting as "tribute" albums were a bunch of various artists play music by a single artist. But, after reading all the excellent reviews I decided to give it a chance. I am a long-time Tesla fan, but that really shouldn't make a difference. These renditions are simply excellent covers of classic rock. And who else but Tesla could do this so well? With the success of their first cover "Signs" from an equally "experimental" and off-the-beaten musical path album. Back in the late 90's no one would have expected an Electric Rock Band who was in the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal genre to come out with an all acoustic album of their music and pull it off as successfully as they did. It was a surprise, and so is this cd. A pleasant surprise.

Tesla has built a reputation of playing straight forward music performed by good musicians that can be recreated in a "Live" setting. There are no tape effects, computers, sequencers, or an abundance of synthesizers on their records. This is a guitar band, it's just that simple. In the same tradition that another classic rock band - Boston - boasted "No Computers, No Synthesizers," Tesla's cd's always said "No Machines".

I consider myself to be a big `70's rock music fan, but even I had not heard a couple of these songs. Day of the Eagle is awesome. Once Frank Hannon's guitar solo comes in at the end of the song I knew this was an old Robin Trower song. Yes, they nailed it that good, and I had never heard this song before.

Now, to the whole second disc controversary. Some people looked at it as an interesting marketing ploy. Other's flat-out condemned it from the start. Obviously, Tesla realized their tour was not so wide-spread across the country to allow all their fans to obtain the second disc, so now, as of September 25th, it's been officially released on its own. I don't have it yet, but I'm ordering mine this week. I expect I will like it just as much as Reel 1, plus I can pick all my favorites and burn them onto one disc for the car.

Don't miss out on this great Music. Highly Recommended.
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Excellent set of covers
And Tesla, having created their own great body of original work, are quite good at covering other artists work. Let's face it - you're either good at covering other artists work or you're not. This album was a nice surprise to me, as I have not followed this band especially closely. I've never really heard a Tesla song that I disliked, but I listen to so many bands, I never got around to buying much of their work. I do love the song "Modern Day Cowboy. " I was not a big fan of the cover track "Signs," their biggest hit, but once I heard the original, I could appreciate their cover of the song. Not my cup of tea, but they certainly did the song justice.

This set of tracks is another story in one regard, the same story in another. These ARE my cup of tea (more like their own style anyway), and they do all of these tracks justice. "Space Truckin'" is awesome, "Day of the Eagle" is amazing (c'mon guys, cover a Hendrix track TOO), and I have a new appreciation for Jeff Keith after hearing his performance on "Thank You" (and although I like the keyboard in Zep's version, I prefer it without keyboards, as presented by Tesla in this version). Also loved the versions of "Walk Away," & "Honky Tonk Woman" (even though I'm really not a big Stones fan). Everything on here is good.

So it actually got me to buy a ticket to their show tomorrow night (I looked just in time, lol). With that I hope to pick up Reel 2 (yep, there's a second CD & you've gotta go to the show to get it). I've heard Tesla is a great live band, and the 2nd disc looks to be even better than the first, with tracks such as "War Pigs," "Saturday Night Special," "Seasons of Wither," "Do you feel like we do," & "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," plus many more.

As a guitarist, I really enjoyed the work of Frank Hannon & Dave Rude. Also, of course, Jeff Keith's vocals are amazing, esp hearing his ability to really identify with and project the proper tone and style of the original vocalist without his own identity disappearing. It's the perfect way of singing a cover. Everything you love about the original is still there, plus more. And it doesn't sound like copycating. Finally, Troy Lucketta is an excellent drummer. Great vibe, and lots of playing. Same for the whole band!

I may be late in appreciating this band, but better late than never.

UPDATE: I checked the tour section of Tesla's website on Thursday, Sept 13 and found out they were coming to Rams Head in Baltimore on Friday, Sept 14. Since I had never seen them live and was very interested to get "Reel 2," I bought a ticket to the show, and I got the CD.

First, since this is not a concert review, let me just give a brief mention about the show. The band rocked the house, and they are a great live band. Frank Hannon is a very underrated and, for some reason, little noticed guitarist - despite the fact that he has chops & versatility. The same can be said of the entire band really. I loved drummer Troy Lucketta's big, red Tama kit. They should've covered a Rush tune, lol!

Next, to get to the point of the update: I've listened to Reel 2 about 4 or 5 times now. And the same pluses I gave to Reel 1 hold true on Reel 2. It happens that this has more songs on it that I'm familiar with - "War Pigs," "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," "Seasons of Wither," "Do You Feel Like We Do," "All the Young Dudes," "Street Fighting Man," and a couple others. But even the songs I'm not very familiar with are great.

If they're in you're area, go pick up Reel 2 and see a great live band.

Great Album
The song selection from Tesla was excellant and even songs I've heard many times on the radio are 'reworked" by Tesla and they did an OUTSTANDING job, great work, Tesla. I usually do not like "cover" albums, as they are always missing something but this album is great.

You can see a complete list of all Tesla discography, or go back to the Tesla tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.