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Tesla: The great radio controversy
18/07/11 || sly
I vaguely knew this band before, though never really liked them enough to care. But a friend of mine seems to like this album a lot, so I decided to review it. Here goes…
Tesla: born in 1856 to Serbian parents in Smiljan, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This genius/mad scientist was a great contributor and inventor in the fields of electricity, electromagnetism, and the radio. Poor and alone, he died in a hotel room in New York City in 1943.
Tesla: a Sacramento-based hard rock band who got together in 1984. Their first three albums went platinum, and over the years have sold around 14 million records. Their second album, “The great radio controversy” was certified 2x platinum.
With a band named after such an important historical figure, and with such grandiose RIAA certification, should I not anticipate some sort of electrical sonic maelstrom?
Let’s go over the facts.
Tesla differentiated themselves from the competition by cutting down on the make-up and hairspray and just looking, well, rather normal. And though they did appear in Metal Edge magazine, they were more of a real workin’ man’s hard rock.
“The great radio controversy” is the one that propelled them to stardom, and is generally considered their best. They created a ’70s organic feel, but with a very ’80s production. The songs are more mid-tempo hard rock with a twist of blues and southern rock (complete with slide guitar). There’s a slight jammy feeling to it reminiscent of early Black Crowes.
As far as the playing, these boys are pretty much masters of their trade, and a special acknowledgment goes to bassist, Brian Wheat, for his very substantial sound. Singer Jeff Keith’s voice, or rather harsh wail, is a mix between a less versatile vintage Robert Plant and Blue Cheer’s Dickie Petersen. Guitar playing is a hardy ’70s style, and the drumming is perfectly bold and vigorous backing for the whole ensemble. No one is trying to outdo the other, they are simply operating fluidly as a band.
There are some real rockers on here like “Hang Tough”, “Heaven’s Trail”, the very ’80s rockin’ “Makin’ Magic”, “Party’s Over”, and “Lazy Days and Crazy Nights”. This last one has a particularly dirty but laid-back feeling, perfect for those hot Arizona summers. All of these tracks, and still others, have that staying power in your brain which will cause you to walk around for the next few days singing them whilst you shower, work, or shit.
But I can’t shake the feeling that this album is too long. After track 5 I’m glancing at the time. By track 9 I’m wanting it to end but there are still four more to go. The album starts out smoking, but loses momentum halfway through and never fully recovers. And there are some really boring tracks that rear their ugly heads towards the end. 10, 11, and 12 pretty much suck, or maybe I just don’t care anymore by then. It’s too bad because the last song “Party’s Over” is not bad at all but I very nearly overlooked it in my utter boredom.
Basically, there is too much filler. They could easily have done away with at least four tracks. It seems like they relied too much on the few hit singles to get people to buy their half-assed album. Also, maybe Tesla played it a little too safe on this one. While they do exhibit their own style, they fail to standout in comparison to KIX or Dangerous Toys. Maybe that’s why they were never really mega-huge. But maybe that’s why they weren’t completely killed off by grunge. Maybe that’s why they’re almost considered classic rock today.
The way I see it is, they’re not bad, not thrilling, they’re just Tesla. And some folks really like ‘em.
- Information
- Released: 1989
- Label: Geffen
- Website: www.teslatheband.com
- Band
- Jeff Keith: vocals
- Frank Hannon: guitar, piano, organ, vocals
- Tommy Skeoch: guitar, vocals
- Brian Wheat: bass, vocals
- Troy Luccketta: drums, percussion
- Tracklist
- 01. Hang Tough
- 02. Lady Luck
- 03. Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)
- 04. Be A Man
- 05. Lazy Days, Crazy Nights
- 06. Did It For The Money
- 07. Yesterdaze Gone
- 08. Makin’ Magic
- 09. The Way It Is
- 10. Flight To Nowhere
- 11. Love Song
- 12. Parasite
- 13. Party’s Over
