Album Review — Tesla

Tesla — Shock

I have a long history with Tesla. They were the first band I ever saw live (opened for Night Ranger). I’ve seen them live many times. I’ve met the majority of the band over the years. I’m in one of their videos (if you look hard) and even sat in front of Troy at the last show Bad English ever played.

So you will understand when I say I’m a fan of the band and was excited to hear they had a new record coming out. I heard they were making the record with Def Leppard’s Phil Collen which seemed a little odd. Def Leppard and Tesla have been touring partners for years (saw them together on the Hysteria tour) but the two bands seem to have different approaches to making music. Tesla’s slogan from their first record has been “No Machines” while Def Leppard was one of hard rock’s first bands to embrace technology that helped drummer Rick Allen continue on with the band after losing his arm.

Like last week’s Queensryche review, this one deserves the track by track treatment.

You Won’t Take Me Alive — Tesla has released some great opening tracks including “EZ Come EZ Go” and “Hang Tough”. They usually come out with guitars blazing and “You Won’t Take Me Alive” is a guitar driven track. To me this one sounds a little more 70s Classic Rock than 80s Hard Rock, but still a good opener. Not in the same class as those two, but a decent start.

Taste Like — A cool opening guitar riff leads to a fun song. Again, a little more Classic than Hard Rock feel to me and a very Def Leppard-type pre-chorus. I do like it.

We Can Rule The World — The first of a few ballads, this one featuring a piano and some orchestration. There are a lot of Def Leppard-type moments on the record and the chorus features a multi-layered group vocal reminiscent of Hysteria-era Leppard. A Classical guitar solo to boot. A good ballad but doesn’t sound much like Tesla to me.

Shock — This is the first song I heard off the record and it got me very excited. A little surprised with what sounds like a drum machine to start the song, but the guitar comes in with Jeff Keith’s classic Tesla vocal. It’s maybe a little more modern in some ways to classic Tesla, but it is guitar heavy and features Keith signature rasp. More like this please.

Love Is A Fire — More piano is up next although this one gets to mid-tempo. A big chorus here. This one has more of a Tesla feel to me. A short acoustic guitar solo is a nice touch. Good song.

California Summer Song — Not a fan of this one. It’s far too poppy/happy for me on a Tesla record. There’s definitely a summertime feel but I’d rather there be another rocker here. I could do without this one.

Forever Loving You — We are officially in a lull in the record. Not a bad song but three straight fairly mellow songs doesn’t work for me on a Tesla record. This one is a mostly acoustic driven ballad. I don’t mind the song, I just think it would have fit better somewhere else on the record.

The Mission — And now we’re cooking. This one sounds like it could be off of Psychotic Supper. It has a “Freedom Slaves” type of feel to it as it builds into a a great rock song. This is a Tesla song and my favorite on the record. It’s a little odd for another acoustic guitar solo here but it works as it intros the electric solo. I would have loved to hear more of this on this record.

Tied To The Tracks — This one has a bit of a 70s Aerosmith vibe to it. Cool slide guitar in the intro of this bluesy rocker. I like the feel of this one. It doesn’t necessarily remind me of older Tesla but it’s heavy and bluesy and Keith’s rasp sounds at home here.

Afterlife — A mid-tempo acoustic-driven toe tapper is next. Afterlife has a big chorus and a melody that just won’t stop. Again, I’m not sure I’d call this classic Tesla, but I really like this one. This one is sure to stick in your head for days after hearing it.

I Want Everything — And now for the Def Leppard tribute portion of the record. Fast paced verses give way to classic Def Leppard gang vocal chorus. This one sounds like it could have been on “Slang”. It’s got that more modern feel that “Slang” had but still very recognizable as Def Leppard. It’s a decent song, just strange hearing it come from Tesla. Even their tribute to Steve Clark sounded less Def Leppard than this.

Comfort Zone — Ok, now it just sounds like a Def Leppard record. A bass line opens the track and it gets more Leppard as the song goes. Even Keith’s vocal has a Joe Elliott feel to it. For my taste, this is too much. I really like Def Leppard but I’d prefer not to hear them on the new Tesla record. I actually like the song but it’s just strange.

My take on this record is that it sounds a little disjointed to me, like the different band members and Collen each brought in their own songs. You’ve got a few 70s sounding songs and some Def Leppard sounding songs and some more Tesla sounding songs. Overall, I like the songs save for one, but I’m not sure they fit together.

I’m all for bands experimenting and growing and trying new things. And obviously the band has a long relationship with Collen and felt comfortable with him. I’m just not sure the end result is a Tesla record, or at least what I consider Tesla to be.

I really like a few of the songs. “The Mission” might be my favorite Tesla song in over a decade. “Shock” is great. I really like “Afterlife”. But after that it’s a little mixed. I’ve been through the record 4–5 times and that’s where I’m at right now. As always, the record could grow on me and feel a little less strange. The band still sounds great and Keith is a marvel to still sing so well with his style.

It’s a good record with a few great songs. It’s just missing that Tesla magic that I love so much.

85 out of 100

Track Listing

01. You Won’t Take Me Alive
02. Taste Like *
03. We Can Rule The World
04. Shock *
05. Love Is A Fire
06. California Summer Song
07. Forever Loving You
08. The Mission *
09. Tied To The Tracks
10. Afterlife *
11. I Want Everything
12. Comfort Zone

*Best Songs