Run for cover . . .

I was recently introduced to "Real to Reel" - the latest CD offering by 80's metal darlings Tesla. If you have any familiarity with the band, you might remember heavy airplay, made-for-MTV hits like "Love Song", "The Way It Is", and "What You Give". Enter modern day. The once lush paradise of Hair Metal Cove has now turned into the barren, cracked earth of "Ain't Had a Hit in Twenty Years". In the majority of cases, it's all but killed bands of that genre. Those more vigilant have since found new avenues to pursue, to include the boys from Tesla - who have re-invented themselves as a professional cover band - - and are now touring in support of it. *insert sound of pin dropping*. Um . . . yeah.

Material-wise, Real to Reel consists of not one, but two volumes of classic rock power standards from 70's heavyweights like Alice Cooper, Bad Co., Montrose, Aerosmith, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd - just to name a few. If you're savvy enough to have caught the intended play on words with "real" and "reel", then you're also clued into the other gratuitous quirk that this double set offers: all of the tracks were recorded using a vintage Neve console, and then mastered directly to Ampex 456 analog tape (i.e."reel-to-reel" tape). If your name isn't Donald Fagen, this probably won't mean a whole lot to you, But don't feel bad - it certainly won't ring a bell with any of the raccoon-eyed, ripped-jean-wearing thirty-something moms wearing that'll be lining the first six rows of the small-to-medium-sized clubs Tesla will be playing on tour. All of whom will be secretly praying that the band will deviate from their cover-heavy set list . . . to play "Love Song" - - just for them - - perhaps twice!

Now before you get the wrong idea about these two CD's, let me tell you that I'm a big Tesla fan. Always have been. I have fond memories of tossing around the 'ol 165g "frizz" down at Sertoma park (*back in the day when you could actually drive through the park), a pair of Pioneer home stereo speakers (*that I'd ingeniously wired to work into my car stereo) setting atop my Mach 1, while Mechanical Resonance blasted for all to hear. The only thing cooler than that was the fact that we were sucking down Schlitz Malt Liquor with these clever soda can decals wrapped around them, so no one knew we were drinking illegally. Yeah, I know. Total coolness.

Perhaps the most enticing thing about "Real to Reel", at least for me, was the guitar work. Side-to-side, it's all incredibly well done. I've always been impressed with players that appreciate and / or revere the guitar tones achieved using vintage gear, and original band guitarist Frankie Hannon, along with sideman Dave Rude, weave some incredibly lush classic rock tones throughout both CD's. For a gear junkie like myself, that alone was worth the price of admission. While Hannon and Rude's playing rarely strays outside the lines - they do occasionally work in a tasteful original run, slide progression, or lick now and then. Toss in the fact that the tracks were recorded and mixed using vintage studio gear - and hey, break out the bell-bottoms and Keep On' Truckin tees! Overall, the guitar playing is technically very strong, and really fun to listen to - if you're into that sort of thing. I'm thinking that these CD's will get a lot of use as jam / practice tools.

Amongst the bevy of classic tracks, there were two songs that did stand out for me. The first was Grand Funk's Stealin', and the other was Aerosmith's Seasons of Wither. Both are under-appreciated gems from two of the biggest bands of the 70's. What makes Stealin' work particularly well is that Jeff Keith's voice matches nicely to the original sound and vibe of the song. In other words, you still get feel of Jeff's vocal style, blended with a bit of that magical mojo from past. Seasons of Wither - a dusty jewel off of Aerosmith's Get Your Wings album (1974), impressed for the same reasons as noted previously. While it's not on par with the original delivery, courtesy of a young, pre-chemically-dependent Steven Tyler - the song does have its moments . . . and especially on guitar.

My friend James, who sent me the CD's, made mention of the fact that in his opinion, the Tesla version of Saturday Night Special was perhaps the best he'd ever heard - - cover or original. Indeed, bold words coming from someone who does not own a single piece of Skynyrd on vinyl - - or a Skynyrd release devoid of the words Greatest Hits (*I make light of this only because I can). Me - I've been listening to Saturday Night Special longer than I care to admit publicly, so my take on the Tesla version of SNS is a well-earned "C" - with most of this grade being given on the strength of the guitar work. The vocals, IMHO, are a bit "light", and the delivery less vengeful / toxic than the original album version. When you listen to Ronnie Van Zant's vocals on SNS, you don't have a hard time imagining him getting liquored up on cheap whiskey at a dingy local watering hole - - and then jumping in his rusty old pickup, hell-bent to fill his wife's adulterous lover full of cheap lead slugs. I don't hear that desperate, twisted vibe in Jeff Keith's rendition, and hence, it just kind of lies there - - like a prom date who's had one-too-many chugs on a bottle of T.J. Swan. Bottom line - if you wanna' run with the big dogs, you'd better be able to bring it. Tesla's version remains content to stay on the porch, though quite honestly, most bands would be happy with that.

As I see it, the big fall on "Real to Reel" is pretty simple - Jeff Keith's voice sounds great on Tesla records, but not that spectacular singing other bands' material. Add to that the fact that there's very little in the way of production done on his vocal parts, which leaves his singing sounding like it's "forced", or even worse, unnatural. Although I can tip my hat to the effort put forth on this project, it's hard to really appreciate anything that is not at least equal to, or better than the original. Most of the songs featured on "Real to Reel", sadly, are not. There's a gem or two here and there, but quite honestly, I'd have have been more impressed with the band releasing a single CD's worth of decent new originals, spiced with a strong cover or two as bonus tracks. But then again, what the hell do I know.

I know a lot of people dig Tesla's music, including myself - and for that reason, I'm really at a loss as to why they'd fill up two entire albums with other bands' tunes. Especially when they're perfectly capable of kicking ass on their own stuff. Give me some new tunes, and I'll be more than happy to come and see you on tour, drink a few brews, and we'll all have a good time. J.