The covers album is a pariah in the music world; much like the double-live album, it's usually more an object of critical derision than excitement. And admittedly, Tesla's not the first band of their era to try it recently; Def Leppard released "Yeah!" last year after two years of waiting, Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades (of Styx/Night Ranger/Damn Yankees fame) paid homage to their heroes earlier this year with "Influence," and no lesser a light than Poison, the kings of hair metal, released a half-assed covers album of their own this year (on the same day as Tesla's! The nerve.) as well. Even Warrant got into the action a few years back.
Right from the first sighting of the track listing, though, I was very excited. "Seasons of Wither"? "Thank You"? "I Want To Take You Higher"? Wow. As soon as songs started appearing on MySpace, I couldn't get them out of my head.
The album was released on June 5, and it hasn't left my CD player (or my "New Music" playlist on my ZiPod) since. I love everything these guys have ever done, and this is just another brilliant Tesla album to me. Start to finish, this disc (and the second disc, which is currently only available at their live shows, but will be available for general purchase in the fall) just rocks my balls off. Jeff Keith wails; some might not like his voice (Mr. Amazon Reviewer Guy), but this isn't about sounding like Robert Plant or Sammy Hagar, it's about Teslafying the songs... which they absolutely did.Hits: Walk Away, Thank You, I've Got A Feeling, Stealin', Bell Bottom Blues, All The Young Dudes, Shooting Star, Is It My Body, I Want To Take You Higher, Do You Feel Like We Do, Seasons Of Wither, Saturday Night Special - really, almost all 25 songs...
Misses: Rock Bottom (just too long and sloggy), Dear Mr. Fantasy (Jeff sounds a little off on this song, although the guitar duel is excellent)
No comments:
Post a Comment