{"id":14438,"date":"2015-02-27T05:00:44","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T10:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14438"},"modified":"2022-01-06T19:38:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T00:38:04","slug":"the-tesla-album-by-album-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=14438","title":{"rendered":"The Album by Album Challenge: Tesla"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Welcome to another \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge.\u201d For those that are new here, the \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge\u201d is where I take a band\u2019s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And in some cases, face melting is still just good ol\u2019 face melting.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>For this first AxA Challenge of 2015 I give unto you, TESLA! Tesla is a band that I hold very close to my heart as being a band that was truly a big part of the soundtrack of my life. I\u2019ve been a fan of Tesla since 1987 and followed the band until just after the release of their album Psychotic Supper. The band put out another four albums after that one that I didn\u2019t even really give much (if any) attention to so this challenge was an exciting one for me. I hope y\u2019all dig this one and, as always, I hope to hear your thoughts on my opinions of these albums. Enjoy!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mechanical Resonance<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date<\/strong>: December 8, 1986<br \/>\n<strong>The Good<\/strong>: EZ Come EZ Go, Cumin\u2019 Atcha Live, Gettin\u2019 Better, 2 Late 4 Love, Rock Me to the Top, We\u2019re No Good Together, Modern Day Cowboy, Changes, Little Suzi, Love Me, Cover Queen, Before My Eyes<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1986. Goddamn. Has it really been this fucking long? I remember hearing this album for the first time in 1987 and it was love at first listen for me. It\u2019s so fucking great to hear this album sound like a healthy, thriving piece of classic rock. The one thing I have to say is that I never thought of just what a terrible opening song EZ Come EZ Go is. Matter of fact, I had to go back and listen to it after Getting Better and I found that I really like the song. If they changed the sequencing, that song would stand a better chance.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HT0flE2JQPc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How about all those \u201ccrazy\u201d spellings? \u201cEZ Come, EZ Go\u201d, \u201cCumin\u2019 Atcha Live\u201d, \u201c2 Late 4 Love\u201d? That is so 80\u2019s but ya know what? Who gives a fuck because those songs all kick fucking ass. While I\u2019m here, can we just say that \u201cCumin\u2019 Atcha Live\u201d just may be one of the single greatest fucking hard rock songs ever? Tesla really had such a diverse sound here. One minute they were Def Leppard, the next minute Dokken, and the next minute The Allman Brothers Band. This is what made me love Tesla and ya know what? It\u2019s about 10x more awesome than it was in \u201987. A fine wine indeed.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Great Radio Controversy<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date<\/strong>: February 1, 1989<br \/>\n<strong>The Good<\/strong>: Hang Tough, Heaven&#8217;s Trail, Be a Man, Lady Luck, Lazy Days Crazy Nights, Yesterdaze Gone, The Way it Is, Flight to Nowhere, Love Song, Paradise, Party\u2019s Over<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Did It For the Money, Makin\u2019 Magic,<\/p>\n<p>Ok, \u201cHang Tough\u201d is the most ridiculous song title but this song is fucking amazing. I mean, what a great fucking song. That little bit where the band breaks shit down after the solo just kills me every time. Going in to \u201cLady Luck\u201d which is a fucking killer tune. Tesla had a great way of taking ridiculous song titles and story concepts but making them sound so fucking bad ass. I mean, \u201cBe A Man\u201d? Really? Yeah, that song fucking kicks ass. \u201cHeaven\u2019s Trail\u201d is another song. Good fucking god. I just realized I\u2019m gooing all about this album but I don\u2019t give a fuck. It\u2019s bad to the bone. Even the two songs that I found myself indifferent of didn\u2019t really suck. I just felt that they teetered too much on the \u201cglam\u201d side and weren\u2019t nearly as strong as the others.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0CWsV0deJxo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This album is definitely a growth for Tesla. Not only to the songs themselves sound more matured but the overall way the band plays has matured greatly. With Mechanical Resonance, Tesla was pretty much on the fence. They could\u2019ve gone either the more glam metal route of their peers or teetered more on the side of the tradition roots oriented rock n\u2019 roll. Tesla chose to be more of a roots rock band with their feet dipped into glam rock waters. This move totally worked as it solidified Tesla as a band that would stand alone from the pack and this album is a prime example of that.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Psychotic Supper<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> August 30, 1991<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> Change in the Weather, Edison\u2019s Medicine, Don\u2019t De-Rock Me, Call It What You Want, Song and Emotion, Time (last child), Government Personnel, Freedom Slaves, Had Enough, What you Give, Stir It Up, Can\u2019t Stop, Toke About It<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ok. Much like with the debut, I can\u2019t help but feel they should\u2019ve switched the order of the first two songs. I mean, \u201cChange in the Weather\u201d is a cool song but the minute you hear that intro to \u201cEdison\u2019s Medicine\u201d you completely forget that you even heard a song before it. Aside from that I have to say that this album has aged extremely well. I remember back in \u201991 not loving this album so much but goddamn this is a fucking solid album from start to finish.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-2zwBRa0YhA\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On Psychotic Supper, Tesla sounds like they really grew up and grew into their sound. I also love that on this album the band wears their influences on their sleeves a bit. On \u201cTime\u201d you have Tesla nodding to the Aerosmith classic \u201cLast Child\u201d and I\u2019ll be damned if \u201cFreedom Slaves\u201d couldn\u2019t have been a fucking kick ass Def Leppard song at some point. \u201cWhat You Give\u201d is like a fine wine and it still gives me the feels just like the first time I ever heard it. \u201cCall it What You Want\u201d is a song I didn\u2019t love back when but I really find myself loving and \u201cToke About It\u201d just may be one of my favorite album closers. Psychotic Supper is a gem of album that I\u2019m so glad I re-discovered only to appreciate the greatness that I totally overlooked more than 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bust a Nut<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date<\/strong>: August 23, 1994<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> The Gate\/Invited, Shine Away, Try So Hard, Need Your Lovin\u2019, Action Talks, Mama\u2019s Fool, Cry, Earthmover, A lot to Lose, Rubberband, Wonderful World, The Games People Play<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent<\/strong>: Solution, She Want She Want,<\/p>\n<p>Ya know, I never owned Bust a Nut. By the time Tesla had put this one out I had moved on and was finding new musical interests outside of the hard rock\/metal stratosphere. I\u2019ll be honest. I was a bit nervous about listening to this one. At this point in time, even bands like Warrant, Bon Jovi, and Poison were adopting a new image and even trying to change their style of playing to try and keep up with the changing of the seasons (aka: grunge\/alternative) and failing. It was a really pleasant surprise to hear Tesla not only sticking to their guns but making an even more rocking album that most of their peers were putting out.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OSdfPts5CWM\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bust a Nut totally lives up to its name as this is a totally ass kicking album. This one almost feel a bit more in the classic hard rock of Zeppelin and Aerosmith as opposed that kind of rootsy almost southern kind of vibe that was on their previous efforts. This album sounds like a really mature, grown up band that just took a chance and made a really great hard rock album. The opening track is a totally facemelter while \u201cA lot to Lose\u201d just may be my favorite power ballad. What a great song. Let me also point out that this album closes with, hands down, two of Tesla\u2019s greatest songs to date: \u201cWonderful World\u201d and \u201cThe Games People Play.\u201d This album really covers a lot of ground and feels a bit more diverse than anything they\u2019ve put out up to this point. While there are a small number of duds, for the most part this is a surprisingly fantastic album that I will totally be revisiting again and again.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Into the Now<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> March 9, 2004<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Into the Now, Look at Me, What a Shame, Heaven Nine Eleven, Words Can\u2019t Explain, Caught in a Dream, Miles Away, Mighty Mouse, Got No Glory, Come to Me, Recognize, Only You<\/p>\n<p>So in 2004, Tesla made a comeback after being gone for nearly 11 years. Unfortunately, this album just didn\u2019t do a damned thing for me. I listened to this album straight through, front to back, and while nothing made me feel like it was horrible, nothing really grabbed me as particularly good. It just sounded almost, and I hate to say this, like a fucking Nickleback album. It just sounded like they were kind of grasping at a more modern sound and it just didn\u2019t really seem to appeal to me.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-47Gy8W4xO8\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the album progressed, song after song, it just didn\u2019t feel like a really sincere album. This wasn\u2019t the Tesla that I grew up with and loved so much. While I\u2019m all for a band growing and expanding, I\u2019m also all about a band sticking to their guns and doing what it is they do the best. This just didn\u2019t sound or feel like a Tesla album. Where are the goosebumps? Where are the chills? Where is the heart and the roots? It\u2019s not a terrible album by any means but it\u2019s just not a good Tesla album. This is an album I would do fine never hearing again in all honesty.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Forever More<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> October 7, 2008<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Forever More, I Wanna Live, One Day at a Time, So What, Just In Case, Fallin\u2019 Apart, Breakin\u2019 Free, All of Me, Pvt. Ledbetter, In a Hole, The Game<\/p>\n<p>Forever More is pretty much an exactly replica of the previous album, Into the Now. This time around is really no different in that this album just sounded like Tesla striving to be a more modern radio friendly hard rock band. In all honesty, they pulled it off. I mean, I could\u2019ve heard any and every one of these songs on AOR radio sandwiched between Shinedown and Fuel or some shit like that. They pulled off being able to sound like modern hard rock band but again, this just isn\u2019 the Tesla that I love.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qKQfyC_-UkI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Forever More is an album that sounds like it was made as an attempt to appeal to a newer, maybe even younger audience at the time but in all honesty, I just felt somewhat dusted. This is that fork in the road where, as a fan, you have to ask yourself, \u201cAm I on this ship still or am I just going to bail and go back to where I remember things being great and things being how I liked them best?\u201d Forever More just didn\u2019t do anything for me and just sounded like a band that had strayed so far from its roots that I wondered if it was even possible for them to get back there if they ever wanted to do so.<\/p>\n<p>==================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simplicity<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> June 6, 2014<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> MP3, Ricochet, So Divine, Cross My Heart, Flip Side, Other Than Me, Break of Dawn, Burnout to Fade, Life is a River, Sympathy, Time Bomb, \u2018Til That Day<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>The Indifferent:<\/strong> Rise and Fall, Honestly,<\/p>\n<p>Right out the fucking gates it was loud and clear that Tesla went back to where it all began. They found their way back to their roots and put out an album that totally reminded me just why I fell in love with this band in the first place. \u201cMP3\u201d is Tesla addressing the modern technological shift in the way we listen to music while \u201cCross My Heart\u201d is something that very well could have been on The Great Radio Controversy.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LyZMfxhhhiY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Listening to Simplicity is like hearing a band celebrating a homecoming of sorts. This is Tesla back where they belong and making the kind of music that I love them so much for. The songs are introspective, moving, and, whoa, there it is; the goosebumps. \u201cLife is a River\u201d is Tesla how I love them best. I feel moved and I feel like they really dug deep into their roots and tugged hard on them. Simplicity is a great testament that Tesla\u2019s best days are still ahead of them. What a great way close out this challenge. Welcome home fellas. I missed y\u2019all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to another \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge.\u201d For those that are new here, the \u201cAlbum by Album Challenge\u201d is where I take a band\u2019s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[1266],"class_list":["post-14438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-news","tag-tesla"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14438"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19525,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14438\/revisions\/19525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}