CD REVIEW: TESLA – Simplicity

CD REVIEW: TESLA – Simplicity
Frontiers
June 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8.5/10

Tesla parallel the simplicity of our pre-digital age with a return to the essence of their sound on their seventh full-length studio record, and it’s a return that will be welcomed with open arms by any fan of the band.

Simplicity is the name on the label, and simplicity is what it’s all about, with a stripped-back to basics sonic mix and while Jeff Keith name checks ‘Uncle’ Ted Nugent and harkens back to a simpler time (on MP3 ‘all the world is overrun with technology/ out of touch with reality’ and Ricochet ‘me and the boys got a rock n roll band’) it doesn’t take long to see that sometimes the simple things in life are the best.

Frank Hannon & Dave Rude’s guitars grind heavy and loud, while Troy Luccketta’s drums pack a Bonhamesque punch, and Keith and bassist/pianist Brian Wheat are both on career-best form.

In just being Tesla, stopping over-thinking and getting back in touch with what makes the band so great, they’ve come close to recapturing the spark of their million-selling debut Mechanical Resonance – no mean feat for a band that formed over thirty years ago!

Hearing the band completely real – no digital studio trickery, no layering ad-infinitum of tracks one after another, just a rock n’ roll band playing to their strengths – is a joy, much like welcoming an old friend into your house for a meal: comforting, engaging, warming the soul.

Category: CD Reviews