Tesla – Twisted Wires & Acoustic Sessions

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Featuring six tracks recorded back in 2005, and six newly recorded tracks including two brand new songs, Twisted Wires & Acoustic Sessions does what it says on the tin, presents tracks from throughout Tesla’s career as new acoustic rearrangements. Sometimes when bands record acoustic versions of their songs the instrumentation takes a bit of a hit, with solos being left out and riffs becoming simple strummed chords. Either that or they select only their ballads rather than rearrange rock tracks. Not so here. Although the majority of the tracks selected were originally on the softer side of the band’s sound, if a particular song was originally a rocker, the band makes sure they rock here too, with lead guitarist Frank Hannon sacrificing none of his solos. Both new songs Second Street and Better Off Without You are mediocre ballads, but tracks like Into The Now, from their 2004 comeback album, and Edison’s Medicine from 1991 album Psychotic Supper, positively smoke as acoustic groovers. Of the softer songs Changes from 1986′s Mechanical Resonance really shines, alongside Song And Emotion (Psychotic Supper) and Caught In A Dream (Into The Now). A couple of the 2005 recordings, actually the last tracks to be recorded with guitarist Tommy Skeoch, have been released before, but only as limited edition bonus tracks. Shine Away appeared on a Best Buy-exclusive bonus disc with the Real To Reel album, while What You Give and Climax Blues Band cover I Love You were included on the iTunes-exclusive EP A Peace of Time. What will make this attractive for fans of the band though is that the tracklist doesn’t include any songs which formed the ever-popular Five Man Acoustical Jam acoustic live album.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Tesla