Classic Rock Bottom

ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 321 TESLA - MECHANICAL RESONANCE (1986)

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

This week's Album of the Week is a great one.  It's Mechanical Resonance by Tesla.  Mechanica Resonance is the band's debut album.  It's not the band's best selling album, although it did go Platinum.  It's also not the band's highest charting album, although it managed a Top 40 showing at number 32.  

How about singles?  Three were released.  Little Suzi was the one that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, topping out just inside the Top 100 at number 91.  In case you don't remember (or maybe you weren't even born yet), the other two singles were Modern Day Cowboy and Gettin' Better.  Here's a couple of nuggets:

  • Cumin' Atcha Live was usually the concert opener (when I saw them in 1987 opening for Def Leppard, we were late getting into the arena but I could hear this song as we were walking in.  I believe my friends and I saw them at the Omni in Atlanta).
  • Modern Day Cowboy is featured in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
  • I never knew this, but Little Suzi is a cover.  The original was Little Suzi's On The Up by Ph.D.

I totally dig this album.  Always have, always will.  There's not much radio friendly stuff here, but it is all terrific. Tesla was definitely different from all the other bands of the time, even though they were lumped together with the "hair metal" movement.  I love their style and hard rock sound.  You don't get much better on guitars than Hannon and Skeoch.  

But enough about what I think...what do you think?  

Side One:

1. EZ Come EZ Go

2. Cumin' Atcha Live

3. Gettin' Better

4. 2 Late 4 Love

5. Rock Me To The Top

6. We're No Good Together

Side Two:

7. Modern Day Cowboy

8. Changes

9. Little Suzi

10. Love Me

11. Cover Queen

12. Before My Eyes

 

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I remember buying this album in 1986, after reading about it in the magazine Kerrang! 

IMO it's the only really good Tesla-album. It's actually one of THE great debut-albums, one of those, where the band never made a better album.

When I heard it the first time, I couldn't believe how the songs got better and better on the album...that is until the last 3 songs, which are the weakest songs on the album.

Do I still listen to it? Not really, but if the mood was right, I wouldn't mind listening to it. I kind of know it inside out....except the last 3 songs, I guess. I'm not that much an 80's-fan like you, I should think.

One of my friends saw Tesla in concert a few years ago, and had his picture taken with Jef Keith. It looks like he's not much higher than a dwarf. (Keith, not my friend).

"There's not much radio friendly stuff here"? Say what??!!

"Modern Day Cowboy", "Little Suzi" and "Changes" were played A LOT on the radio, at least where I was. Maybe you were listening to the yeehaw stations and of course they wouldn't be playing this type of music because it's pretty dang good compared to the yeehawing twangy stuff.

I had this on vinyl (another one of those stupid albums that was too long for one side of a T-90 cassette) and then got the followup when it came out and didn't like it so I forgot about Tesla and then that "Signs" song came out and I really forgot about Tesla. Then a few years went by and "Mama's Fool" got some play and I then remembered Tesla.

But I still didn't bother getting any Tesla on CD until "Into The Now" came out and I really liked that and also found "Bust A Nut" for cheap but didn't buy any other Tesla on CD.

FInally a few years ago I got this album for cheap and when I played it I realized how dang good it was. So I went out and bought the other CD's (cheap, of course) and liked them but not as much as this one. Still like BAN and ITN, they're both close to this but this one slightly edges them out. The others (minus that five men doing things acoustically thing) are still hit & miss in my book. 

Maybe it's just me, but whenever I hear the beginning of track 2, I always think it's Eddie Van Halen and then I chuckle when I realize (yet again) that it isn't. Isn't that funny????????????????????

For me, radio friendly relates to a song's popularity.  Nothing here hit the Top 40.  That's all I'm sayin'.  I've heard a lot of these songs on the radio as well.

But not on the yeehaw stations. Admit it!

If someone says an album contains no radio friendly tracks, I take that as a positive – unless it’s a country artist then it’s just a given that it sucks.
 
This is one of those albums that I own on vinyl but haven’t updated to CD, mostly because I’m would like to see a high quality remaster or deluxe treatment.  But truly it’s a stunner of a debut album, I loved the crispness to everything and it rocked up the music of the times! 1986 wasn’t exactly the best of the 80’s, it was full of Mtv and glam and cookie-cutter bands though it did give us Iron Maidens best album so there’s that.  Don’t get me wrong (like you guys usually do) 86 was a fine year, but in the overall view of the 80’s it wasn’t top 3 material.
 
There’s nothing to fault here, there’s no bad track and no real issue.  I love this album and the next one as well. C’mon record companies get these fixed and re-released!
 
On another note, it sounds as though Jon and I had the same issues with 90 minute tapes, but true connoisseur’s of mix-tape or straight from record-to-tape collectors like he and I are understood that any cassette longer than 90 minutes and you were sacrificing quality and longevity, thus the 45 minute per side dilemma…  I used exclusively, Maxell UDXLII 90 cassettes, I’ve no idea what T-90 is, but it can’t beat the Maxell…  Somewhere in my attic I’ve got a big pile of mix-tapes on these titled Good  Sh*t Vol xx.  Might have me some fun one these days pulling them out and seeing what I put together then versus what I mash up now…

I don't remember who put out T-90's, but that's the first thing that came to mind. We had those metal cassettes at home, they were heavy as poop. Poppa got them for free by the case. Believe they were Maxell or might have been TDK's.

I did have some of these as well, they were so purty:

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