Motorbikes and Rock: Tesla’s “Full Throttle Live” Review

via+teslaband.bandcamp.com

via teslaband.bandcamp.com

Mike Singer

Motorcycles and rock and roll… what isn’t there to love?

Tesla released its sixth live record on Friday, May 26 titled “Full Throttle Live.” The reason that it’s named the way it is as well as having a skeleton on a motorcycle is because this show was recorded at the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

I for one love live music, whether it’s Kiss’ “Alive!” or Aerosmith’s “A Little South Of Sanity,” music is best when it’s consumed live and performed in front of a massive audience.

The Sacramento, California natives pulled out all the stops for this release which has a total run time of 44 minutes and includes nine songs.

I think the timing worked well for Tesla. I think nine songs and 44 minutes works well for a live record, it’s not too long and it’s certainly not a full concert. It’s the right amount of songs and highlights the best part of the show.

Some of the songs included on the record are fan favorites like “Changes” off of 1986’s “Mechanical Resonance” as well as “Call It What You Want” off of 1991’s “Psychotic Supper.”

This is a really good live record and it sounds amazing. I know when it comes to live records, sometimes a band goes back into the studio to touch up lyrics or guitars.

Take Kiss “Alive!” for Judas Priest’s “Unleashed In the East,” both bands went back into the studio to do some touch ups. I’m not saying that Tesla did that, I’m just curious as to whether they did or not because these recordings are really clean.

Some of the highlights of this record is that the recordings are clean as I’ve said. If the band did go into the studio to touch some parts of the recording then I’m okay with that. As long as the live record catches the essence of the band on stage then a little fine tuning is okay. Who wants to hear the same mistake again and again on a live record?

Another really cool thing that I liked on this record was that they recorded live versions of their newest singles. They recorded 2021’s “Cold Blue Steel” and 2022’s “Time To Rock!”

“Time To Rock!” is arguably my favorite live song from the entire record. I love the use of Talk Boxes on songs and I truly do not think that they get used enough. I love that guitarist Frank Hannon decided to use one on this song, it fits extremely well. Hannon’s Talk Box fits perfectly with Jeff Keith’s vocals.

Keith’s vocals have really stood the test of time when you compare it to some of the other bands that made it big from the ‘80’s. I understand that vocals age as does the singer but to still have a pretty good voice and keep it in good shape is hard to do but Keith has done a good job so far.

What I loved the most from this record was that at the very end they included a cover of Aerosmith’s “SOS (Too Bad)” from their 1974 record titled “Get Your Wings.”

I think the only negative thing that didn’t work for the band was that it lacked some of the hits. Yes, it included “Changes” and “Call It What You Want” but I would have liked to hear more songs like “Love Song,” “Signs,” and or “What You Give.” I’m not saying they need to play all of those songs but one or two would have been nice.

Outside of more hits being included on the record, that would be the only negative thing I would have to say about this record.

 

Finally, it’s time for The Singer’s Thoughts:

  1. I hope that other bands take notice on the length, it really is the perfect length and it shows that bands don’t need to make live records an hour and a half
  2. I hope that this leads to a full album from the band. It’s been four years since 2019’s “Shock” and I think it’s time for a new record
  3. If this record is touched up, bands shouldn’t be afraid to admit it, I personally don’t mind it and as long as it encanches the sound than that’s totally okay

Overall Grade: 7/10