Customer Reviews

5 Man Acoustical Jam

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tesla's Five Man Acoustical Jam, may not have been the first band to try the unplugged thing, but Tesla were the one's that made the unplugged performance the popular trend that it was in the early ninties. After Five Man Acoustical Jam, a lot of artists starting releasing cds from MTV Unplugged appearances. Springsteen and Nirvana, to just name a few.

Tesla's Five Man Acoustical Jam is not your typical live album. With this cd you can tell everybody's having a goodtime. The band and the fans are really enjoying themselves, not taking things to seriously. The intimatcy of the performance is great. Many highlights from Tesla's first two albums and great oldies covers make this a great cd.

Tesla turns Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" into their own song. What a great rendetion. Other covers Tesla performs include Truckin' and Lodi. The Five Man Acoustical Jam really shows off the talents of Tesla and is an excellent and rewarding album.

One of the more annoying trends of the early '90's (along with the dominance of grunge) was to have artists "unplug" their music and show a more "sensitive" side to things. It was so contrived and unspontaneous that it became downright tedious. However, before any of that happened, one of the greatest, most underrated hard rock bands in history decided to unplug--and did so with great success. This album is anything but contrived, and despite it's unplugged nature is still quite rocking. I was instantly blown away when I heard the opening track "Comin' Attcha Live" break into "Truckin'" (and I'm not even a Grateful Dead fan). Same thing when "We Can Work It Out"--a great Beatles' cover--turns into the classic "Signs", which Tesla has made a legendary hit of their own. It is remarkable to hear the way such songs as "Before My Eyes" and "Paradise" came across accoustically as compared to their electronic counterparts. Just an incredibly spirited performance from a band that has always done it right. Now, 11 years after this release, I look forward to an electric double-CD set from this band that will be out soon. Tesla is indeed back together! For me, they never truly went away, with masterpieces such as this.

I am not a big Tesla fan but this is a great album. I think what hurt them is that they were categorized with the all the goofy hair metal bands but they were more in the vein of your classic 70's style rock and roll band. This live album, along with the accoustic format, helped to distinguish Tesla from the hair metal bands of the era.

Tesla did not do much after this cd so this acts as an excellent greatest hits compilation as well.

Besides their own work, the covers are good and interesting selections. They do not just play "Truckin", rather they segue into it. "Lodi" is done very well and then the song that essentially launched the cd, as well as the band, is "Signs". They take this marginal 60's era protest song and put their stamp of it. It still maintains a protest aura to it but the accoustic treatment makes it grittier and it rocks out harder. Tesla made the song their own!

As far as the accoustic format, the song "Love Song" showcases the musicianship of the band. I like how they could not resist plugging in for the guitar solo.

Overall, you do not have to be a fan of this band to enjoy this cd. If you like any classic rock Led Zep, CCR, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Aerosmith etc. then you will like this.

Like I said, I am not a big fan but b/c of this cd, I would see them live any day!

Recorded at Trocadero Club in Philladelphia on July 2 1990, Five Man Acoustical Jam is - from my personal point of view- a precursor and probably the musical idea that generated the "unplugged" concept which would be developed by you know who shortly afterwards.
Tesla delivers an acoustical set, if not brilliant, adequate and well performed. The best tracks are the obvious hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Love Song". Due to the lack of musical background - at that time- of the band, Tesla intelligently supports the show with pleasant acoustic versions of rock classics such as the Rolling Stones' "Mother Little Helper", CCR's "Lodi" and prominently "Signs" originally recorded by the obscure act Five Man Electrical Band which became the album's major hit.
Five Man Acoustical Jam in short, is an enjoyable record without big pretension. The ideal CD to listen to on any given hot summer afternoon with a cold six pack next to your favorite couch.

This cd is awesome. Tesla recorded this live acoustic before the beginning of the show "MTV unplugged" but it's in the same spirit. "five man acoustic jam" is for me the best of Tesla. the versions of "the way it is", "before my eyes", "paradise", "love song" and "modern day cowboy" are among the best acoustic-rock songs ever. Frank Hanon plays the kind of guitar-solos you want to listen 5 times in a row (at least!!!)... conclusion, if you like rock and acoustic guitar, you can't go wrong with that album...

it is a total shame that this album doesn't get more respect. i think it is one of the most underrated albums of the last 15 years. a lot of people wrongfully group this band with the "hair bands" of the late 80's and early 90's.....and that is so far from the truth.

i was about 12 when this album came out and it was the first time i heard the stone's "mother's little helper," CCR's "lodi", and the dead's "truckin'" - i have since become a fan of these bands and owe a lot of that to this incredibly live album.

this album also gets no credit for being a pioneer of he "unplugged series."

i strongly recommend this album - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This is one of the best rock concerts I have ever heard. Tesla recorded this album when acoustic performances where not as popular as they are today. The record presents a hard rock band with no effects or stage extravaganzas but the music instead of loosing focus becomes more interesting and intense. Being a band from the late 80's (when glam rock was at its peak) this was a bold move at the time.

The set features both original and covers of Creedence, Beatles and Rolling Stones among others and putted Tesla in the spotlight as a powerful classic rock band. This record, in retrospective, was perhaps their most solid and sucessful.

The good thing about this album is that is still as interesting and true today as it was when it was recorded. Its one of those records that stands the test of time and gets better with age.

This is the unplugged album of all unplugged albums. It was the risk-taker that worked out. It was the one that established the trend and so rarely gets the credit it deserves for that. It is the one that Rolling Stone forgets when they compile their lists of "important" albums.

They render some of their own tunes real well in this, like Heaven's Trail, The Way It Is, and Love Song. The crowd interaction for Gettin' Better makes you really feel you are there in the middle of the crowd. It does take some getting used to though when listening to Modern Day Cowboy as an unplugged version, but it works.

What is impressive are some of the takes they have on classic tunes. The Beatle's We Can Work it Out is stunning. The Stones' Mother's Little Helper is a fun take. Five Man Electrical Band's song Sign was of course the big hit of this album that made a lot of people do a double-take to the possibilities of unplugged renderings.

Also included are a couple of Tesla jams in Tommy's Down Home, which has some hysterically funny lyrics sung by Tommy Skeoch, as well as Down Fo' Boogie which is also fun.

The first time I listened to this album I was surprised at the audacity of a hard rock band releasing an acustic album. At the time it almost sounded classical to me (consider that at the time, Poison and Warrant were the coolest). It effectively expanded my musical horizons. Tesla is one of the most underrated bands ever, both Tommy Skeoh and Frankie Hannon are amazing and talented guitar players, their rythm section and vocals are top notch. The song selection is excellent, mixing both some of their best songs and classics from other bands like the G. Dead and the Beatles. Do yourself a favor, get both the CD AND the video. In the video you'll get an extra song plus an extended acustic guitar solo before Love Song (probably their biggest hit). Plus you'll get to figure out what they're talking about in between songs.

As one reviewer posted, this did not spawn the MTV unplugged era. Bon Jovi did that a couple of years before at the MTV music awards performing Wanted Dead or Alive. Stevie Ray Vaughn was on MTV unplugged in 1989, so no, Tesla did not start the whole unplugged thing. However, this a great album, and for those of you that are fans of unplugged music, this one cannot be overlooked. Signs was the big hit from the album, but I don't think there is a bad song on it. Definitely check it out if you like acoustic music.