Tesla-“Homage” Album Review…Over the years, Tesla has never been a stranger to recording cover songs by bands that have influenced them. Starting with the Five Man Acoustical Jam album, which mixed in live, unplugged songs from Tesla’s songbook with cover songs that brought them a big hit with their cover of “Signs”, and later with the two albums “Real To Reel” and “Real To Real Vol. 2”.
“Homage” features a brand-new original song, “Never Alone,” and 13 cover songs from a variety of musical artists and genres. “Never Alone” opens the album, and it’s a nice addition to Tesla’s library of original songs. It seems it may be a while before we get the next album of Tesla originals, due to the fact that the band is doing a massive tour with Mötley Crüe throughout the summer, but it’s nice to get some new tunes by the band, and this collection of cover songs definitely doesn’t disappoint in any respect. While Tesla was lumped in with the hair metal movement of the 80s, the band always seemed to have more than a little admiration for the bands and sounds of the late 60s and the 70s, and the tunes selected for “Homage” see the band nailing that soulful style of those times. When I was growing up, my mother would practically wear out the Sam Cooke album she had, so “Bring It On Home” feels like an old friend here, and Jeff Keith has the soulful voice to make this song feel authentic. “I Love You”, a cover of The Climax Blues Band hit, was a nice surprise and sounds incredible in the Tesla style. Other standout songs for me include Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad of Curtis Loew,” CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” and the country rocker by the legendary Hank Williams Sr., done Tesla style. All in all, this album delivers the goods on classic songs that are simply timeless. Tesla pays “Homage” to this artist respectfully while still making the songs their own. I highly recommend adding this album to your collection. Tesla keeps proving album after album that they have plenty of gas left in the tank as they continue to deliver great songs and some great surprises as well.
- Never Alone (Original Song)
- Bring It On Home (Sam Cooke Cover)
- Spread Your Wings (Queen Cover)
- I Wish It Would Rain (The Temptations Cover)
- Night Moves (Bob Seger Cover)
- If I Can Dream (Elvis Presley Cover)
- Come And Get It (Badfinger Cover)
- I Got You (James Brown Cover)
- Give A Little Bit (Supertramp Cover)
- I Love You (2026 Version)(Climax Blues Band Cover)
- The Ballad Of Curtis Loew (Lynyrd Skynyrd Cover)
- Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival Cover)
- I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James Cover)
- Mind Your Own Business – (Hank Williams Sr. Cover)
TESLA are:
Jeff Keith – Vocals
Frank Hannon – Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Organ, Backing Vocals
Dave Rude – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass
Brian Wheat – Bass, Keyboards, Piano, Backing Vocals
Steve Brown – Drums and Percussion
For more on Tesla, visit: https://teslatheband.com/
