Tesla – To Release 13 Track Tribute Album; Led Zeppelin Cover of ‘Thank You’ is Lead Single

Thursday, April 26, 2007

TESLA will release a 13 track tribute album that pays homage to their hard rock heroes, entitled Real to Reel, that will be out June 5 on their own independent label, Tesla Electric Company Recordings (in partnership with Ryko Distribution).

“Real to Reel is a collection of songs that inspired us back in the day when we first heard them in the ‘70s,” says singer Jeff Keith. “We originally had a large list of songs in mind for the record, and we had a lot of fun picking out the ones that ultimately made it onto the album. Making music is all about feeding off of your inspirations and putting your own touches to it. We feel we’ve accomplished this to the highest extent.”

In talking about the first single, “Thank You,” Keith explains, ”That’s my favorite song on the album, and it’s funny because we never discussed covering that particular song. We went back and forth about a lot of Led Zeppelin songs. We had planned on doing ‘The Song Remains The Same,’ and it was Frank who thought we should do ‘Thank You’ instead. The guys actually recorded it while I was at my casita feeding the abandoned pups and their mom that I found in a vacant lot. When I returned to the studio and heard what they did, I was so blown away that it inspired me to sing what I think is my best vocal performance on the record. When I finished recording in one take, it was just mind-blowing. Everyone in the studio was in tears. Sometimes that’s how it works and that’s the beauty of making music. We all felt it was the perfect choice for the first single. If you think about TESLA, the lyrical message of the lyrics throughout the years, they’re very similar to ‘Thank You.’ It’s that same positive message that we try to get across in every TESLA song. It’s a sacrilegious song to cover and we didn’t think we’d do it justice, but we were up for the challenge.

On the touring front, TESLA will launch a summer U.S. headlining tour starting June 7 in Santa Rosa, CA at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. They’ll make a stop in Las Vegas at the House of Blues on Thursday, June 14. Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday, April 27. The band will perform three more House of Blues shows in Anaheim (Friday, June 8), West Hollywood (Saturday, June 9), in San Diego (Monday, June 11), which go on sale this Saturday, April 28. More dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Complete track listing of Reel one (sold at retail):

1.         Space Truckin’ (Deep Purple)
2.         Walk Away (James Gang)
3.         Hand Me Down World (Guess Who)
4.         Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy)
5.         Thank You (Led Zeppelin)
6.         I’ve Got A Feeling (Beatles)7.         Day Of The Eagle (Robin Trower)
8.         Ball Of Confusion (Temptations)
9.         Rock Bottom (UFO)
10.       Stealin’ (Uriah Heep)
11.       Bell Bottom Blues (Eric Clapton)
12.       Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones)
13.       Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)

Complete track listing of Reel two (available with concert ticket purchase only):

1.         All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople)
2.         Make It Last (Montrose)
3.         Shooting Star (Bad Company)
4.         Not Fragile (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
5.         Street Fighting Man (Rolling Stones)
6.         Is It My Body (Alice Cooper)
7.         I Want To Take You Higher (Sly & The Family Stone)
8.         Do You Feel Like We Do (Peter Frampton)
9.         Beer Drinkers And Hellraisers (ZZ Top)
10.       Seasons Of Wither (Aerosmith)
11.       Saturday Night Special (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
12.       War Pigs (Black Sabbath)