Standing Room Only

by Greg Prato

Although Tesla was often lumped in with all those unbearable glam metal bands during their first go round in the late '80s/early '90s, they were always a cut above the hairspray set, especially live. Despite being off the road for the latter half of the '90s, when the group reunited in 2000 and started playing live once more, the chemistry was still there -- as evidenced by the 13-track live release Standing Room Only. Issued in DVD Audio (which means it plays on DVD players and is in 5.1 surround sound), Tesla shows why they were considered one of the best live hard rock acts to emerge during the aforementioned era (especially evident in guitarists Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon's graceful dual harmonies), as nothing but the classics are included here -- including the expected riff rockers ("Cumin' Atcha Live," "Heaven's Trail"), melodic rockers ("Gettin' Better," "Little Suzi"), and soft rockers ("Signs," "Love Song"). Tesla is certainly back in business, and Standing Room Only is all the proof you'll need.