Comparisons to MTV Unplugged tend to be thrown around in an attempt to promote any pre-Unplugged acoustic music by linking it with a successful, more contemporary phenomenon, but Tesla's Five Man Acoustical Jam was actually a legitimate predecessor of the trend -- it bears a strong resemblance to early Unplugged sessions in its informality and sense that the band is just having fun.
Perhaps more importantly, the fact that a cover of the Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" became a Top Ten hit demonstrated that acoustic rock & roll -- not just ballads like Guns N' Roses' "Patience" or Extreme's "More Than Words" -- could find acceptance and commercial viability with rock audiences.
As for the musical results, Tesla's originals generally translate well to the acoustic format, though some of the jams tend to ramble and lose focus, a fact underscored by the tightly melodic covers of '60s classics like "Lodi" and "Mother's Little Helper." Still, this adds to the informal atmosphere, and the album is a nice change of pace from the rest of Tesla's catalog.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comin' Atcha Live/Truckin'Frank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Brian Wheat | Tesla | Play | 07:22 | 16 MB | 49 MB |
| 2 | The Way It IsFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Troy Luccketta, Tommy Skeoch | Tesla | Play | 06:30 | 14 MB | 44 MB |
| 3 | We Can Work It OutJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | Tesla | Play | 02:08 | 4 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | SignsArthur Goring Thomas | Tesla | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Gettin' BetterFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith | Tesla | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | Before My EyesFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Troy Luccketta, Tommy Skeoch | Tesla | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | ParadiseFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Brian Wheat | Tesla | Play | 05:49 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 8 | LodiJohn Fogerty | Tesla | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | Mother's Little HelperMick Jagger, Keith Richards | Tesla | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | Modern Day CowboyFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Tommy Skeoch | Tesla | Play | 06:08 | 14 MB | 38 MB |
| 11 | Love SongFrank Hannon, Jeff Keith | Tesla | Play | 09:53 | 22 MB | 63 MB |
| 12 | Tommy's Down HomeTommy Skeoch | Tesla | Play | 02:04 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 13 | Down Fo' BoogieJeff Keith, Tommy Skeoch | Tesla | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 62 mins | 144 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 410 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Beyer | Engineer |
| 2 | John Fogerty | Composer |
| 3 | Frank Hannon | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | David Hewitt | Engineer |
| 5 | Mick Jagger | Composer |
| 6 | Jeff Keith | Composer, Tambourine, Vocals |
| 7 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 8 | Troy Luccketta | Composer, Drums, Percussion |
| 9 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 10 | Dan McClendon | Producer |
| 11 | Dan McClendon | Engineer, Producer |
| 12 | Keith Richards | Composer |
| 13 | Tommy Skeoch | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Tesla | Primary Artist |
| 15 | Arthur Goring Thomas | Composer |
| 16 | Brian Wheat | Bass, Composer, Piano, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |