This 1990 acoustic performance shows that Tesla was a hair band in name only. For 75 minutes, the California hard-rock quintet runs through a scintillating selection of originals and well-chosen covers in one of the very first acoustic concerts before MTV's Unplugged became all the rage. The ragged video quality adds to the homey, intimate atmosphere the band creates sitting on stools in a small Philadelphia club surrounded by hundreds of rabid fans. Along with songs off its first two albums--including "Modern Day Cowboy," "The Way It Is," and its first Top 10 single, "Love Song"--Tesla also generously throws in chestnuts like "Truckin'," "We Can Work It Out," and its smash-hit version of the Five Man Electrical Band's trippy "Signs." Versatility wasn't the hallmark of most guitar bands, but Tesla never needed hairspray and bimbo-laden videos; Five Man Video Band is ample proof. Only quibble: no 5.1 remix of the dynamic music
Five Man Acoustical Jam is a live album released in 1990 by the band Tesla, using acoustic guitars instead of the electric guitars which hard rock/heavy metal bands such as Tesla were known for. The biggest hit from the album was the song "Signs", a cover version originally from the band Five Man Electrical Band, who also had a hit with the song (Tesla's version included a few uses of "fuck" not in the original version). Other songs included "Love Song" and "The Way It Is" (hits from their previous album The Great Radio Controversy) and covers of The Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi", and The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out". It was recorded live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Trocadero Theatre. It's considered the first unplugged show ever recorded, before MTV did it.
