Tesla - Psychotic Supper (1989)

Psychotic Supper benefits from a more stripped-down production than The Great Radio Controversy, using fewer overdubs and thereby enhancing Tesla's bluesy, acoustic-tinged rock & roll. Going over the top was never what Tesla did best, and Psychotic Supper shows enough variation and occasional understatement to retain the listener's interest. Many of the band's best songs are here, including "What You Give," "Call It What You Want," "Song and Emotion," and "Edison's Medicine"; the latter is perhaps the most typical of the pop-metal anthem sound, but its subject matter -- the attention paid to Thomas Edison over lesser-known genius Nikola Tesla, to whom the band is obviously devoted -- certainly qualifies it as distinctive. The guitar workout on "Don't De-Rock Me" is another highlight.