Frank Hannon

Reflections

Redhawk Records

Tesla, the hair-but-not-quite-glam-or-metal band from early 1980s California, has endured over the decades by its ability to tweak to the times its bluesy, hard-rocking brand of screech. But it has mainly done so because of its highly talented players. Frank Hannon is one of Tesla’s guitarists, and he has a heck of a lot in his back pocket besides what he dishes out with his main gig. Some of it is music inspired by his late father-in-law, The Allman Brothers Band’s Dickey Betts—the stuff Betts himself was reared on.

Throughout Reflections, his latest solo album, Hannon’s guitar glides gracefully like Betts’s did, even during the times the songs bump along a bit rougher and kick a little ass. Like every person on the planet, Hannon also has an iPhone in that back pocket, and believe it or not, he recorded the entirety of this album playing his guitar into an app on that little device. Lo-fi? Not in any way. This music—blues, country, and Western-styled—comes across incredibly crisp and full of deep nuances.

Three of these 13 original instrumental compositions instantly sound like a Dickey Betts melody. In the loping, Western-tinged “A Hundred Miles,” one can hear the strong impression Betts left on his son-in-law as a guitarist, the strumming and note bending crystalline. For “Plank Spankin’,” Hannon co-opts a lick from the Allman Brothers’ take on Elmore James’ “Done Somebody Wrong” and builds an exciting little country blues workout like Betts might have. Later, in the rollicking “One More Time,” Hannon’s overdubbed guitars provide irresistible phrases that recall vintage Allman Brothers Band guitar dueling.

Otherwise, Frank Hannon seems to have built these pieces around the attitudes of his father-in-law, as a person and through melody, evoking thoughts of him on a profound level. Astute listeners will hear a mournful, singular cry as the gentle “Sunrise” dawns, certainly a direct reference to Mr. Betts. The exquisite “Joy and Pain,” and the dramatic, Western-tempo-shifting dirge “Our Father’s Love,” must be inspired by reflections on the jumble of emotions Hannon and Betts both felt while together at the Betts home during Dickey’s final months.

“Poncho’s Song” also calls to mind the stylishness of Dickey Betts, but also that of Santo and Johnny Farina’s late 1950s hit, “Sleep Walk.” The song feels like sashaying through a field of wet grass with a loved one.

For “Into the Blue,” Hannon plays in a probing manner, searching it seems, for a final resting place, and then in “This is Goodbye,” he bids his farewell in somber manner, the blues of the song a release but a reluctant one.

An understated yet brilliant guitarist, Frank Hannon exposes passionate peaks and valleys on Reflections that provoke meditation while entertaining endlessly. In the process, he reveals sides of himself that are touching, surprising, and very welcome.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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