As sad as it may sound, it’s often life’s losses and hardships that allow a person’s talent and soul to fully reveal themselves in the creative realm. It’s precisely because of them that one finds the kind of spark that, on rare occasions, leads to the creation of a truly unique masterpiece.

Frank Hannon’s album Reflections is exactly that: a musical revelation, an intimate confession offered to the listener through music. This record is a world of its own, filled with emotions and feelings. Most importantly, each song has the power to draw the listener deep into their own soul, pushing them to reflect on life, choices, and thoughts. For a modern person, that’s crucial—because behind the flashy facade of “urgent tasks” we often forget about ourselves and risk becoming faceless beings weighed down by endless problems.

photo by Brandon Gullion

Hannon recorded the entire album on a cellphone. On a damn phone! In the attic of his own home, after returning from three years spent taking care of his dying father-in-law—Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band. After hurricanes, evacuations, and even the painful moment of having to put down one of his horses. After all that chaos and personal tragedy, he climbed up to the attic, picked up his guitar, and started to play—as if his very life depended on the music.

And often, that’s exactly how it works. Some albums are born in studios that cost millions, and others appear when life brings a person to their knees. Reflections belongs to the second category. The paradox is that this kind of music is often the strongest and most real. And make no mistake: Hannon could’ve gone into a state-of-the-art studio, hired the best producers, done everything “by the book.” Instead, he chose honesty. The first takes, captured on a mobile app with an Audigo mic, became the final versions. Because when you’re playing straight from the heart, you don’t get a second take.

Stylistically, the album could be described as a “cinematic western.” It sounds like the soundtrack to a film about life itself, where the main character passes through all the circles of hell and emerges transformed on the other side. The slide guitar sings with a human voice, telling stories words could never express.

Be sure to pay attention to “Walk in the Rain”—a fascinating track. On one hand, its brisk guitar picking has an almost uplifting energy that makes you move with the rhythm. Yet at the same time, there’s sorrow, a deep emotional ache, and loneliness with such force it seems to paralyze you in place. That combination prevents you from sinking fully into melancholy or hysteria, while also not letting you dismiss the emotions as something unimportant.

“Our Father’s Love” brings to mind old cowboy movies. Hannon skillfully weaves together the freedom of country music with notes of bitterness and pain. This balance allows the track to mentally draw a line between the past and the future, while still leaving a door open to revisit the good memories of earlier times.

Next comes “San Francisco.” It begins with a solemn sadness, but slowly, a trace of joy emerges in the melody. The transition brings the image of a long-awaited sunrise after a sleepless night, or the sun breaking through after stormy weather. A sudden pause in the middle of the track grabs all your attention, making you imagine a thousand possible directions the music could take next.

photo by Brandon Gullion

“A Hundred Miles” stands apart with its driving energy. It feels like galloping on a fast horse under the bright sun, when there’s no reason at all to worry about the world around you.

“Sunrise” is filled with tenderness and shades of sadness. Listening to it feels like witnessing a quiet, starry night slowly crossing into dawn, surrounded by nature’s calm—with a loved one by your side, two hearts beating in unison. The chaos of the city and its frantic pace feels far, far away.

“Into the Blue” is pure blues—straight old-school style. The track carries threads of sadness and longing, but not enough to plunge you into gloom. Instead, they highlight the album’s overall atmosphere in the best way.

Of course, all of this is carried by Hannon’s masterful guitar playing. You can sense immediately that he’s none other than the co-founder and lead guitarist of TESLA—whose hits like “Modern Day Cowboy,” “Little Suzi,” and “Love Song” defined a generation. Quality guaranteed.

“This Is Goodbye” has a slow, flowing quality, like the drift of a river through plains or mountain valleys in autumn, when nature starts to fade but there’s still a desperate desire to live. Every emotion here is measured. This track works beautifully for steady, focused activities, lending itself to immersion as if in meditation.

The closing title track “Reflections” is the shortest on the album but also the most memorable. The nylon-string guitar playing is absolutely breathtaking—there’s something almost Spanish about it. One of my personal favorites, guaranteed goosebumps.

The technical side of the album deserves note as well. Mastering engineer Kevin Reeves, who’s worked with The Beatles and John Coltrane, remarked that the mixes barely needed any processing—because sound recorded straight from the soul is already perfect. That’s a lesson for anyone who still thinks the quality of music depends on expensive gear.

Hannon has long been known as Tesla’s co-founder, the man behind the legendary “Love Song” intro inspired by Bach. But Reflections reveals an entirely different side of him. Here he’s a philosopher with a guitar in hand, someone who can take life’s tragedies and turn them into art.

Do I recommend this album? Without a doubt. Fans of instrumental music absolutely need to hear it. But also anyone who wants to rediscover the part of themselves that hides behind the endless chaos of “urgent matters,” to set the mood for calm reflection, or even just to listen to the gentle whispers of the surrounding world. For me, this record is a real treasure—something that works as well for a romantic dinner as it does for focused work or even a quiet evening date. So yes, I highly recommend it—to anyone looking to feel a little bittersweetness, to find a soundtrack for work, or to add a tender, lingering note to a moment shared with somebody they love, one that will stay in their memory for years to come.

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