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I admit it -- I am a sucker for good harmonies, big guitar hooks and, dare I say, the occasional power ballad. Tonic's third release,
Head on Straight, picks up where 1999's Sugar left off, with plenty of meaty guitar riffs and the saccharine drenched vocals of Emerson Hart. On for production duties for this effort is super producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, etc.). Rock has the talent to take a group and refine their sound enough to make it both edgy and ear friendly. Although Metallica's 1991 self-titled record may have alienated some hard core Metallicaheads, it was the most successful album for them to date, and Rock, assisting them to refine their sound with a more palpable structure than their prior work, exposed them to a much greater audience. It was a heavy structure with some real pop sensibility as opposed to their previous straight ahead metal approach. The adjustments on
Head on Straight compared to Tonic's prior work are less noticeable than Rock's work with Metallica, but his influence is observable. This album is more solid than
Sugar, and almost as good as the 1996 debut record, Lemon Parade, which is one of my favorite records from that year.
Tonic provides enough variety on this new disc so that it doesn't all blend together while the material fits together cohesively. The boys flex their range a bit on the last two tracks of the album, "Irish" and "Let Me Go," but stick with the power ballad or hard rocking pop that they have produced well in the past. "Roses," the opening track, is the perfect example of what Tonic is all about. The song features some excellent riffs, good harmonies and a lyric or two that will stick in your head. So, hurray for the Lemon Parade -- Tonic has another good record out.
~R. David Smola
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