Track Listing

1. Open Up Your Eyes
2. Casual Affair
3. If You Could Only See
4. Soldier's Daughter
5. Lemon Parade
6. Mountain
7. Thick
8. Wicked Soldier
9. Mr. Golden Deal
10. Bigot Sunshine
11. Celtic Aggression
12. My Old Man

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68652 in Music
• Released on: 1996-07-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
For the intro to "Open Up Your Eyes," Tonic's lead guitarist, Jeff Russo, pulls off a wicked little flirtation with the riff from "Badge," and when his guitar gently weeps on "If You Could Only See," Tonic sound enough like Cream-era Clapton to take you back 20 years. The point is, Tonic know how to rock. Russo and singer-rhythm guitarist Emerson Hart make a profoundly talented songwriting team whose material could be put up against anything from R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People. Highlighted by the massively seductive "Casual Affair" and the thunderous epic ballad "Mountain," the songs on Lemon Parade will make you nostalgic for music that doesn't sound like it came from a can. --Gail Worley

Customer Reviews

Great blend of alternative and classic rock
If you mixed equal parts Zepplin, Deep Purple, Counting Crows and Husker Du, you would end up with a pretty fair description of Tonic. This is a solid album, containing both hard rocking songs like Casual Affair, Mountain, Thick, Wicked Soldier (best song on the cd), and ballads such as Lemon Parade and My Old Man. I originally bought the album for the two singles Open Up your Eyes and If You Could Only See, but after a few times through the cd, I decided they are probably among the weaker tracks on this disk. I would have given this album five stars, but for the fact it tends to get a bit tiresome more quickly than a truly great album - possibly because Emerson Hart's vocals, while quite decent, are nonetheless rather non-distinctive. Good liner notes containing full lyrics - this seems to be a vanishing trend, unfortunately. Overall a solid album that won't generate many regrets from purchasers.

Very good classic/modern rock CD
This first album by Tonic caught my attention immediately on the strength of its singles, the anthemic leadoff track "Open Up Your Eyes", and the pretty mid-tempo ballad "If You Could Only See". In buying the album and listening to it in its entirety, I was not disappointed.

"Casual Affair", the second track on the album and placed right between the two biggest singles, was a minor rock radio hit and is a rocking song. The pace of the album slows down a bit with such fare as "Soldier's Daughter" and the title track, although both songs are good.

From there on out, the pace is somewhat varied although not that heavy. Tracks like "Wicked Soldier" and "Bigot Sunshine" are solid rockers, while "Mr. Golden Deal" and the nearly six-minute closer "My Old Man" are a bit slow and lacking just a bit in the hooks department.

Overall, this is a very good debut album by Tonic, and it certainly contains their biggest hits to date. Better than this, in my opinion, is the follow up album "Sugar", which lacks the big hits (although I heard a few of the songs on radio for a time) but has more memorable songs with better hooks overall. Nonetheless, this album is still recommended as a good hybrid of classic and modern rock. Hopefully, their newly-released album, which I have yet to hear, will be good as well. This band clearly deserves more credit than it has gotten thus far in its young career.

Can I give it six stars?
I actually wrote a review of "Sugar", Tonic's second album when it was initially released, but realized I had never shared this one...this is where it started.

At first glance, it seems like Tonic hasn't really done anything new musically, but this couldn't be further from the truth. They have taken classic guitar rock and modernized it with a great beat and sound, with just a touch of country. They've also thrown in thoughtful and honest lyrics that don't pull any punches. This is an incredible album.

There is something for everyone, really. "If You Could Only See" and "Lemon Parade" are radio-friendly and very catchy tracks. "Bigot Sunshine", "Celtic Aggression", "Wicked Soldier", and especially "Casual Affair" rock very hard. "Mr. Golden Deal" and "My Old Man" are quieter and more introspective. And "Mountain" and "Soldier's Daughter" (my personal favorite) have a little bit of everything. I don't think I'll ever get tired of listening to this CD. Buy it now. :)

While you are doing it, get "Sugar"...it is awesome too. And finally, if you have the chance to see these guys live, DO IT. They seriously rock.