Tonic (Tonic album)
Encyclopedia
Mixing and post-production carried on into 2010, and the band worked with Doug Sax to master the recording. The vocal track for to "Torn to Pieces" was recorded in Nashville. The track "Release Me" was the first single released from the album, becoming available to radio stations on March 23, 2010. The album itself was released as scheduled on May 4, 2010 in North America. Hart was inspired to write the song "Precious Little Bird" after he was unpacking some music albums by The Smiths
. The song was then utilized for the album's cover art.
During an interview relating to the album, Hart said, "At the end of the day we've always relied on the cream rising to the top and creating a great product and great songs and being honest about where we are." An official press release about the album states that it is redolent of Tonic's, "trademark honest, powerful, melodic rock sound." Russo said of the album that, "This was a true collaborative effort from all of us and it really, really is apparent in the record. In my opinion it may be the best record we’ve ever made, just in every way you can think about." A behind the scenes tour of Conway Studios
hosted by Emerson Hart is available on Amazon.com's Tonic store, and is thought to have marked the world debut of snippets of "Release Me," as well as part of the album's cover art.
, namely using Twitter
, Facebook
, and MySpace
as ways to connect with fans and subsequently promote the album. Additional promotional avenues, such as a music video
for "Release Me" or digital video game track release (via the Rock Band Network
for instance) have not (yet) been utilized.
The album became available for pre-order in late February 2010, with varying retail prices. However, prior to the album's release Russo said he thought the album's success should be judged by how many people attend Tonic's live shows. Varying websites offered preview clips of the album's songs, and Tonic used a special promotion where users could also download the entire song "Daffodil" by submitting a valid e-mail address. The album's online sales ranking through web retailers Amazon.com and iTunes have to date reached their peak on the May 4 release day, reaching #135 and #28 respectively. Tonic debuted on the Billboard 200
at #150 during the week of May 22, 2010, while also appearing at #50 on the Billboard Rock album chart, and #25 on the Billboard Independent Albums
chart. The album did not chart on either one of those listings after its debut week though.
Additional personnel
Production
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
. The song was then utilized for the album's cover art.
During an interview relating to the album, Hart said, "At the end of the day we've always relied on the cream rising to the top and creating a great product and great songs and being honest about where we are." An official press release about the album states that it is redolent of Tonic's, "trademark honest, powerful, melodic rock sound." Russo said of the album that, "This was a true collaborative effort from all of us and it really, really is apparent in the record. In my opinion it may be the best record we’ve ever made, just in every way you can think about." A behind the scenes tour of Conway Studios
Conway Recording Studios
Conway Recording Studios is a recording and post production facility in Hollywood, California.Conway has hosted a variety of producers, mixers and artists, such as Alicia Keys, Barbra Streisand, The Black Eyed Peas, Blink-182, Britney Spears, Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews Band,...
hosted by Emerson Hart is available on Amazon.com's Tonic store, and is thought to have marked the world debut of snippets of "Release Me," as well as part of the album's cover art.
Promotion and release
Tonic planned to tour during summer 2010 to help promote the album, with Hart saying the of the band that, "We'll probably go back to slugging in clubs and small theaters and stuff like that." The tour plans were fully realized, as the band played intermittent shows stretching into fall and winter of 2010. Radio is playing a role in the album's promotion, as the single "Release Me" is being promoted at Hot AC, Alternative and Triple-A radio. Tonic is also utilizing technology that didn't exist during its 2002 release of Head on StraightHead on Straight
Head on Straight is Tonic's third album, released in 2002. It was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 45th Grammy Awards and the track "Take Me As I Am" was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal...
, namely using Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
as ways to connect with fans and subsequently promote the album. Additional promotional avenues, such as a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Release Me" or digital video game track release (via the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
for instance) have not (yet) been utilized.
The album became available for pre-order in late February 2010, with varying retail prices. However, prior to the album's release Russo said he thought the album's success should be judged by how many people attend Tonic's live shows. Varying websites offered preview clips of the album's songs, and Tonic used a special promotion where users could also download the entire song "Daffodil" by submitting a valid e-mail address. The album's online sales ranking through web retailers Amazon.com and iTunes have to date reached their peak on the May 4 release day, reaching #135 and #28 respectively. Tonic debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #150 during the week of May 22, 2010, while also appearing at #50 on the Billboard Rock album chart, and #25 on the Billboard Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
chart. The album did not chart on either one of those listings after its debut week though.
Reception
Initial critical reception to the album was positive. Allmusic critic Mark Demming rated the album three out of five stars, saying, "Thankfully, Tonic doesn't sound like the work of a band struggling to re-create their past success, and instead finds them confidently embracing their signature sound and doing what they do with a sure hand and genuine inspiration...Tonic is less a comeback than an enthusiastic return to form, and anyone who enjoyed their first three albums will feel comfortably at home with this music." Music reviewer Chad from music website Alternative Addiction rated the album four and half out of five stars, saying, "The contrasting melodies of tracks like “Daffodil” and “Feel It Now” show that the band hasn’t lost their knack for writing melodic rock tracks either."Track listing
- Release Me - 3:17
- Daffodil - 3:25
- I Want It To Be - 3:43
- Send A Message - 3:28
- Bigger Than Both - 4:10
- Nothing Is Everything - 4:27
- Feel It Now - 3:03
- Where Do I Fit - 3:09
- Resolve - 4:21
- Precious Little Bird - 2:51
- Torn To Pieces - 2:44
- She Goes Down - 3:46
- Daffodil [Acoustic] (iTunes Bonus Track) - 3:25
Album
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Rock | US Indep. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
NZ New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||||
| 2010 | Tonic
|
150 | 50 | 25 | — | — | — | unknown | — |
Online sales rankings
| Retail outlet | Peak sales ranking date | Peak sales ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and... |
May 4, 2010 | #135 in music section |
| iTunes ITunes iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.... |
May 4, 2010 | #28 on Top Albums chart |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Adult Pop Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
US Alternative |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
CAN Rock/Alt Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
NZ New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 2010 | "Release Me" | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
Personnel
Tonic- Emerson Hart: Lead vocals, Acoustic and Electric Rhythm Guitars, Keyboards
- Jeff Russo: Electric and Acoustic Lead and Rhythm guitars, Keyboards, Piano, Lap steel, Percussion, Background and Harmony vocals
- Dan Lavery: Bass, Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Background and Harmony vocals
Additional personnel
- Pete Maloney: Drums
- Chris Joyner: Piano on "Nothing is Everything"
Production
- Produced by: Nathaniel Kunkel and Tonic
- Engineered and Mixed by: Nathaniel Kunkel
- Recorded at: Conway Recording StudiosConway Recording StudiosConway Recording Studios is a recording and post production facility in Hollywood, California.Conway has hosted a variety of producers, mixers and artists, such as Alicia Keys, Barbra Streisand, The Black Eyed Peas, Blink-182, Britney Spears, Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews Band,...
, Los Angeles - Additional recording at: La Villa Maria, Los Angeles, Aimeeland, Brentwood, TN and The Tree House, Los Angeles
- Mastered by: Doug Sax
- Mastered at: The Mastering Lab, Ojai, CA
- Mixed at: Studio Without Walls
- Art Direction: David Alan Kogut, Northeast Venture Group Inc.