Sugar (Tonic album)

Sugar
Studio album by Tonic
Released	November 9, 1999
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	49:44
Label	Universal
Producer	Tonic
Tonic chronology
Lemon Parade (1996) Sugar (1999) Head on Straight (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Sugar is Tonic's second studio album, released in 1999. Released on November 9, 1999 and self-produced by the band itself, the album's title shared the same name as the fifth track on the recording.^[4][5] The creative and collaborative process spanned several geographic locations including Austin, Texas, and a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) mansion in New Orleans, Louisiana, where actual recording for the album was performed.^[6] "Knock Down Walls" and "You Wanted More" were charting singles released off the record, with the latter having first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie American Pie.^[7] With Shepard no longer part of the band, Peter Maloney played drums on the album, although Joey Waronker filled in for the single "You Wanted More". Music videos for the songs "You Wanted More" and "Mean to Me" were created as part of the album's promotion.^[8] Tonic appeared on the television shows Late Night with Conan O'Brien and "The Martin Short Show" in late 1999 as part of additional promotion.^[9][10] Sugar spent eight total weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching a peak of #81 in its first week of release.^[11] The single "You Wanted More" reached a high of #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts in the U.S., and was featured on the soundtrack for the film American Pie.

Track listing

...there are no bad songs to be found anywhere on the entire album, each one bearing its own redeeming qualities, whether a driving beat or a tenacious scrap of melody...

Music critic Mathias Sheaks reviews Sugar for All Music Guide^[5]

All songs by Emerson Hart except where noted.

1. "Future Says Run" − 3:46
2. "You Wanted More" (Hart, Jeff Russo, Dan Lavery)− 3:50
3. "Knock Down Walls" (Hart, Russo) − 3:43
4. "Mean to Me" − 4:11
5. "Sugar" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 3:29
6. "Jump Jimmy (Stronger Than Mine)" (Hart, Lavery) − 3:39
7. "Queen" − 4:34
8. "Waiting for the Light to Change" − 4:32 (strings arranged by David Campbell)
9. "Waltz with Me" − 3:45
10. "Sunflower" (Hart, Lavery) − 3:20
11. "Drag Me Down" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 2:46
12. "Top Falls Down" (Hart, Kevin Shepard, Russo) − 4:17
13. "Love a Diamond" (Hart, Lavery, Russo) − 3:52

Personnel

Tonic

• Emerson Hart: Vocals, Guitar, Slide, Percussion
• Jeff Russo: Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Slide, Percussion
• Dan Lavery: Bass guitar, Backing Vocals, Slide
• Kevin Shepard: Drums

References Allmusic review Entertainment Weekly review Rolling Stone review Olson, Catherine Applefeld. "Tonic Bridges Old And New With Universal's 'head On Straight'". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-09-05. Sheaks, Mathias. "Sugar Overview". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2009-09-10. "An Interview with Tonic". The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). 2000-01-19. Retrieved 2009-09-10. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "American Pie Original Soundtrack Overview". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2009-12-07. "Tonic on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-18. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien episode dated 17 December 1999". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2009-09-28. "The Martin Short Show episode #1.53". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2009-09-28. "Tonic Album & Song Chart History". Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2009-09-27.