Tonic (2) – Lemon Parade

Okay, I get where people are coming from - it doesn't sound the best - the CD does sound better, however only marginally since the production always sounded a bit lossy to me.

The actual pressing is fairly quiet in of pops, the artwork while blurry could have been worse - considering this is the first time on vinyl there probably wasn't a better version, and as usual with MOV the presentation with the artwork insert and anti-static inner is great.

I did shelf the bass and treble upwards a little on my amp to give it a bit more compared to other albums, but I can't complain - although I do agree it should have been pressed on 3 sides instead of 2, like was done for Silverchair's Frogstomp.

Presentation: 4/5
Pressing (pops, skips): 4/5
Mastering (audio source): 3/5
Sleeve: White Anti-static Inner

Setup (turntable, stylus): AT-120XUSB, AT-VM95ML

Sadly the sound is thin and compressed on this release. MOV are hit and miss for sure and unfortunately this might as well be a Plain Recordings pressing for how lackluster it sounds. Played back to back with the recent Better Than Ezra reissue of Friction, Baby and it was night and day. 90's albums can absolutely be presented in great sound with properly restored artwork and as such, this is quite a disappointment. Hopefully we will one day get a proper vinyl release spread out over 2 LPs. The album definitely deserves better.

The pressing is fine. Not the greatest mastering in the first place, I think that’s where some people’s complaints are directed at the wrong problem. It sounds equal to my original CD for better or worse depending on your opinion. The artwork is crap, just a low rez pic blown up. Again I know the album wasn’t the best to begin with but it looks like a bootleg.

This is a good pressing. I will leave opinions on mastering to the experts, but the pressing is good. Not a dead quiet background, but pretty close. A stray pop/click per side, is all. Flat, centered. Good packaging. I recommend this.

Meh. It’s ok. Like other reviewers it’s like a distorted CD. Pisses me the F off when we get routed for an album that’s a 10 and re-released as a 6. They’re just trying to make money off us and hell hath no fury it worked. Go to hell MOV. Remaster it properly f’kn jerks.
FYI I’m talking about the horrific sillibynce. Ugh

Cover looks like a 360p resolution blew up as with most MOV releases. SQ is just a so so, nothing great, CD is better. Nothing great comes out from my Tannoys.

Listening to the brand new Music On Vinyl release of this album and even though it’s a lot of music crammed on 2 sides of a single LP it sounds excellent and the pressing is dead quiet! I have absolutely no issues with the pressing or surface noise at all with this one. Pressed well centred too. A little surprised this wasn’t a double album due to the length but the single slab pulls it off despite the low end a bit lacking.

Listening to the brand new Music On Vinyl release of this album and even though it’s a lot of music crammed on 2 sides of a single LP it sounds excellent and the pressing is dead quiet!

Tonic was one of those many 90s bands that used alternate tunings to create different sonic landscapes for their songs, and for the most part, it worked. Emerson Hart (seriously, that guy was born to be a front man with that name) has moved onto being a vocal coach and talks about how many takes he had to do for Open Up Your Eyes for it to be perfect, and he pushes that forward with his students now. As for the music, there isn't a 90s compilation out there that does not have If You Could Only See, which has become almost iconic for its place in 90s alternative rock. But the band is not all angst and distortion. They play well with dynamics and have maintained their reputation as one of the best bands of the era. This release is generally good but is a mixed bag. It's generally clean sounding and well balanced, but it just sounds rather uninspired. I do agree that the artwork is rather lazily done, but you know the old saying, you don't play the cover. The vinyl inside is solid, but this is not a title you should run out to buy if you are happy with the CD. (NOTE, I would have rated this a 3.5 out of 5 if possible to do so.)

Cheap flimsy record sleeve with grainy, scanned artwork that was simply blown up from the CD art.

The vinyl is nothing more than a rip of the CD pressed on wax.

This is Music On Vinyl’s stock in trade method of operation. Inflated prices for cheap, poorly made products.