One of our favorite Contemporary groups, Greg, Shaun, Mark and Jared have been coming up with great CDs since 1996's "Left Turns"-particularly fine are 1997's Christmas album, "Carol," 2001's "Style," 2002's "Sugarue" and 2003's "Red Vinyl." We look at "By Request" as yet another showpiece of why Tonic is one of the most dynamic a cappella groups in the world, and why they need to be recognized as major stars! The 10-song songlist in the liner notes is presented as a Top 40 Radio Requests list, with five new songs, "Chances," Chips' "At The Dark End of the Street," "Until Forever's Gone," Josh Turner's "Long Black Train," and Willie Dixon's smoking "29 Ways to My Baby's Door." The guys simply nail "29," one of the best songs we've heard this year. The other five, Simon & Garfunkle's "Cecelia," Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," the manic country hit "Sold," Marty Robbins' western classic "El Paso," and "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" have appeared on other CDs, but they are well-chosen hits, surely some of group's best stuff. Top-drawer arrangements, and a depth of sound amazing for a quartet-"By Request" is another impressive winner for Tonic Sol-Fa! |
