Soul Asylum Albums (10)
'After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom June 28, 1998'
Release Date 10/5/2004
Tracks 18
Label Legacy
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What The Critics Say
A couple of months after a disastrous flood in Grand Forks, ND, Soul Asylum came to town to play a joint prom for a couple of high schools at the Grand Forks Air Base hangar, which had been used as the refugee camp in the wake of the flood. This is the audio document of the event, and Soul Asylum's first live album -- in fact, at the time of its 2004 release, it was the first Soul Asylum non-compilation album of any sort since 1998's Candy from a Stranger. As a performance, it doesn't offer many surprises: it's well-played, well-recorded music emblematic of the time when much alternative rock had moved toward mainstream hard rock. The repertoire, thankfully, is more surprising, as the 18 songs -- while leaning heavily on material they recorded for their Columbia 1990s studio albums -- include a number of less-traveled items, some of which the band had done only on soundtracks and compilations. There are, for instance, covers of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," Lulu's "To Sir With Love," Alice Cooper's "School's Out" (the crowd-pleasing set opener), Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," and, perhaps strangest of all, "Rhinestone Cowboy." It's hardly esoteric, though, also including runs through their hits "Runaway Train" and "Misery." As a live record, then, it succeeds in offering what both the average and more fanatical fans want, though some of Soul Asylum's most veteran followers might be disappointed by the absence of songs from the band's early career. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Candy from a Stranger'
Release Date 5/12/1998
Tracks 11
Label Columbia
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'Let Your Dim Light Shine'
Release Date 6/6/1995
Tracks 14
Label Columbia
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'And the Horse They Rode in On'
Release Date 9/27/1993
Tracks 12
Label A & M
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What The Critics Say
1988's Hang Time proved that Soul Asylum could make their hair-swinging punk-hard rock hybrid work like a charm in the studio, but their greatest strength was as still a live act, and for 1990s And the Horse They Rode in On, producer Steve Jordan hit upon a seemingly inspired idea -- instead of going into the studio, take a mobile studio to a soundstage and let the band wail like they do on-stage. In theory, this was a great notion, but in practice And the Horse They Rode in On lacked the punch and tough, guitar-based attack of Hang Time. Part of the blame seems to go to engineer Joe Blaney, who failed to capture the snap of Grant Young's drums and the crunch of Dan Murphy's guitars, generating a soft-focus image where a sharper sense of detail was called for. Just as significantly, Soul Asylum (and in particular principle songwriter Dave Pirner) were evolving on these sessions, moving away from their sloppy but fierce rapport into something more contemplative, and while they would find what they were looking for on their next album, Grave Dancer's Union, here they fall a bit short of the mark. And the Horse They Rode in On is hit and miss, but when it does hit it's impressive stuff, especially the dizzying opening cut "Spinnin," the tough but funky " "Something out of Nothing," the impassioned tale of a city in decline on "Nice Guys (Don't Get Paid)," and the almost wistful "Gullible's Travels." And the Horse They Rode in On is often bad-mouthed by Soul Asylum fans, but the moments where it comes together nearly outnumbers the times when it doesn't, and its an album full of brave experiments that's well worth a listen. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Grave Dancer's Union'
Release Date 1/1/1992
Tracks 12
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
Soul Asylum's breakthrough, million-selling Grave Dancer's Union yielded the mega-hit "Runaway Train" and put the band in a whole new league; longtime fans were predictably disappointed with the slick results. This is a solid alternative rock record with singer/songwriter/vocalist Dave Pirner upfront, a role he was built for but always seemed to resist until this clear do-or-die moment for the band. Soul Asylum did; however, they never matched the success or consistency of this album. Tracks like "Home Sick" and "New World" bear the roots of the country-rock revival later forged by Son Volt and Wilco, while the angst-ridden "Somebody to Shove" is pure joy Soul Asylum-style. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
If Say What You Will...'s inchoate, raunchy blur is a bit much, then album number two, again produced by Bob Mould, straightens things out a bit and lets riffs emerge from the walls of distortion. The record's first single, "Tied to the Tracks," is a rip-snorting bull ride of volume and power, but then again, so is much of the record. Although they were derisively written off by some wags as Hüsker Jr., that was a critical view offered by the short-sighted. They may have shared the same sound, but were very different bands. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
'While You Were Out'
Release Date 1/1/1984
Tracks 11
Label Ryko/Rhino
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What The Critics Say
Producer and ex-Suicide Commando Chris Osgood was an excellent choice to produce this first attempt at a breakthrough record. And, despite a few songs simply sounding like retreads, this is a pretty snappy collection, with Dave Pirner's songwriting showing a depth and nuance that had previously been lost amid the roaring. The album closer, "Passing Sad Daydream," is even a country-tinged wallow that, despite being too long, was an indication that this band was developing a style that would allow them to make the transition out of speed rock's obsession with, well, speed. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
'Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck'
Release Date 1/1/1984
Tracks 14
Label Ryko/Rhino
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What The Critics Say
Produced by Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould, it's unsurprising that Soul Asylum's debut record shares the same tendencies as the Hüskers to loud, fast punk rock. Compared to the more structured songs he would go on to write, Dave Pirner was jumpy with nervous energy, and the songs reflect this frantic need to communicate and make some noise. Fans of poststardom Soul Asylum might find this a bit too much to handle, but it remains expressive speed rock that will leave you breathless. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In 1988, Soul Asylum signed with A&M Records, a seemingly miraculous feat for a band usually considered the runt of the litter on the Minneapolis alternative rock scene, but the group's major-label debut, Hang Time, found them making good on the promise of their indie albums Made to Be Broken and While You Were Out. Hang Time was produced by Lenny Kaye and Ed Stasium, who between them firmed up the band's sloppy semi-punk assault while reinforcing the gut-level punch of Dan Murphy's and Dave Pirner's guitars; in their hands, Soul Asylum's songs rocked hard but revealed a pop-wise core that was smarter than they'd sounded in the past. Of course, it helped that Pirner's songwriting chops had been growing at an impressive rate, and the fierce passion and anthemic energy he generates here is more sophisticated than his earliest efforts but still rings out with sincerity and belief. (And while Murphy only wrote one tune for this album, it was a great one, and "Cartoon" is one of Hang Time's highlights.) While Hang Time was the work of a more mature and cerebral Soul Asylum, the fire of the group's blowout live shows is very much present, and when the guys crank it up on "Standing in the Doorway," "Sometime to Return," or "Beggars and Choosers," they're all but unstoppable. Soul Asylum made a number of albums that sold a lot more than Hang Time, but in most respects they never got better than this -- it hits the ideal balance between their snotty roots and their more ambitious later recordings and shows these two sides of their personality could have easily coexisted under the right circumstances. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
