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Biography
Formed of drummer Dave Pirner, guitarist and backing vocalist Dan Murphy and bassist Karl Mueller, before Pirner move to lead vocalist, Loud Fast Rules released two songs on the Reflex Records cassette “Barefoot and Pregnant in 1982. In 1983 the named changed to Soul Asylum and the band soon developed a devoted following around the Misseapolis/St. Paul’s area through dynamic stage shows and the honing of the rage of punk, the classic guitar power of rock and emotively entrenched lyrics of soul.
The band’s debut album “Say What You Will… Everything Can Happen” arrived in 1984 on an exclusive LP and cassette released through Twin/Tone Records, produced by Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould. Soul Asylum’s sophomore album “Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold the Truck” featured all of the previous albums’ songs plus additional material.
Two albums made the light of day in 1986 “Made to Be Broken” and “While You Were Out” and marked the replacement of Pat Morley with Grant Young. The two album’s earned the band critical success within the alternative rock genre and led to a relentless touring schedule and a swelling fan base.
After signing with A&M and crafting the EP “Clam Dip & Other Delights”, a parody of A&M founder Herb Alpert’s iconic “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” album, Soul Asylum released their fifth studio album “Hang Time” in 1988. Produced by Lenny Kaye “Hang Time” has long been considered Soul Asylum’s finest, most melodic and powerfully emotional album, which saw approval from the alternative genre and college radio.
With increasingly high expectations from A&M, and after the disappointing release of their subsequent album “And the Horse They Rode In On” in 1990 – a semi-live album – the band were dropped from A&M. Riding the indie wave of Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, Soul Asylum landed a deal with Columbia and released the album “Grave Dancer’s Union” to considerable radio airplay and MTV rotation. The album spawned the single “Runaway Train” which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard singles chart and earned the band a Grammy for Best Rock Song.
Soul Asylum failed to maintain such popular appeal and their two subsequent albums “Let Your Dim Light Shine” in 1995 and “Candy from a Stranger” in 1998 were comparative flops both in terms of critical recognition and commercial sales. After a considerable cooling-off period Soul Asylum’s next release arrived in 2006 with the album “The Silver Lining” and later “Delayed Reaction” in 2012.
Live reviews
Minnesota alternative rock outfit Soul Asylum may not be a universally recognised name yet they have been consistently releasing material for close to 25 years and unlike a number of their contemporaries they have been touring with equal consistency and dedication.
The fanbase may not be gigantic, yet every time the group plays shows they are instant sell outs and are packed full of devoted followers who know the material well. The stage is left without decoration or distraction this evening in order to place the music at the very centre of this operation and the group steps out confidently before collecting their respective instruments and tearing into 'Never Really Been' and 'Without A Trace'. The audience instantly cheers at amp shaking volume to then be outdone by the bass notes and guitar riffs of 'Little Too Clean'. The show is a great mixture of fresh new material along with the much loved material from the album 'Grave Dancers Union' with a highlight of 'April Fool' saved for a gigantic encore performance.
sean-ward
Soul Asylum is an alt rock band and a old favorite of mine, I remember the one concert I went to that they played a 55-minute first set was heavy on material from this year’s mixed bag album, “Delayed Reaction.” Pirner dedicated “Lately” to “all the kids from Sandy Hook” school in Connecticut.
Highlights of the opening segment were the sing-along “Misery” and the closing punkabilly “Made To Be Broken,” the 1986 title track of Soul Asylum’s second album. The concert was slightly weird since most of the original members of the band were not there and they were a completely new band.
Regardless of the band seeming new, the lead singer was the same, he was all over, interacting with the crowd and feeding off the awesome crowd vibe which gave him more reason to be wild on stage. It was a pretty good concert and Soul asylums music is great, I just miss the original band.
Rochester, MN 2 November 2019. Show was fantastic!! Although I much prefer GA shows. I can't wait to see them at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 27 December. Dave... please play some old songs for those of us who have been fans since the early days.
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We had a blast at your Duluth concert! Thanks so much for playing!! Can't wait to see you guys and Meat Puppets at First Avenue this coming summer!! You guys rock!!
lori-pasley
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