Soul Asylum was an outgrowth of an earlier band, Loud Fast Rules, established in 1981 by guitarist and vocalist Dave Pirner, guitarist as well as backing vocalist Dan Murphy, bassist Karl Mueller, and drummer Pat Morley.
Soul Asylum began performing around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and they rapidly developed a core following. Pat Morley was later replaced by Grant Young in 1984.
Shortly before the group signed with Twin/Tone Records in 1984, they changed their name to Soul Asylum. They released their debut album, Say What You will in 1984 and rapidly developed a core following.
1986 was both a productive as well as distressing year for the band. Early within the year they unveiled Made To Be Broken, an album that exhibited their growth as musicians. Right after touring for many months and releasing an assortment of outtakes and live tracks named Time’s Incinerator, the band mixed and released their third album, While You Were Out before year’s end.
An accumulation of smartly written punk songs, the album received excellent reviews, but once again couldn’t break through to a national audience.
The advancements in the band had been enough to get them their very first major label contract. The band signed to A&M in 1987 and came up with Hang Time the following year, a wonderful, riff-heavy record that finally provided this rock band the sound it deserved. However, right after playing a series of acoustic shows within the early 1990′s Soul Asylum was picked up by Columbia Records.
In 1992 they released Grave Dancers Union, which became their most favored album. The magical third single, “Runaway Train,” propelled by a public service announcement-style video for missing children, helped push the single to number five and the album to number 11.
It turned this rock band into a household name. The next year, Soul Asylum received the Grammy Award for best Rock Song for “Runaway Train.”
Soul Asylum’s 1995 release, Let Your Dim Light Shine, saw the track “Misery” get to the Top 20, followed in 1998 by Candy from a Stranger which would be their last studio album with Columbia Records.
In May 2004, bassist Karl Mueller was identified as having throat cancer and underwent therapy. Karl Mueller’s diagnosis hastened the band’s resolve to make another album together. His insistence on completing the record became the motivator behind its completion.
Karl Mueller recorded his last Soul Asylum album that year. However, cancer later returned, and he passed away at his home on June 17, 2005.
Renewed and revitalized, Soul Asylum pioneers Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy came back to rock’s front line with the July 2006 release of The Silver Lining, their first studio release of new material in eight years ever since Candy from a Stranger.
The Silver Lining, Soul Asylum’s ninth full-length album is every bit as quirky and off-centered rock as their followers have come to expect, an indication that the Minneapolis-bred band has lost none of its edge.
The cd was not as commercially successful as some had hoped and the band was dropped from Columbia Records’ roster. Pirner said, “It’s sort of sad to say, but you could see the whole grunge-rock-band thing getting totally over-saturated and people were looking for something new.” This rock band took a step back.
You can still find their music online by surfing the web. Look up: radio rock online, origins of rock music, or piano rock music. Discover new music while listening to bands you know and love.
