In-Depth: The Return of Soul Asylum
Fifteen years ago today, Soul Asylum were unleashed upon the global music scene with a resounding success that few could avoid to notice. Their breakthrough, heralded by the sound of surpassingly popular hit single Runaway Train, had been preceded by a decade of focused struggle and plunged them deep into the ruthless world of show business. By the end of the '90s, despite high chart positions and several prestigious awards, their commercial viability eventually faded. For a long while, many thought that Soul Asylum had disappeared forever. In July last year, they returned with a brand-new studio album, proving that it takes a lot more to knock them out.
In 2004, the founding members of Soul Asylum reunited in the studio, joined by Minneapolis drummer Michael Bland, to begin work on their tenth studio album. Since the release of Candy From A Stranger in 1998, the band had played occasional shows, embarked on solo projects, and released two compilations and a live album, but this would be their first original production in half a decade. The hiatus had provided them with much-needed breathing room—a chance to catch up on everything outside of the world of show business.
"It just seemed like a treadmill of sorts," Dave Pirner told Arthur Levy for Soul Asylum.com in 2006, "and you realize that while you’ve been doing this single thing of being in Soul Asylum, there’s a whole world that went on concurrently." So they returned, ready to yet again take on the challenges of playing in a rock band. "It was kind of a long yawn, but I think it was really needed by all of us."
Dark Cloud
Shortly after they had entered the studio to begin recording in May of 2004, Soul Asylum suffered a major setback: Karl Mueller, their bassist since the band's inception, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, a serious cancer of the throat with generally poor prognoses. While the grim news saddened everyone involved, it also hastened their resolve to finish the album. "It really lit a fire under us", Dan Murphy told Blogcritics Magazine in 2006. "Karl really wanted to record, so we started as soon as he had recovered sufficiently."
Because of his diagnosis and treatment, Karl's health swayed from day to day throughout much of the recording process. "Some days he'd come in and he couldn't play," Dan told the North County Times in July last year. "Other days, he'd come in and he'd be great. He'd be smiling and laughing and we'd get five or six hours out of him. I'm really proud he had the wherewithal and the desire to do this."
The other band members never stopped hoping for the best. "I thought for sure he would beat it," Dave expressed in a 2006 interview by The A.V. Club, "and every time he went through another horrific surgery, we thought, 'Well, this is going to be the one that cures him.'"
Karl's bandmates were far from alone in their support. On May 22nd, the members of the "O'Jeez, it's Soul Asylum" discussion group sent off a get-well card signed by many of the band's most dedicated fans. Five months later, an all-star cast comprised of some of Minneapolis's most famous musicians joined up for the "Rock for Karl" benefit at First Avenue. Karl himself performed, together with the very same friends that he had been playing with since the early eighties.
"Rock for Karl" would come to be Karl's last gig. On June 17th, 2005, he passed away due to complications from the treatment of his cancer. The funeral was held five days later at the Lakewood Cemetery Chapel in Minneapolis.
The Storm Starts To Clear
Just like Karl's diagnosis had presented the band with an ultimatum, so did his passing. Despite their sorrow, they were adamant on finishing the album. "It was really emotional and dramatic and urgent that this record was getting made. It was Karl's dying wish," Dave told The A.V. Club.
Work on the new album provided a chance for the band to revisit some of their older, previously unreleased material: Success Is Not So Sweet was originally written at the peak of the band's success, and an early version of Fearless Leader was included as a bonus track on the EP for >Misery. It also allowed them to mingle with their past musical styles: Bus Named Desire is undeniably an ode to the band's earlier, rougher recordings, and Whatcha Need has often been likened to the songs on Dave's 2002 solo album Faces & Names.
After a harrowing recording process, the album was released on July 11th, 2006. It was entitled The Silver Lining, no doubt in remembrance of the tough times the band had been through, and in hopes of a brighter future. Many were left wondering if the band still had it in them to produce a good album and give their all in the live shows they would be playing. The guys themselves, however, seem to feel right at home. "The attitude is that it appears like it's some sort of return. We didn't really go anywhere," Dave told Playback:stl in 2006.
And you can tell: even after eight years, it's evident that neither their musicality nor their showmanship has diminished one bit. Fans and critics alike have attested to their on-stage energy and enthusiasm that hearken right back to their earlier years, when they were dubbed "best live band in America" by the Village Voice.
The Star Tribune gave high praise to Soul Asylum's renewal and new lineup: "A historic quartet," they wrote, "featuring members of three of the Twin Cities most famous rock acts—Prince, the Replacements and Soul Asylum." They went on to compliment Dave's on-stage energy: "To see Pirner, 41, carrying on with the joy of a 20-something punk was as reassuring as it was exciting. He was clearly having a wonderful time."
In their retrospect of 2006's live musical performances, the Green Bay Press Gazette named Soul Asylum's July 1st gig at Oneida Casino the year's best show. "In a city without a live music club, this was as close as you could come to a raw, sweaty, unscripted, unfiltered rock gig without the overblown production", they wrote.
And most notably, "O'Jeez, it's Soul Asylum" was flooded with show reports expressing love and admiration of the band. "I can't even describe how amazing I thought they were last night," user thegoodwillrock wrote in review of the band's show at On the Green in New Haven, Connecticut, in July of 2007. "You could see the pure enjoyment in their eyes through every single song," he continued. A November show in Boston, Massachusetts, 2006, "was amazing," reported luminaux_one. "They sucked in a lot of people who were prepared to go either way with them—that's how good they were."
A Brighter Future
Over the years, Soul Asylum have had their share of ups and downs and have always gotten through in one way or another. Once again, they've persevered, and from the looks of it, they're here to stay. "They're a real band. They're in it for the long haul," Peter Jesperson, who signed the band to its first record deal at Twin/Tone Records, told the Associated Press in July of 2006.
An important part of what keeps the guys going, they are quick to point out, is the appreciation they receive. "The thing I missed in all those years was connecting with fans," Dan told Blogcritics Magazine. "Whether it's a club in New York or a club in Chicago we have a really good fan base. When you have a good night with the crowd, there's nothing else like it," he expressed. Dave conveyed the same feeling in an interview with the Brainerd Dispatch in July 2007: "I think there are fans that will be with us forever," he said. "No matter what happens, that's who you feel the closest to."
So they keep on going, as energetic and creative as ever, but richer in experience and toughened, perhaps, by everything they've been through. "Adversity has always been a part of the game," Dave told Playback:stl. "I think that continuing without Karl is still very daunting," he admitted. "It's never been easy; it's always been a struggle.
"But it's been a struggle we've come to embrace, and we'll keep making music as long as people let us."
Written by Jakob Kallin