Album of the Day — August 18
Soul Asylum — And the Horse They Rode In On
Soul Asylum — And the Horse They Rode In On
18.August.2020
Soul Asylum
And the Horse They Rode In On
1990
Soul Asylum seems to be the afterthought of the Minneapolis music scene.
Which is shitty because they deserve more.
Of course, when some of your musical Minnesota contemporaries include Bob Dylan, Prince, Bob Mould, and Paul Westerberg, it makes it a little more challenging to get noticed.
Released in 1990, And the Horse They Rode In On would be the band’s last album for A&M Records but mark the beginning of the sound that would capture millions.
The band began in the early 1980s and immediately began integrating themselves into the Minneapolis music scene. They began to gather a dedicated following based on their energetic performances.
After plugging away locally for a few years, the band eventually caught the ear of the local independent label, Twin/Tone Records. Soul Asylum would release three albums for Twin/Tone:
Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold the Truck
Made to Be Broken
While You Were Out
The first two, Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold the Truck and Made to Be Broken were produced by Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould.
By then the Soul Asylum lineup had solidified:
Dave Pirner — lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Dan Murphy — lead guitar, backing vocals
Karl Mueller — bass
Grant Young — drums
In 1985, Soul Asylum went on tour opening for Hüsker Dü. They served as both a nice compliment and contrast to the Hüsker’s more consistently frenetic sound. Audiences were surprised by the band’s ability to incorporate folk, funk, punk, 70’s rock, and country influences into their songs — the crowds were also struck by their onstage swagger, scruffy Midwestern appearance, and energetic performances.
That tour with Hüsker Dü helped the band move up to headliner status.
By 1986, the band had gained some notoriety nationally. Steve Hochman of The LA Times noted:
“Soul Asylum sounds like some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train — not as catholic or fragile as the Replacements or as texturally varied as the Huskers, but equally fascinating. What raises this quartet to the level of its city-mates is that, like them, the band matches its sonic force with good songs.”
After the release of While You Were Out, in 1986, the major labels had descended on the Twin Cities and were out in full force.
Soul Asylum eventually signed with A&M Records.
Their first release for the new label was the EP Clam Dip & Other Delights, whose cover was a direct parody of label founder Herb Albert’s album Whipped Cream & Other Delights — Herb Albert is the A in A&M Records. Poking fun at your boss’s career is probably not the best way to endear yourself to him.
Oh yes, it’s funny …but it may help explain why their relationship with the label was troubled.
In 1988 they released Hang Time, their first full length. While the album contains some great songs, it’s clear that the goal was to turn Soul Asylum into some type of big arena rock band. It just doesn’t sound …right.
It’s then there’s And the Horse They Rode In On their last album for A&M Records. It’s here that the band codifies its sound. Everyone has firmly established roles and, for better or worse (but mostly better) principal songwriting duties, were left in the hands of Dave Pirner.
Dave Pirner is a wickedly underrated songwriter.
He’s talented, funny, reflective, open … he’s just as capable of his contemporaries like Westerberg or Mould (let’s be honest, Dylan and Prince operate on a different plane). Above all else, Pirner writes relatable songs.
Take “Brand New Shine,” a song that can be heard as the desire to show a new lover something new …or a band trying to do something unique. Either take works, and that’s part of Pirner’s genius.
Brand New Shine
I got something special to show you
But I suppose you’ve seen it all before
There’s one thing I’m trying to tell you
But then again, you’ve heard it all before
I survived another week just like the one before,
When everything you wanted somehow leaves you wanting more
And I looked beneath the carpet behind each and every door,
Trying to find you something like you’ve never had before
And it seems we’re just beginners
No previous experience at all
Just the last original sinners
And if you need me just be sure to call
And they tell you which way not to go, and so you go that way
One child plays with what another throws it away
Like a kite without string will do anything
I’m trying to take you someplace you’ve never been before
I see something new in each and every moon
From your old, old hat to your blown-out shoes
It’s tried and true, and it’s all I do
And I hope it’s not all the same to you
The old and new, they get mistaken all the time
Is there something I’ve never seen before
No, just a brand new shine
Now they’re cranking ’em out by the millions
They look and act exactly just the same
And each one’s one in a million
And each has got its own elusive game
It’s the same old dusty atmosphere just like the other place
I see something familiar in each and every face
Seems to me I’ve seen you, been here, said this once before
I’m trying to take you someplace you’ve never been before
I see something new in each and every moon
From your old, old hat to a blown-out shoe
When I dropped it and broke it, I thought of you
And I hope it’s not all the same to you
And the old and new, they get mistaken all the time
Is there something I’ve never seen before
If one had a singular criticism about Pirner’s songwriting, it might be that he has stayed in his songwriting lane all these years.
It’s unlikely Dave Pirner is going to make an art noise album anytime soon.
But that’s hardly a criticism. AC/DC has been making the same album for their entire career. Also, not a critique.
Pirner writes what he knows, and he writes his songs in his voice …it just so happens it’s relatable. And having the power to relate on such a large scale is the mark of a great writer.
What makes And the Horse They Rode In On a turning point for the band is that it’s here that the sonic and stylistic template is cast for their next album, Grave Dancers Union.
Producer Steve Jordan deserves a fair chunk of credit for helping Soul Asylum find their sound. Jordan, a drummer and studio musician who had stints with the Saturday Night Live Band and Late Night with David Letterman, as well as playing with Keith Richards and Chuck Berry, was able to get the band to settle into a specific and natural sound. And the fact is, you either like it, or you don’t.
Like AC/DC, Soul Asylum has been making the same records since And the Horse They Rode In On. Sure, they’ve dabbled in other sounds after, but always return to their sound.
For some unknown reason, the record squeezed out four singles:
“Brand New Shine”
“Easy Street”
“Veil of Tears”
“Nice Guys (Don’t Get Paid)”
Given the relationship with their label, it’s safe to say there was little support. It’s also safe to say; the singles went mostly unnoticed. The hits would come in a couple of years.
And the Horse They Rode In On album sold very poorly, and reviews were mixed (at best). Soul Asylum was at its nadir after the album’s release and almost caused the band to break-up.
CRITICS:
Ira Robbins at Entertainment Weekly said: “Producer Steve Jordan has preserved more of Soul Asylum’s roughness this time out, in contrast to the fastidious sound of 1988’s Hang Time…Equally adept at firing up a sensitive thought or channeling passion into understatement, Pirner is a potent and affecting songwriter.”
Robert Christgau didn’t even bother with words:
Evelyn McDonnell in Rolling Stone wrote: “When the Hüskers split up in 1987, many people — most notably, the brave souls at A&M; who signed Soul Asylum — expected the group to spread its wings and rise out of Hüsker Dü’s ashes. Of course, that didn’t happen. Many rotations of the Earth later, you might think that simmering on a back burner of rock consciousness for so long would have made these four grooveniks run out of steam. Wrong again.”
What makes And the Horse They Rode In On such a good album, and an interesting one is that it’s here where they become themselves. Every band has that album where they find their voice. Well, the better groups do anyway.
There is no question that Dave Pirner and Soul Asylum have spent their career swimming upstream. The success they have achieved has been hard-fought and well earned.
And yet, it’s still almost like they’re the Rodney Dangerfield of Rock and Roll — no respect.
Fuck the naysayers and the horse they rode in on, Dave Pirner and Soul Asylum remains one of the best bands to come out of Minneapolis.
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