Grave Dancers Union | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 6, 1992 | |||
Recorded | February−May 1992 | |||
Studio | The Power Station and River Sound, New York City Pachyderm Discs, Cannon Falls, Minnesota Cherokee Studios, Hollywood | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:42 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Michael Beinhorn | |||
Soul Asylum chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Grave Dancers Union | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Calgary Herald | B[3] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[5] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer | [6] |
Q | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10[10] |
Grave Dancers Union is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Soul Asylum and was released in 1992. The album spent 76 weeks on the US Billboard music charts and was certified triple-platinum in 1993, establishing Soul Asylum as one of the most successful rock groups of the first half of the 1990s.
During recording of Grave Dancers Union, producer Michael Beinhorn grew dissatisfied with drummer Grant Young's performance and brought in Sterling Campbell. He and Campbell would each wind up playing on half the record.[11] Due to the band's reluctance to admit that a session musician was involved in the album's recording, Campbell was credited as "percussionist." Young would continue as the band's drummer for touring duties after the album was released, until he was dismissed and officially replaced by Campbell prior to the recording of their next album, Let Your Dim Light Shine.[12]
The single "Runaway Train", released in June 1993, reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for best rock song in 1994. Though the album had sold moderately well to that point, the breakout success of that single was a major factor in the album's eventual multi-platinum sales figures.
The album cover features a photograph by Czech photographer Jan Saudek titled "Fate Descends Towards the River Leading Two Innocent Children", which was taken in 1970.
The album's title comes from the line "I tried to dance at a funeral, New Orleans style, I joined the Grave Dancers Union, I had to file", from the song "Without a Trace".
All tracks are written by Dave Pirner
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Somebody to Shove" | 3:15 |
2. | "Black Gold" | 3:57 |
3. | "Runaway Train" | 4:26 |
4. | "Keep It Up" | 3:48 |
5. | "Homesick" | 3:34 |
6. | "Get on Out" | 3:30 |
7. | "New World" | 4:04 |
8. | "April Fool" | 3:45 |
9. | "Without a Trace" | 3:33 |
10. | "Growing into You" | 3:13 |
11. | "99%" | 4:00 |
12. | "The Sun Maid" | 3:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Somebody to Shove" (live acoustic) | |
14. | "Stranger" (live) | |
15. | "Without a Trace" (live electric) | |
16. | "Black Gold" (live electric) | |
17. | "Never Really Been" (live electric) | |
18. | "Runaway Train" (live electric) |
Soul Asylum
Additional musicians
Production
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | "Somebody to Shove" | Modern Rock Tracks[29] | 1 |
1993 | "Black Gold" | Mainstream Rock Tracks[29] | 4 |
Modern Rock Tracks[29] | 6 | ||
"Runaway Train" | Adult Contemporary[29] | 15 | |
Mainstream Rock Tracks[29] | 3 | ||
Modern Rock Tracks[29] | 13 | ||
The Billboard Hot 100[29] | 5 | ||
Top 40 Mainstream[29] | 2 | ||
"Somebody to Shove" | Mainstream Rock Tracks[29] | 9 | |
"Without a Trace" | 6 | ||
Modern Rock Tracks[29] | 27 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Austria (IFPI Austria)[30] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[31] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[32] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[35] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
The beginning of the end for Young's Soul Asylum career actually started during the recording sessions for Grave Dancers Union.
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