Grave Dancers Union

Grave Dancers Union is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Soul Asylum, released in 1992. The album spent 76 weeks on the 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.

Grave Dancers Union
Cover art by Jan Saudek
Studio album by
Soul Asylum
ReleasedOctober 6, 1992
RecordedFebruary−May 1992
StudioThe Power Station and River Sound, New York City
Pachyderm Discs, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Cherokee Studios, Hollywood
GenreAlternative rock, grunge[1]
Length44:42
LabelColumbia
ProducerMichael Beinhorn
Soul Asylum chronology
And the Horse They Rode In On
(1990)		 Grave Dancers Union
(1992)		 Let Your Dim Light Shine
(1995)
Singles from Grave Dancers Union
  1. "Somebody to Shove"
    Released: May 5, 1992
  2. "Black Gold"
    Released: January 1993
  3. "Runaway Train"
    Released: June 1, 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA[4]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[5]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

Overview

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.[9] 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.[10]

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 erotic art 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."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dave Pirner.

No.TitleLength
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%"3:59
12."The Sun Maid"3:51
2008 edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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) 

Personnel

Soul Asylum

Additional musicians

Production

  • Michael Beinhorn – arranger, celeste, glockenspiel, producer, horn arrangements
  • Chris Shaw - engineer
  • Eric Anderson, Bruce Ross – additional engineering
  • David Michael Dill, Dan Gellert, Bill Smith – assistant engineers
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • David Leonard – mixing of "The Sun Maid"
  • Steve Sisco – mixing assistant
  • Wally Traugott – mastering
  • Francesca Restrepo – art direction, design
  • Jan Saudek – photography

Charts

Album
Chart (1992) Peak

Position

US Billboard Heatseekers[11] 1
The Billboard 200[11] 11

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1992 "Somebody to Shove" Modern Rock Tracks[12] 1
1993 "Black Gold" Mainstream Rock Tracks[12] 4
Modern Rock Tracks[12] 6
"Runaway Train" Adult Contemporary[12] 15
Mainstream Rock Tracks[12] 3
Modern Rock Tracks[12] 13
The Billboard Hot 100[12] 5
Top 40 Mainstream[12] 2
"Somebody to Shove" Mainstream Rock Tracks[12] 9
"Without a Trace" 6
Modern Rock Tracks[12] 27

Awards

Grammy Awards
Year Winner Category
1993 "Runaway Train" Best Rock Song[13]

References
  1. Hill, John. "10 Era Defining Grunge Albums That Turned 25 in 2017". Loudwire.
  2. Sullivan, Denise. "Grave Dancer's Union – Soul Asylum". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  3. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Soul Asylum: Grave Dancers Union". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  4. Robbins, Ira (October 23, 1992). "Grave Dancers Union". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  5. Wood, Sam (December 8, 1992). "Soul Asylum: Grave Dancers Union (Columbia)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. "Soul Asylum: Grave Dancers Union". Q (74): 121. November 1992.
  7. Diehl, Matt (January 21, 1993). "Soul Asylum: Grave Dancers Union". Rolling Stone: 49.
  8. Harris, Keith (2004). "Soul Asylum". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 759–60. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Klobuchar, Tim. "Former Drummer Finds Asylum Away From Rock". Young's Resort. University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on November 25, 2002. Retrieved November 13, 2011. The beginning of the end for Young's Soul Asylum career actually started during the recording sessions for Grave Dancers Union.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. Peisner, Dave (July 24, 2013). "Wrong Way on a One-Way Track: The Oral History of Soul Asylum's 'Runaway Train'". Spin. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  11. "Grave Dancer's Union Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  12. "Grave Dancer's Union Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  13. "Grave Dancer's Union Billboard Grammy Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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