Let Your Dim Light Shine
The follow-up to Grave Dancers Union, home to the hit Misery.
Soul Asylum, 1995
- Released
- 6 June 1995
- Label
- Columbia
- Producer
- Butch Vig and Soul Asylum
Let Your Dim Light Shine was the seventh studio album from Soul Asylum, released by Columbia on 6 June 1995. It was the first with Sterling Campbell as the band's drummer, after he had played on half of Grave Dancers Union. Butch Vig produced it, and the band members are credited as producers too. The title comes from a lyric in Promises Broken, written by Murphy and Marc Perlman. The lead single Misery was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic as Syndicated Inc. on his album Bad Hair Day.
Entertainment Weekly gave it a B and said songs could lurch from an unplugged shuffle to stadium-rock crunch. Robert Christgau gave it a B+ and found the lyrics often funny and sometimes fantastic. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the music was not quite as impressive as earlier efforts.
Track listing
- Misery4:24
- Shut Down2:51
- To My Own Devices2:59
- Hopes Up3:45
- Promises Broken3:14
- Bittersweetheart3:34
- String of Pearls4:56
- Crawl4:00
- Caged Rat3:03
- Eyes of a Child3:35
- Just Like Anyone2:47
- Tell Me When3:42
- Nothing to Write Home About3:14
- I Did My Best3:46
Personnel
- Dave Pirner lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, trumpet
- Dan Murphy lead guitar, backing vocals
- Karl Mueller bass
- Sterling Campbell drums, percussion, vocals
- Joey Huffman organ, piano, mellotron
- Jane Scarpantoni cello
- Dave Schramm pedal steel guitar
- Tim Ray piano, electric piano
- Butch Vig producer
- Andy Wallace mixing
- John Siket engineer
More from Soul Asylum
Say What You Will... (1984), While You Were Out (1986), Hang Time (1988), And the Horse They Rode In On (1990), Grave Dancers Union (1992), Candy from a Stranger (1998), The Silver Lining (2006)
Sources
- Let Your Dim Light Shine, Wikipedia
- Let Your Dim Light Shine, Entertainment Weekly (1995-06-09)
- Soul Asylum: Let Your Dim Light Shine, Robert Christgau