Soul Asylum’s ‘The Silver Lining’ Is Coming To Vinyl For The First Time

Soul Asylum’s 2006 release The Silver Lining has been pressed for the first time on vinyl, via Blue Élan Records. The limited run will consist of black vinyl and also 300 copies pressed on Silver Wax that will be arriving everywhere August 5th, 2022. There are also some new, related t-shirts available.

In Dave Pirner’s book, Loud Fast Words, he reflects on the making of The Silver Lining:

“Right before we started making The Silver Lining we found out Karl Mueller was dying. It both stalled the record and gave it urgency. The songs were written, for the most part, but it was probably the most unsure time in the band’s existence. No one knew what was going to happen. We were all just hoping Karl would somehow get through it. I was living full-time in New Orleans, and I had a baby, so a lot was going on…

Some of the record also pertains to Hurricane Katrina. Embracing life in New Orleans and embracing disaster at the same time – it’s kind of littered throughout the record, right down to the song “Standing Water” and the lighthouse image on the cover. It was a strange time. Being cast out of your own city is a uniquely tragic experience, more so for people who were born there or had lived there most of their lives than for me. I’ve never seen anything like it, nor do I ever want to see anything like it again.

It may sound like a strange analogy, but the seeming extinction of the city of New Orleans reflected my fear about the possible extinction of the band and not knowing what would happen with Karl. We really had to group together and fight for the band.

I should also note that Michael Bland joined the band as the drummer for this album, and that really opened up a lot of potential for writing. Suddenly, I felt like I could write anything and it would work because of his ability to channel a song.”