[Broken] -- Forty years ago this month, Soul Asylum, a Minneapolis based punk/alternative band, released their second full-length album, Made to Be Broken. This record was the first of three they released in 1986.
As far as I can tell, neither the album nor its three singles – "Never Really Been", "Tied to the Tracks", and "Made to Be Broken" – charted. At least not on Billboard. Not that charting is the be all and end all of determining a record or song's worth. Made to Be Broken is an absolute gem with "raging dual vocals," crunchy guitars, and pure energy. For examples of that rock n' roll energy, check out "Another World Another Day" and "Whoa". They would showcase that energy later in 1986 by touring with fellow Twin Cities rockers Hüsker Dü. The two bands would tie for Best Garage Band at the 1986 Minnesota Music Awards.
Also of note is the fact that the title track has the line And where will you be in 1993?" Well, in 1993, Soul Asylum found themselves with a top ten song, "Runaway Train", and performing it on MTV Unplugged.
But that event was yet to come. At this point, with Made to Be Broken, Soul Asylum was just another ragged rock band that had not yet made their mark.
Oh, and the people of Minnesota will not be broken! Ice out now!
Flashback: Made to Be Broken (January 18, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
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