Let Your Dim Light Shine

Soul Asylum | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 1995)
• Original Release Date: June 6, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000029EP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,848 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How do you follow your big break-through?, June 7, 2001

By 

"campervan9" (San Diego, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Your Dim Light Shine (Audio CD)

You have to admit it -- Soul Asylum had their work cut out for them on this one. After Runaway Train and Grave Dancer's Union sold I don't even know how many million copies a few years before (I know that it was a lot), they followed it with Let Your Dim Light Shine. The first single (and first track), Misery, had me hooked from the first time I heard it on the radio, and the rest of the album, though not quite as strong as Grave Dancer's Union, doesn't disappoint -- the best recommendation I can give is to start with Grave Dancer's Union, and if you like it, don't hesitate to pick this one up too.

After Misery, I Did My Best, Eyes of a Child, and To My Own Devices are great ballads. Just Like Anyone is a wonderful mid-tempo rocker, kind of in the Somebody to Shove/Black Gold vein. I don't like Caged Rat -- it sounds like a kind of thrown away grunger from a band that doesn't play hard grunge well, but most of the rest of the album is good listening.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, as always, February 12, 2006

By 

R. Rognstad (Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let Your Dim Light Shine (Audio CD)

I'm a long time fan of Soul Asylum, this being the 4th album of theirs that I bought, and I can only wish I bought it sooner! It has everything about Soul Asylum that I love, from the brilliantly intellectual lyrics (String of Pearls) to a little bit of country (Bittersweet Heart) and a little bit of pop (Misery), carefully blended together to create a lovely album. A must buy if you are fan, and if you are new listener, perhaps a good buy to experience the variety they are capable of (you will be hooked!).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "frustrated incorporated", May 21, 2005

By 

Rich Latta (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Your Dim Light Shine (Audio CD)

"Misery" is far and away the standout track on this album. It's a perfect pop song, much more tuneful and catchy than anything else here. There's some other good stuff, but some of it is pretty lackluster and almost irritating to be honest. "Shut Down" is pretty good. I like about half of "String of Pearls." As another reviewer here noted, the lyrics are a bit embarrassing at times. And let's face it, when it comes to hard rocking, this band is far from the hardest, although they often deliberately go for a mellower direction on this album.

I thought "Misery" would be a huge hit when I first picked up the single. It seemed to perfectly ridicule the marketing of teen-age angst while celebrating it at the same time. Some of the other reviewers here who criticized the lyrics just didn't get them: they're pretty brilliant. Now I understand why this song didn't take off - it hits a little too close to the bone for the tastes of your average angst-rock fan. I think in some way it reveals a little too much, something they'd rather not consider (especially while trying to rock out).