Omnivore Recordings will be releasing renowned veteran rock band Soul Asylum’s first two Twin/Tone albums as expanded reissues on July 20th. The reissues of Say What You Will … Everything Can Happen and Made To Be Broken are produced by Twin/Tone veteran Peter Jesperson and both contain unreleased tracks, unseen photos and memorabilia, and liner notes by Robert Vodicka and Gina Arnold, respectively.

Soul Asylum first hit the Minneapolis music scene in late 1981. Core members Dave Pirner, Dan Murphy, and Karl Mueller met at local punk rock shows. With all the incredible bands they saw in those days, like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, it was daunting for them to share the same stages but, ultimately, it inspired them to work all that much harder.

Soul Asylum stood out immediately because of that work ethic and their smart, punky hard rock sound.They made four records for hometown label Twin/Tone Records before moving on to the majors; first A&M, then Columbia, where they scored two platinum albums and won a Best Rock Song Grammy® for “Runaway Train.” They even played Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration gala.

The first two Twin/Tone releases, 1984’s Say What You Will . . . Everything Can Happen and 1986’s Made To Be Broken, both originally produced by Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü, have been remastered and thoughtfully expanded by Omnivore Recordings.

This reissue of Soul Asylum’s debut, Say What You Will . . . Everything Can Happen collects the original album, plus rare outtakes and demos from the band’s early years, including an unreleased song and many long-out-of-print tracks. The packaging provides an array of never-before-seen photos, artwork, and hand-written lyrics from Pirner’s collection. It also includes a brilliant historical essay, written by academic Robert Vodicka, that illuminates Soul Asylum’s lasting importance.

The Made To Be Broken set contains 15 bonus tracks, nine of which are previously unreleased. It includes an impassioned, thought-provoking, frequently hilarious essay— written by legendary Bay Area music journalist Gina Arnold — that puts Soul Asylum’s influence in perspective and tells the story of how the band’s live show knocked the writer flat.

Both reissues were co-produced by Twin/Tone Records co-founder and Replacements manager Peter Jesperson, who first signed Soul Asylum, and Grammy® winner Cheryl Pawelski, with remastering by Grammy® winner Michael Graves.

According to Jesperson, an early observer of the Twin Cities scene, “When this band first hit the Minneapolis scene they went toe-to-toe with some heavy (and healthy) competition, and, remarkably, they held their own. Soul Asylum achieved an international prominence the others didn’t but these reissues are their punky roots and will make you feel like you were there.”

Listen to the rough and rousing demo version of “Black And Blue” below:

Say What You Will … Everything Can Happen Track Listing:
1. Long Day
2. Voodoo Doll
3. Money Talks
4. Stranger
5. Sick Of That Song
6. Walking
7. Happy
8. Black And Blue
9. Religiavision

Bonus Tracks:
10. Draggin Me Down
11. Do You Know
12. Spacehead
13. Broken Glass
14. Masquerade
15. Black And Blue (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules
16. Job For Me (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules
17. Cocktails (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules*
18. Nowhere To Go (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules
19. Out of Style (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules
20. Your Clock (Demo) – Loud Fast Rules
21. Propaganda – Loud Fast Rules
22. Bad Moon Rising – Proud Crass Fools
23. Happy – Proud Crass Fools

• Previously Unissued

Made To Be Broken Track Listing:
1. Tied To The Tracks
2. Ship Of Fools
3. Can’t Go Back
4. Another World, Another Day
5. Made To Be Broken
6. Never Really Been
7. Whoa!
8. New Feelings
9. Growing Pain
10. Lone Rider
11. Ain’t That Tough
12. Don’t It (make your troubles seem small)

Bonus Tracks:
13. Long Way Home
14. Another World, Another Day (Alternate Version)*
15. Fearless
16. Freeway
17. The Snake
18. Hey Bird
19. Friends
20. Can’t Go Back (Alternate Version)*
21. Swingin’*
22. Lost In Your Face*
23. Catch Me If You Can*
24. Song Of The Terrorist*
25. To Go There*
26. 20 Year Itch*
27. Ramblin’ Rose*

• Previously Unissued

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