Soul Asylum are the quintessential little band that could; it only took ten years to turn them from a teenage garage band into multi-platinum-selling rock stars. Guitarist Dan Murphy, bassist Karl Mueller, and drummer Dave Pirner formed in 1981 as Loud Fast Rules in Minneapolis, MN. When the shambolic, no-longer-teenage band burst onto the scene in 1984, Soul Asylum had added Grant Young on drums and switched Pirner to rhythm guitar and vocals for the loud and fast Twin Tone album Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck. However, the record was overshadowed by the current releases by fellow Twin Cities denizens the Replacements and Hüsker Dü; Soul Asylum have gone on record stating they were dubbed "the B-teamers" by the Replacements, which created bad feelings between the bands for years.

The Silver Lining, Soul Asylum's ninth full-length album, is every bit as quirky and off-centered cut-to-the-bone rock as their hardcore fans have come to expect, an indication that the Minneapolis-bred band has lost none of its edge. And why should they? The new Soul Asylum songs - "Crazy Mixed Up World," "Standing Water," "Success Is Not So Sweet," "All Is Well," "Good For You," "Lately," "Oxygen," and the lead single "Stand Up And Be Strong" - capture the band at its best: swinging, soothing, and rocking.