Closer to the Stars [Live][#] - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
Somebody to Shove - Soul Asylum, Pirner, D
Close - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
String of Pearls - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
Tied to the Tracks - Soul Asylum, Pirner, D
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum, Pirner, D
Sometime to Return - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
Misery - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
We 3 - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
Without a Trace - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
I Will Still Be Laughing - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
Black Gold - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
Summer of Drugs - Soul Asylum, Williams, V
Candy from a Stranger - Soul Asylum, Cambell, S
Stranger [Live][#] - Soul Asylum, Pirner, David
Can't Even Tell - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
Lonely for You [Live][#] - Soul Asylum, Pirner, Dave
Soul Asylum were, in many ways, two distinct bands. Prior to signing with Columbia, Soul Asylum scored minor hits with "Cartoon" and "Sometime to Return." Their hard-won reputation, however, was not as a singles band. Inst... more »ead, the group built its fan base via incessant touring and a string of hard-charging, heart-on-sleeve albums, including the wonderful Made to be Broken and While You Were Out. Soul Asylum's later years brought the hits ("Runaway Train," "Misery"), the MTV exposure, and the change in the band's style from gritty rock to hook-driven pop. Fans of the band's latter, more commercial period should find this disc interesting, since the set is dominated by this material. There are some treats for rarity hunters, however. A live recording of "Closer to the Stars," an acoustic reading of "Stranger," and a previously unreleased track called "Lonely for You" beef up this collection. While Black Gold certainly could have been more complete, for fans of latter-period Soul Asylum, this is a good starting point, albeit one missing most of the group's most important and interesting early work. --S. Duda« less
Soul Asylum were, in many ways, two distinct bands. Prior to signing with Columbia, Soul Asylum scored minor hits with "Cartoon" and "Sometime to Return." Their hard-won reputation, however, was not as a singles band. Instead, the group built its fan base via incessant touring and a string of hard-charging, heart-on-sleeve albums, including the wonderful Made to be Broken and While You Were Out. Soul Asylum's later years brought the hits ("Runaway Train," "Misery"), the MTV exposure, and the change in the band's style from gritty rock to hook-driven pop. Fans of the band's latter, more commercial period should find this disc interesting, since the set is dominated by this material. There are some treats for rarity hunters, however. A live recording of "Closer to the Stars," an acoustic reading of "Stranger," and a previously unreleased track called "Lonely for You" beef up this collection. While Black Gold certainly could have been more complete, for fans of latter-period Soul Asylum, this is a good starting point, albeit one missing most of the group's most important and interesting early work. --S. Duda
WANDA C. from ESCONDIDO, CA Reviewed on 9/7/2015...
I'm not a fan of this genre of music and only ordered the CD because of Runaway Train.
CD Reviews
Punk+pop+grunge=good
H3@+h | VT | 10/07/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Im not familiar with much old Soul Asylum, so I cant say whats missing other than "Easy Street". But I do know that what is on here is great stuff. All the bigger 90's hits you would expect, plus good songs I didn't know and a few live/unreleased tracks. It's a great thing to have for the person who needs only one Soul Asylum disc, especially at 19 tracks and 70+ minutes. Don't be in Misery, get this."
Best of from 1993 and Beyond
Bill Drake | Amherst, MA | 12/25/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The sad truth is that Soul Asylum is not the band on this album. They may have become the band on this album but for almost 15 years they were a much better and more complete band. Success came after ...the horse they rode in on and Hang Time, but for me their peak was much earlier with Made To Be Broken and While You Were Out, both of which albums were left out. Never forget that Soul Aslyum started in 1979 as Loud Fast Rules and then changed their name to Soul Aslyum because they didnt want to be seen as a HC band. And where are the Time's Incinerator songs? How many people even know about this album? Its too bad that Sould Asylum will be thought of as a 90s bad because they are so much more than that."
Good Starting Place
Jenifer | Minnesota | 12/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a good starting place to check out the band. It has some of the great older songs like "Closer to the Stars", "We 3" and "Cartoon", hits like "Misery" and "Runaway Train", and some rarities on it. I was never able to track down "Lonely For You" on the import single, so I'm very happy to own it now on this. It's a beautiful song. I would have liked to have seen "Promises Broken" included instead of "Summer Of Drugs", mainly because "Summer Of Drugs" is a cover. It's still a very good collection of Soul Asylum material and next to a live show, gives a good feel for what they are about."
Good overview, if only for later albums
plannine@webtv.net | New Castle, DE United States | 05/28/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"While not being a complete history, Black Gold does help the casual fan by including all of the hits and help the more interested person sift though their sub-par later material while including a couple of hard to finds. This is by no means a best of, however, because there is a lot of great early material missing. Almost nothing from Clam Dips and two tracks from Hangtime are included making this a good starting point but by no means an ending point for the more interested fan."