Made to Be Broken
{{Infobox album
| name = Made to Be Broken
| type = Album
| artist = Soul Asylum
| cover = Madetobebroken.jpg
| alt =
| released = January 18, 1986
| recorded = 1985
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Punk rock, alternative rock
| length = 33:31
| label = Twin/Tone{{Cite web|url=http://twintone.com/projects/8666.html|title=Soul Asylum-Made To Be Broken|website=twintone.com}}
| producer = Bob Mould
| prev_title = Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = Time's Incinerator
| next_year = 1986
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/made-to-be-broken-mw0000650796|title=Made to Be Broken - Soul Asylum | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
| rev5 = Q
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite journal |title=Made to Be Broken |journal=Q |date=April 1993 |page=103}}
| rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=7 |page=616}}
|rev4 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
|rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |pages=1053–1054}}
|rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev6score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=655}}
|rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev7score = 8/10{{cite book|chapter=Soul Asylum|last=Aaron|first=Charles |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor2-first=Craig|editor2-last=Marks|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=368–369}}
}}
Made to Be Broken is the second full-length album by Soul Asylum.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/soul-asylum-mn0000755519/biography|title=Soul Asylum | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fie47qSuTsoC&dq=Made+to+Be+Broken+soul+asylum+1986&pg=PA2009|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|date=January 17, 2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781858284576|via=Google Books}} It was released on January 18, 1986.{{Cite web|url=http://www.soulasylum.com/made-to-be-broken/|title=Made To Be Broken – Soul Asylum|website=www.soulasylum.com|access-date=2016-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817141818/http://www.soulasylum.com/made-to-be-broken/|archive-date=2016-08-17|url-status=dead}} It was the first of the three albums released by Soul Asylum in 1986.
The song "Never Really Been" contains the line "And where will you be in 1993." The band performed the song on their 1993 appearance on MTV Unplugged, by which time they'd seen their first platinum-selling album and number one single.
Critical reception
Trouser Press called the album "an essential Soul Asylum LP," writing that "raging dual vocals and interwoven guitar work by Pirner and Dan Murphy, supported by new arrival Grant Young’s precise, varied drumming, make the tuneful power of 'Tied to the Tracks,' 'Ship of Fools,' 'New Feelings' and the countryish title track shatteringly original."{{cite web |title=Soul Asylum |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/soul-asylum/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=17 January 2021}} The Spin Alternative Record Guide wrote that "[Dave] Pirner's punch-drunk, night-stand poetry took on real power when framed by new drummer Grant Young's off-kilter, rhythmic swerve and guitarist Dan Murphy's dual vocals."
In a retrospective review, Stylus Magazine wrote that Made to Be Broken "taps into a potent spirit of underdog defeatism; it’s the sound of watching the tour bus through the window of the cramped van, gazing at the hotel en route to the fan’s couch or floor, and imagining a bath while showering in a sink."{{Cite web|url=http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/soul-asylum-made-to-be-broken.html|title=Soul Asylum - Made to Be Broken - On Second Thought - Stylus Magazine|website=stylusmagazine.com}}
Track listing
All songs written by David Pirner, unless otherwise noted.
- "Tied to the Tracks" – 2:45
- "Ship of Fools" – 2:48
- "Can't Go Back" — (Dan Murphy) – 3:05
- "Another World, Another Day" – 1:59
- "Made to Be Broken" – 2:35
- "Never Really Been" – 2:52
- "Whoa!" – 2:32
- "New Feelings" – 1:46
- "Growing Pain" – 2:17
- "Long Way Home" – 2:27
- "Lone Rider" – 1:50
- "Ain't That Tough" – 3:34
- "Don't It (Make Your Troubles Seem Small)" – 2:48
Personnel
- Dave Pirner — lead vocals, guitars, piano, saxophone
- Dan Murphy — guitars, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Can't Go Back"
- Karl Mueller — bass
- Grant Young — drums
Singles
- "Never Really Been"
- "Tied to the Tracks"
- "Made to Be Broken"