God Shuffled His Feet is the second album by Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, released in 1993. It features their most popular single, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". The cover art superimposes the band members' faces over the figures of Titian's painting Bacchus and Ariadne. It was their most successful album commercially, as it sold over eight million copies worldwide.[1]

God Shuffled His Feet
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 15, 1993
Recorded1993
StudioDV Productions, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Music Head Recording, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Genre
Length44:45
Label
Producer
Crash Test Dummies chronology
The Ghosts That Haunt Me
(1991)
God Shuffled His Feet
(1993)
A Worm's Life
(1996)
Singles from God Shuffled His Feet
  1. "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"
    Released: October 1993
  2. "Swimming in Your Ocean"
    Released: January 1994
  3. "Afternoons & Coffeespoons"
    Released: June 1994
  4. "God Shuffled His Feet"
    Released: October 1994

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Robert Christgau [3]
Drowned in Sound8/10[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
Smash Hits3/5[6]

The album was the band's biggest mainstream hit. AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine attributes the album's success to "Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production" and that "apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Afternoons and Coffeespoons," God Shuffled His Feet isn't all that different from the band's first album."[2]

Commercial performance

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God Shuffled His Feet was a number-one album in Austria and New Zealand, and also reached the top five in the national albums charts of numerous countries such as Australia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. In addition, the album reached number six in the Netherlands national albums chart,[7] number two in the UK Albums Chart, and number nine in the United States Billboard 200 albums chart.[8] In their native Canada, it never reached higher than number 11 on the national charts, but fueled by the success of its four singles (all Top 20 hits there) the album eventually reached triple platinum status.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Brad Roberts

No.TitleLength
1."God Shuffled His Feet"5:10
2."Afternoons & Coffeespoons"3:56
3."Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"3:55
4."In the Days of the Caveman"3:41
5."Swimming in Your Ocean"3:49
6."Here I Stand Before Me"3:07
7."I Think I'll Disappear Now"4:52
8."How Does a Duck Know?"3:42
9."When I Go Out with Artists"3:44
10."The Psychic"3:48
11."Two Knights and Maidens"3:25
12."Untitled"1:43

Personnel

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Crash Test Dummies
Additional musicians

Charts

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Certifications

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Sale certifications for God Shuffled His Feet
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[38] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[39] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[40] Gold 37,908[40]
Germany (BVMI)[41] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[42] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[43] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Sweden (GLF)[44] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[45] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[47] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Larry LeBlanc (27 February 1999). "Dummies Hand In their Latest Set". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 18–21. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Steve. "Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Crash Test Dummies". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  4. ^ Weston, Colin (7 January 2001). "Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ^ Flaherty, Mike (19 November 1993). "God Shuffled His Feet Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  6. ^ Kadis, Alex (11 May 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits. p. 48. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  7. ^ chart positions - australian-charts.com
  8. ^ chart positions - allmusic.com
  9. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Hits Of The World". Billboard. 11 June 1994. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2556". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Top 100 Albums - July 23, 1994" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 30. July 23, 2001. p. 12. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Crash Test Dummies". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 53. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Crash Test Dummies".
  18. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1994. 27. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Crash Test Dummies | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Crash Test Dummies Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  25. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1994". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1994". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2686". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1994". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  29. ^ "1994 in Review: Sale Charts" (PDF). Music & Media 1994 In Review. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 18 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Tónlist – Árslisti 1994 - LP/CD". DV (in Icelandic). 5 January 1995. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1994". RIANZ. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  33. ^ "Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  34. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  35. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1994" (PDF). Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 11. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  36. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  37. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  38. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  39. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Music Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Crash Test Dummies" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  41. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Crash Test Dummies; 'God Shuffled His Feet')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  42. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 15, 2022. Enter God Shuffled His Feet in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1994 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  43. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  44. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  45. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('God Shuffled His Feet')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  46. ^ "British album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  47. ^ "American album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Recording Industry Association of America.
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