God Shuffled His Feet

God Shuffled His Feet
Studio album by Crash Test Dummies
Released	October 26, 1993 [1]
Recorded	1993
Studio	DV Productions, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Music Head Recording, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Genre	Alternative rock folk rock
Length	44:45
Label	BMG Arista
Producer	Jerry Harrison Crash Test Dummies
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
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" Released: October 1993 "Swimming in Your Ocean" Released: January 1994 "Afternoons & Coffeespoons" Released: June 1994 "God Shuffled His Feet" Released: October 1994

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. ^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Drowned in Sound	8/10 [5]
Entertainment Weekly	B− [6]
Music Week	[7]
Smash Hits	[8]

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." ^[3]

Commercial performance

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, ^[9] number two in the UK Albums Chart, and number nine in the United States Billboard 200 albums chart. ^[10] 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

All tracks are written by Brad Roberts.

No.	Title	Length
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

Crash Test Dummies

• Benjamin Darvill  – harmonicas, mandolin, acoustic guitar
• Michel Dorge  – drums, percussion
• Ellen Reid  – piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals
• Brad Roberts  – lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano on "Untitled"
• Dan Roberts  – bass guitars, synth bass, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Larry Beers – drums on "Afternoons & Coffeespoons", "In the Days of the Caveman", and "When I Go Out with Artists"
• Adrian Belew  – synthesized guitars on "God Shuffled His Feet"
• Kerry Nation – backing vocals on "Afternoons & Coffeespoons"

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for God Shuffled His Feet Chart (1993–94) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [11] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [12] 1 Canadian Albums ( The Record ) [13] 11 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [14] 17 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 6 European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) [16] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [17] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 1 Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [19] 15 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [20] 39 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [21] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [22] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [23] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] 4 UK Albums (OCC) [25] 2 US Billboard 200 [26] 9

Year-end charts 1994 year-end chart performance for God Shuffled His Feet Chart (1994) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) [27] 38 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [28] 8 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [29] 94 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [30] 31 European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) [31] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [32] 4 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) [33] 20 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [34] 11 Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan) [35] 22 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [36] 7 UK Albums (OCC) [37] 50 US Billboard 200 [38] 53

Certifications

Sale certifications for God Shuffled His Feet

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [39]	Platinum	70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria) [40]	Gold	25,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [41]	3× Platinum	300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [42]	Gold	37,908 [42]
Germany (BVMI) [43]	Platinum	500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [44]	Gold	50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [45]	2× Platinum	100,000*
Sweden (GLF) [46]	Platinum	100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [47]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [48]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [49]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "RIAA".
2. Larry LeBlanc (27 February 1999). "Dummies Hand In their Latest Set". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 18–21. ISSN   0006-2510.
3. Erlewine, Steve. "Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 29 April 2010.
4. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Crash Test Dummies". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
5. 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.
6. Flaherty, Mike (19 November 1993). "God Shuffled His Feet Review". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
7. Aston, Martin (23 April 1994). "Market Preview: Alternative" (PDF). Music Week . p. 20. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
8. Kadis, Alex (11 May 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits . p. 48. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
9. chart positions - australian-charts.com
10. chart positions - allmusic.com
11. "Australiancharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
13. "Hits Of The World". Billboard . 11 June 1994. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
14. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2556". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
16. "Eurochart Top 100 Albums - July 23, 1994" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 30. July 23, 2001. p. 12. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
17. 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.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
19. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Crash Test Dummies".
20. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1994. 27. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
21. "Charts.nz – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
25. "Crash Test Dummies | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
26. "Crash Test Dummies Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
27. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1994". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
28. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1994". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
29. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2686". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
30. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1994". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
31. "1994 in Review: Sale Charts" (PDF). Music & Media 1994 In Review. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 18 May 2022– via World Radio History.
32. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
33. "Tónlist – Árslisti 1994 - LP/CD". DV (in Icelandic). 5 January 1995. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
34. "Top Selling Albums of 1994". RIANZ. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
35. "Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved May 18, 2022.
36. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
37. "Top 100 Albums 1994" (PDF). Music Week . 14 January 1995. p. 11. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
38. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
39. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 27 November 2021.
40. "Austrian album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
41. "Canadian album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Music Canada . Retrieved July 15, 2022.
42. "Crash Test Dummies" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved July 15, 2022.
43. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Crash Test Dummies; 'God Shuffled His Feet')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved July 15, 2022.
44. "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".
45. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
46. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('God Shuffled His Feet')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
48. "British album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 3 February 2021.
49. "American album certifications – Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• God Shuffled His Feet at Discogs (list of releases)
• God Shuffled His Feet at MusicBrainz (list of releases)