Morphine (2) – The Best Of Morphine 1992 - 1995

This sort of thing happens far too often, where of course, it’s impossible not to be able to appreciate both sides of the coin, though whenever these sort of recordings arise, it’s impossible not feel that the record label, Ryko, has not seized the moment in order to capitalize, if not outrightly profit off of the untimely death of Mark Sandman.

With that in mind, for anyone who’s moved through the Morphine catalog, it’s, and I say this sort of wincing with shrugged shoulders, that Morphine fell into a hole so to speak, where all that they were delivering sounded remarkably like the last, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, when it comes to indie groups like this, when that happens it’s certainly limiting for exposure. 1992 - 1995 is absolutely not a retrospective look at even the short career of Morphines, where out of the seventeen tracks found here only three of them, “You Look Like Rain,” “Radar” and “Have A Nice Day” resound those beat poet emancipations, the slinky slow paced ebbing Fractured Fairytales that are most closely linked to the seductive haze of a two-string bass played in tandem with a haunting saxophone, along with consistent, through un-explorative percussions.

Of course listeners will be delighted with the three new and unreleased tracks, yet one should remember that those were not B-Sides, nor were they numbers to be tucked away for future albums, they were simply own by Ryko, leftovers from the cutting room floor … leaving me to wonder why it is that folks are gloating over filler. That said, it’s also worthy noting that no less than five of the tracks have been taken from the album Cure For Pain, that’s nearly one-third of this compilation, where I’d suggest you’d be better off grabbing the formal album; with all of the Morphine outings being rather inexpensive to purchase. Now, if for some strange reason you’re dead set on owning this release, make your way to a European issue, know simply as The Best Of Morphine, which will also include the tracks “The Night” and “Like Swimming”. The South American issue is the same as the Euro issue, and includes the song “Early To Bed”.

A dear friend once said, “Combining the dark, literary edginess of both The Doors and the Velvet Underground with the dirtiest blues and the hippest jazz, Morphine turned the rock world upside-down and inside-out. The group grooves and swings better than most jam bands, and despite the inherent limitations of its sparse instrumentation, it pushes its often agitated music with grunge-like intensity, all the while pulsing with more emotional resonance than most acts could ever hope to muster,” where for the most part I would soundly agree, though as I’ve said countless times, it’s not their jazz meanderings that are what brought them fame and held my attention, it was those wasted off the cuff darkly mysterious beat poet on the road hipster stories … where when all is said and done, it will be those stunning literary endeavors that will be remembered for all time.

*** The Fun Facts (History): In 1989, Mark Sandman, a skilled bass player who had been coming into his own as a vocalist, was a man without a band. His group, Treat Her Right, led by former Pink Cadillac singer David Champagne, had released their final album, Tied to the Tracks (featuring Sandman's lead vocals on several tracks) and promptly broke up. Lost in a similar situation was saxophonist Dana Colley, who had just finished a rather successful seven year career with the band Three Colors, one of the more prominent bands of the Boston music scene. Already good friends and building on a foundation of previous jam sessions and various side projects, Sandman and Colley pulled their talents together to form Morphine, where they added drummer Jerome Dupree to become a proper trio in 1990 … and a cult band was born.

Review by Jenell Kesler