MORPHINE
''YES''
MARCH 21 1995
36:30
1 Honey White 03:04
2 Scratch 03:13
3 Radar 03:27
4 Whisper 03:28
5 Yes 01:56
6 All Your Way 03:00
7 Super Sex 03:49
8 I Had My Chance 03:01
9 The Jury (Mark Sandman, Frank Swart) 02:05
10 Sharks 02:22
11 Free Love 04:10
12 Gone For Good 02:50
Tracks By Mark Sandman, Except 9
Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone On 4, 9, 10 – Dana Colley
Bass (2-string Slide), Vocals, Guitar On 12, Keyboards (Chamberlin), Tritar On 7 – Mark Sandman
Drums – Billy Conway
Bass (Wah) On 9 - Frank Swart
REVIEW/AMG
by Greg Prato
****1/2 / *****
On their third release, 1995's Yes, Morphine shied away from the more accessible direction they laid down on 1994's superb Cure for Pain, going for a more challenging (but just as rewarding) direction. While the singles/videos "Honey White" and "Super Sex" did contain a pop edge (and were the album's best), other tracks, such as "The Jury" and "Sharks" pushed the envelope by containing lyrics that sound as if they're stream of consciousness. Like its predecessor, it's a highly consistent album -- even the lesser-known tracks are integral to the album's overall makeup. "Scratch," "All Your Way," "I Had My Chance," "Free Love," and "Gone for Good" all sound like the observations of a broken-down man, steeped in despair. But the mood lightens up on such selections as "Radar" and the title track, plus the aforementioned singles. With nearly all alt-rock bands sounding identical and bashing angrily away at their instruments in 1995, Morphine proved to be in a league all by themselves. Yes is perhaps just a shade less spectacular than Cure for Pain, but certainly not by much.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Morphine is a rarity -- bluesy, bare-bones rock & roll without any guitars. Instead of guitar riffs, the trio relies on sliding two-string basslines, raucous saxophones, and wry, ironically detached vocals. During the mid-'90s, Morphine gained a sizable cult following in America, primarily due to good word of mouth, heavy college airplay, and positive reviews.
Morphine was formed in 1990 by bassist/vocalist Mark Sandman, who had previously played with the bluesy alternative rock band Treat Her Right, and Dana Colley (tenor and baritone saxophone), a former member of the local Boston group Three Colors. Sandman and Colley added drummer Jerome Dupree to complete the lineup. The group released its debut album, Good, on the independent Accurate/Distortion label in 1991; it was reissued on Rykodisc Records in 1992. Good received substantial airplay on American college radio stations, as well as favorable reviews in alternative publications across the country. After the release of Good, Dupree left the band and was replaced by Billy Conway, who had previously played with Sandman in Treat Her Right.
The positive reception to Good set the stage for 1993's Cure for Pain, which received good reviews from a variety of music and mainstream publications upon its spring release. Morphine supported Cure for Pain with an extensive American and European tour that lasted throughout 1994, which helped the album sell over 300,000 copies -- an impressive feat for an independent release. In 1995, Morphine released their third album, Yes, which also received favorable reviews and helped the band sustain its large cult following.
The success of Cure for Pain and Yes also attracted the attention of major record labels, and in late 1996, Dreamworks bought out the majority share of Morphine's contract from Rykodisc. Like Swimming, the group's debut for Dreamworks, was released in the spring of 1997 to generally favorable reviews, yet it failed to break Morphine out of cult status. On July 3, 1999, Sandman collapsed on-stage during a performance in Rome, dying of a heart attack at the age of 46. The Night was posthumously issued early the following year and the live disc Bootleg Detroit appeared in fall 2000.
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''YES''
MARCH 21 1995
36:30
1 Honey White 03:04
2 Scratch 03:13
3 Radar 03:27
4 Whisper 03:28
5 Yes 01:56
6 All Your Way 03:00
7 Super Sex 03:49
8 I Had My Chance 03:01
9 The Jury (Mark Sandman, Frank Swart) 02:05
10 Sharks 02:22
11 Free Love 04:10
12 Gone For Good 02:50
Tracks By Mark Sandman, Except 9
Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone On 4, 9, 10 – Dana Colley
Bass (2-string Slide), Vocals, Guitar On 12, Keyboards (Chamberlin), Tritar On 7 – Mark Sandman
Drums – Billy Conway
Bass (Wah) On 9 - Frank Swart
REVIEW/AMG
by Greg Prato
****1/2 / *****
On their third release, 1995's Yes, Morphine shied away from the more accessible direction they laid down on 1994's superb Cure for Pain, going for a more challenging (but just as rewarding) direction. While the singles/videos "Honey White" and "Super Sex" did contain a pop edge (and were the album's best), other tracks, such as "The Jury" and "Sharks" pushed the envelope by containing lyrics that sound as if they're stream of consciousness. Like its predecessor, it's a highly consistent album -- even the lesser-known tracks are integral to the album's overall makeup. "Scratch," "All Your Way," "I Had My Chance," "Free Love," and "Gone for Good" all sound like the observations of a broken-down man, steeped in despair. But the mood lightens up on such selections as "Radar" and the title track, plus the aforementioned singles. With nearly all alt-rock bands sounding identical and bashing angrily away at their instruments in 1995, Morphine proved to be in a league all by themselves. Yes is perhaps just a shade less spectacular than Cure for Pain, but certainly not by much.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Morphine is a rarity -- bluesy, bare-bones rock & roll without any guitars. Instead of guitar riffs, the trio relies on sliding two-string basslines, raucous saxophones, and wry, ironically detached vocals. During the mid-'90s, Morphine gained a sizable cult following in America, primarily due to good word of mouth, heavy college airplay, and positive reviews.
Morphine was formed in 1990 by bassist/vocalist Mark Sandman, who had previously played with the bluesy alternative rock band Treat Her Right, and Dana Colley (tenor and baritone saxophone), a former member of the local Boston group Three Colors. Sandman and Colley added drummer Jerome Dupree to complete the lineup. The group released its debut album, Good, on the independent Accurate/Distortion label in 1991; it was reissued on Rykodisc Records in 1992. Good received substantial airplay on American college radio stations, as well as favorable reviews in alternative publications across the country. After the release of Good, Dupree left the band and was replaced by Billy Conway, who had previously played with Sandman in Treat Her Right.
The positive reception to Good set the stage for 1993's Cure for Pain, which received good reviews from a variety of music and mainstream publications upon its spring release. Morphine supported Cure for Pain with an extensive American and European tour that lasted throughout 1994, which helped the album sell over 300,000 copies -- an impressive feat for an independent release. In 1995, Morphine released their third album, Yes, which also received favorable reviews and helped the band sustain its large cult following.
The success of Cure for Pain and Yes also attracted the attention of major record labels, and in late 1996, Dreamworks bought out the majority share of Morphine's contract from Rykodisc. Like Swimming, the group's debut for Dreamworks, was released in the spring of 1997 to generally favorable reviews, yet it failed to break Morphine out of cult status. On July 3, 1999, Sandman collapsed on-stage during a performance in Rome, dying of a heart attack at the age of 46. The Night was posthumously issued early the following year and the live disc Bootleg Detroit appeared in fall 2000.
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