Don't let the name mislead you. While some might jump to the conclusion that a name like Morphine would be reserved for another derivative, abrasive metal band, this band's music is something completely different. Morphine was in one fact of the most original indie-rock bands of the '90s. It's ironically tragic that vocalist/bassist Mark Sandman's untimely passing from a heart attack cut the band's future short before the release of the group's last and possibly most brilliant album, THE NIGHT.
Morphine's sound could possibly described as a jazzy, musical backdrop to beat poetry. As soon as the two-stringed fretless bass and baritone saxophone open "The Night," the listener is put into a hypnotic, trance-like state. Sandman's smooth, baritone vocals are the focal point of "Souvenir." The sexy feel of "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer" is only accentuated by female background vocals. "Like a Mirror" is subtly beautiful; and the haunting line "I'm like a mirror / I'm nothing 'till you look at me" is striking. "Rope on Fire" uses a harmonic-minor melody to engender an Eastern feel. The instrumental syncopation and Roger Waters-influenced vocals of "I'm Yours, You're Mine" showcase the passion of an unsung artistic genius whose absence leaves behind an insatiable void.
Recorded at Hi-N-Dry & Super Sonic Studios, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Magic Shop, New York, New York.
Morhpine: Mark Sandman (vocals, acoustic guitar, 2-string slide & electric basses, trombone, piano, organ, tri-tar); Dana Colley (tenor, baritone, bass & double saxophones, piano, background vocals); Billy Conway (drums, percussion, background vocals).
Engineers include: Mark Sandman, Brian Dunton, Matthew Ellard.
Personnel: Dana Colley (vocals, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, piano); Billy Conway (vocals, snare drum, percussion); Tara McManus, Linda Veins, Margaret Garrett, Carolyn Kaylor, Ramona Clifton (vocals); Joseph Kessler (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Mark Sandman (trombone, piano, organ, bass guitar); John Medeski (organ); Michael Rivard (upright bass); Billy Beard, Brahim Fribgane, Jerry Deupree (snare drum).
Recording information: Hi-N-Dry Cambridge, MA; Magic Shop, NY; Super Sonic Cambridge, MA.
Additional personnel: Joseph Kessler (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Brahim Fribgane (oud, frame drum); John Medeski (organ); Mike Rivard (upright bass); Billy Beard (hand drum); Margaret Garrett, Tara McManus, Linda Viens, Caroln Kaylor, Ramona Clifton (background vocals).Rolling Stone (3/2/00, p.95) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...THE NIGHT is the band's most painstakingly layered and ambitious album, with cello, organ and oud expanding on the trio's original sax-y swagger..." Spin (3/00, pp.148-9) - 8 out of 10 - "...the sound of [Mark] Sandman doing his damnedest to go beyond the 2-stringed bass slurps and baritone-sax blurts that veiled his band's rote blues redux....expanding Morphine's doeful drones with piano elegies, mourning strings and braying saxophone..." Q (3/00, p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...the trio's nearly sub-sonic blues, jazz and beat poetry hybrid once again evoking a dangerous Spanish Harlem drinking den..." Uncut (3/00, p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Groovy, rocky in parts and full of Sandman's laconic vocals, THE NIGHT is noir rock at is most stylish..." Alternative Press (3/00, p.88) - 4 out of 5 - "...makes the most mundane moments of life seem transcendent....Morphine prove that established bands can progress and mature with dignity..." Magnet (4-5/00, p.83) - "...The band's finest work....a fitting goodbye, dense with 2 years of struggle and pointed toward a new direction, a jazzy funk minimalism the rest of us can only dream about." CMJ (1/31/00, p.3) - "...may be [Morphine's] most chilling album. Impending danger, primal urges and beatnik minimalism were the key ingredients in [their] bohemian blues throb, and they're all here in spades..." Melody Maker (2/22/00, p.47) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...he may be talking about space travel...but this is the closest to Heaven's Gate that music has yet to come....Mark Sandman was a visionary, a dark-eyed angel..." Mojo (Publisher) (2/00, p.86) - "...features some of the best work [Mark Sandman's] done....experimenting with the band's dark, often minimalist sound...the result is this lusher, more fully realised album...with songs that are variously cool, unsettling, sensual, personal and party-time funky..."
Cool the first track is reeeeeeeal good stuff, track 3, a deep drunk trip and 4 a hot-sweaty-funny party. R.i.p. Sandman!!!
This band was great. must-have album like the others.If i have to choose: Like swimming.
Submitted by Emilio (argentina) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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