Morphine: Good (2LP)

Side A

1 Good
2 The Saddest Song
3 Claire
4 Have A Lucky Day
5 You Speak My Language
6 You Look Like Rain

Side B
1 Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave
2 Lisa
3 The Only One
4 Test-Tube Baby/Shoot’m Down
5 The Other Side
6 I Know You (Part I)
7 I Know You (Part II)

Side C
1 Where’s The Sun Go
2 Shame
3 The Only One
4 If You Live/Basics Son Of Sleep
5 Work-Mom Bomb
6 The Old Days (It’s Not Like That Anymore)

Side D
1 Let’s Dance/ Come Over
2 The Saddest Song
3 Mona’s Sister (Treat Her Right)
4 You’re Worse – Looking Good
5 Test-Tube Baby/Shoot’m Down
6 Yes idea /Morphine Gig Ad

One of the most unique, original and important rock bands to burst onto the alternative scene in the 90s, Morphine was originally formed by vocalist/bassist Mark Sandman, saxophonist Dana Colley and drummer Jerome Deupree (later replaced by Billy Conway) in Cambridge, Mass in 1989. They expertly combined blues, jazz and rock elements into a very distinct style, anchored by Sandman’s deep, crooning, beat-style vocals.

Rather than having an electric guitar as the focal point like most rock bands, the trio’s sound was built around Sandman’s two-string electric bass (often deployed with a slide) and Colley’s growling, baritone sax which was dubbed as “low-rock.”

The band enjoyed critical acclaim but saw mixed results commercially. They did enjoy higher profile success overseas, especially in Belgium, Portugal France and Australia where they were featured on music television programming frequently and filled much larger venues.

After five studio albums and extensive touring, Morphine disbanded after Mark tragically died of a heart attack performing on stage at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Italy. Surviving members have soldiered on in various incarnations, the most recent being the Vapors of Morphine that will be on tour through the summer of 2017.

“Good” was the first studio album recorded by Morphine and originally released September 8, 1992 on the Accurate label and then re-released by Rykodisc in 1993. Produced by Paul Q Kolderie, “Good” was recorded at Q Division Studio in Boston, Fort Apache Studio in Cambridge, MA, and the Outpost in Stoughton, MA. ROG re-mastered from the original source tapes and is expanding “Good” to a 2LP set that features unreleased bonus tracks and updated liner notes.