Customer Reviews

Good

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine a rock band...with only guitar, no bass (because the guitarist/vocalist plays a self-made "tritar"...featuring 2/3 of a guitar coupled with 1/3 of the bass' usual strings), a drummer that relies more on a light touch with sticks and brushes than pounding out tom-tom blasts. Now consider also that saxophone is a vital element of this rock band, not as an occasional solo or to play brass stabs as accents, but to play melody and countermelody, variously underpinning and cementing the tunes together. A hideous unlistenable melange, right? That's where you'd be wrong...

Morphine somehow manages to season this sonic soup into a strange and exotic dish that soothes the palate. The name of the band is apt. It is not a dulling of the senses they evoke but rather a mellow gauzy somnolescence...the dreamy wistfulness of the late evening.

Standout tunes are the strutting "Have a Lucky Day", the aging rabblerouser's advice of "Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave", the rollicking misfit anthem "You Speak My Language", bouncy "Claire", and the spare, jazzy "You Look Like Rain".

"Good" is good but not fabulous..same goes for "The Only One","Test-Tube Baby/Shoot'm Down","Saddest Song" and "The Other Side"...all worthy efforts, but not as immediate.

The only truly weak point is "I Know You (Part I)" which quickly establishes a somber mood with (I presume) a baritone saxophone with such a rumbling, buzzy tone that it approximates an Australian didgeridoo. Unfortunately after the promising start, it doesn't really "go" anywhere. Part 2 of the tune fares better.

Morphine isn't for everyone. But for the more adventurous music lovers, a shot of this might start a new addiction.

I was very sad to hear Mark Sandman had died. Of Morphine's albums, their debut is my favorite. The idea behind the group - two-string bass, sax, and drums - sounds impossible. But it creates an atmosphere evoking smoky bars and irresistable sleaziness. "You Speak My Language" is my wive's and my "song", although it's hardly sentimental. "You Look Like Rain" is probably the ultimate come-on to any woman with half a brain. A world without Mark Sandman is a lesser world indeed.

Sultry sax, loping drums, dreamy bass, smart & sexy lyrics/vocals. I have every release by Morphine, but 'Good' started the whole slow-burning sexy journey. When I start feeling the pain of todays artery-clogging polyglot "flavors of the month" (or, as my 10 year old son helped me realize when he proclaimed, "there are too many bands"), I simply load up my carousel with a 5-disc dose of Morphine. Like a slow-drip morphine pump, it sure kills my pain.

The music world has lost a truly great poet, musician and genius in Mark Sandman. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to continue listening to this remarkable band and spread the word to every soul I encounter. I was fortunate enough to see them live...the best 40 minutes of my life. Good, their debut album, is unsurpassed, raw and full of sexy, heartfelt tunes. From the cool, bluesy jazz of "Have a Lucky Day" to the smartest, sexiest song ever written, "You look like rain", to the mysterious, sultry sound of "The other side", there is not a bad song on this recording. As Mark said, "...do not go quietly unto your grave..."ÿ

I can't say enough good things about Mark Sandman and Morphine. Their 1st 3 albums rank as some of the best music of the last 25 years or so. The cd player in my car has refused to eject 'Good' for over a year. It's either broke, or it loves the music. Either way I don't care, it's worth listening to 1000s of times.

Without doubt the best product Morphine ever made.

Mark Sandmand voice (not very unlike Jim Morrison) together with that brilliant baritone sax plays along from start to end. - My favourite track is no 7: "Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave".

In general a very good cd - recommended.

Boston was the home base of one of the greatest bands of the decade, Morphine, a guitar-less trio whose style borrowed heavily from blues and jazz but shared with the Pixies the same casual, detached approach to melody. Three masterpieces established them among the masters of the "noir" atmosphere. Good (1992) highlighted their ability to turn ballads and rockers into metaphysical dialogues between bass and saxophone. The languid crooning of former Treat Her Right's bassist Mark Sandman, who chiseled one of the most evocative voices of the era, added another layer of meaning, a Tom Waits-like mourner and Nick Cave-like preacher floating inside the stark, unreal, heavy fog of the music. The trio contrived melodies that offered a quiet vivisection of post-industrial anxiety.

I have always loved morphine, but it's really hard to find their music so it was great to find so much on amazon. Excellent CD it was in perfect condition!

Good is my all time favourite Morphine album. I is an almost seamless obra. Almost every song on it still haunts me with its resonance and elloquence. Claire, Look like Rain, etc. are still good songs. Yes the music was better live, but alas, that time is no more.

Mark Sandman's writing is pure lyrical genius, and his soulful voice brings it out all the more. This is acclaimed as Morphine's best album, and I agree with that. Of course I haven't heard much by them I haven't liked. Very ecclectic. Very good.