The Best of Morphine: 1992–1995

The Best of Morphine, 1992–1995
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedFebruary 18, 2003
Recorded1992–1995 (US edition)
1992–1999 (European edition)
Genre
Length59:09 (US edition)
62:43 (European edition)
LabelRykodisc
Producer
Morphine chronology
Bootleg Detroit
(2000)
The Best of Morphine, 1992–1995
(2003)
Sandbox: The Music of Mark Sandman
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Pitchfork(6.7/10) [2]
Uncut [3]

The Best of Morphine, 1992–1995 is a greatest hits compilation by alternative rock band Morphine, released by Rykodisc in February 2003.

The Best of Morphine, 1992–1995 chronicles the band's first four albums: Good, Cure For Pain, Yes and B-sides and Otherwise, and includes two previously unreleased tracks: “Pretty Face”, a dark atmospheric ballad recorded live in one take at Morphine’s studio in Cambridge, MA, and “Jack and Tina”, described by Morphine drummer Billy Conway as “the most beautiful bridge Mark Sandman ever wrote.” The B-side of the long-out-of-print 1000-piece pressing of “Cure for Pain” on 7" vinyl called “Sexy Christmas Baby Mine” (1993) rounds out the adventure through Morphine musical history. The CD is enhanced with a video of the song “Shame”, recorded at the Masquerade in Atlanta.

In Europe, the album was released as simply The Best Of Morphine and also included a song from Like Swimming and two songs from The Night. These had to be omitted on the US release because The Night was released by DreamWorks, not Rykodisc, in North America. In Europe, all Morphine albums appeared on Rykodisc, which made it possible to release the Best Of album with a career-spanning track listing.

South American editions are the same as the European version but also include the song "Early to Bed" from Like Swimming, making it a 17-track compilation.

Track listing

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USA edition

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All tracks are written by Mark Sandman

No.TitleSource albumLength
1."Buena"Cure for Pain, 19933:20
2."Honey White"Yes, 19953:08
3."You Speak My Language"Good, 19923:26
4."Cure for Pain"Cure for Pain3:13
5."Candy"Cure for Pain3:14
6."Have a Lucky Day"Good3:28
7."I'm Free Now"Cure for Pain3:26
8."Thursday"Cure for Pain3:27
9."Super Sex"Yes3:52
10."Whisper"Yes3:29
11."Radar"Yes3:29
12."You Look Like Rain"Good3:39
13."Jack and Tina"previously unreleased8:30
14."Pretty Face"previously unreleased4:49
15."Shame"B-Sides and Otherwise, 19972:44
16."Sexy Christmas Baby Mine"previously unreleased2:05
Total length:59:09

European edition

[edit]

All tracks are written by Mark Sandman

No.TitleSource albumLength
1."Have a Lucky Day"Good, 19923:27
2."You Look Like Rain"Good3:38
3."You Speak My Language"Good3:25
4."Thursday"Cure for Pain, 19933:26
5."Buena"Cure for Pain3:19
6."Cure for Pain"Cure for Pain3:13
7."Honey White"Yes, 19953:06
8."Super Sex"Yes3:52
9."Whisper"Yes3:28
10."Eleven O'Clock"Like Swimming, 19973:18
11."Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer"The Night, 20005:42
12."The Night"The Night4:48
13."Jack and Tina"previously unreleased8:32
14."Pretty Face"previously unreleased4:47
15."Shame"B-Sides and Otherwise, 19972:44
16."Sexy Christmas Baby Mine"previously unreleased2:05
Total length:62:43

The South American edition uses the track list of the European edition but adds "Early to Bed" (from Like Swimming) as track 10, and pushes the rest of the tracks down accordingly, for a total of 17.

Personnel

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Adapted from the album liner notes.[4][5]

Morphine

  • Mark Sandman – vocals, 2-string slide bass, tritar, guitar, piano, Chamberlin, organ
  • Dana Colley – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, double saxophone
  • Billy Conway – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

  • Jerome Deupree – drums on "Buena", "Candy", "Have a Lucky Day", "I'm Free Now", "Thursday" and "Pretty Face"
  • Charlie Kohlhase – baritone saxophone on "Jack and Tina"

Technical personnel

  • Mark Sandman – producer
  • Paul Q. Kolderie – producer
  • Toby Mountain – mastering
  • Steven Jurgensmeyer – design
  • Ferenc Dobronyi – design
  • Dana Colley – woodcuts
  • Lana Kaplan – band photography

References

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  1. ^ Unterberger, Richie. The Best of Morphine: 1992–1995 at AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  2. ^ Carr, Eric. "The Best of Morphine 1992-1995 Pitchfork review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "The Best of Morphine Uncut review". Uncut. April 1, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  4. ^ The Best of Morphine, 1992–1995 (US) (CD liner). Morphine. Rykodisc. 2003. RCD 10623.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ The Best of Morphine (Europe) (CD liner). Morphine. Rykodisc. 2003. RCD 10635.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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