The Best of Morphine: 1992–1995
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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | February 18, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 1992-1995 (US edition) 1992-1999 (European edition) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:09 (US edition) 62:43 (European edition) | |||
| Label | Rykodisc | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Morphine chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | (6.7/10) [2] |
| Uncut |  [3] |
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
USA edition
All tracks are written by Mark Sandman
| No. | Title | Source album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Buena" | Cure for Pain, 1993 | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Honey White" | Yes, 1995 | 3:08 |
| 3. | "You Speak My Language" | Good, 1992 | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Cure for Pain" | Cure for Pain | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Candy" | Cure for Pain | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Have a Lucky Day" | Good | 3:28 |
| 7. | "I'm Free Now" | Cure for Pain | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Thursday" | Cure for Pain | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Super Sex" | Yes | 3:52 |
| 10. | "Whisper" | Yes | 3:29 |
| 11. | "Radar" | Yes | 3:29 |
| 12. | "You Look Like Rain" | Good | 3:39 |
| 13. | "Jack and Tina" | previously unreleased | 8:30 |
| 14. | "Pretty Face" | previously unreleased | 4:49 |
| 15. | "Shame" | B-Sides and Otherwise, 1997 | 2:44 |
| 16. | "Sexy Christmas Baby Mine" | previously unreleased | 2:05 |
| Total length: | 59:09 | ||
European edition
All tracks are written by Mark Sandman
| No. | Title | Source album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Have a Lucky Day" | Good, 1992 | 3:27 |
| 2. | "You Look Like Rain" | Good | 3:38 |
| 3. | "You Speak My Language" | Good | 3:25 |
| 4. | "Thursday" | Cure for Pain, 1993 | 3:26 |
| 5. | "Buena" | Cure for Pain | 3:19 |
| 6. | "Cure for Pain" | Cure for Pain | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Honey White" | Yes, 1995 | 3:06 |
| 8. | "Super Sex" | Yes | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Whisper" | Yes | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Eleven O'Clock" | Like Swimming, 1997 | 3:18 |
| 11. | "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer" | The Night, 2000 | 5:42 |
| 12. | "The Night" | The Night | 4:48 |
| 13. | "Jack and Tina" | previously unreleased | 8:32 |
| 14. | "Pretty Face" | previously unreleased | 4:47 |
| 15. | "Shame" | B-Sides and Otherwise, 1997 | 2:44 |
| 16. | "Sexy Christmas Baby Mine" | previously unreleased | 2:05 |
| 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
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
- Unterberger, Richie. The Best of Morphine: 1992–1995 at AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
- Carr, Eric. "The Best of Morphine 1992-1995 Pitchfork review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- "The Best of Morphine Uncut review". Uncut. April 1, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- 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) - 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)