Trollheart

Nah, my lawyers tell me not to admit liability, but hell with them. Shucks, ah plumb forgot! I'll add it now.

I'll also add the list to the OP. Thanks for your hard work Lisna. I was actually going to do something like that (though not as detailed) but I'm out in space in the 24th century, writing Hitchcock and Dahl and also observing in the courtroom as the trial of the Menendez brothers continues. And another trial a few hundred years earlier, little place, you may not have heard of it: Salem? Ring any bells? Anyway, busy busy, but I'll get this done now. Thanks again.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Sorry SGR and all others; it's been pointed out that Marie nominated an album just after Lisna, which I missed in the list, so in fairness she's up next. That means I have to bump everyone else's albums down two weeks. Soz.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Marie Monday

I need to catch up so here's 100 days, 100 nights:
Starts out clear and strong, the turn to a walzing rhythm is nice but it goes on for a bit too long. The next song is very funky. I agree with Lisna that it's well-crafted, well-performed, but a bit unadventurous. However, I have less against the genre, so that's all right. The next song continues the nead-bobbing funky fun. I like those opening sounds of Be Easy! Smooth but spicy. Over the next rest of the album my attention flags a little bit. Still bobbing my head though. Overall not very memorable, but still enjoyable and pretty solid
7/10

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SGR

Morphine - Cure for Pain

"Dawna" starts us off with some wandering sax lines - seeking a direction, but never reaching it, since it’s only 43 seconds in length. It’s mostly unnecessary and devoid of impact, positive or negative.

That intro riff on "Buena" is mean as hell; the soundtrack to walking into a bar in the Wild West fully strapped with a target in mind. He’s sipping his whiskey silently in the corner of the bar, hat down, with the outer whiskers of his moustache slightly dripped with remnants of the bourbon he ordered. You sit down silently in the opposite corner and order your whiskey. You’re side-eyeing him to see what he’s packing. You can’t quite tell, but it appears it might be a Colt 1849. This guy looks like a professional, but so are you...almost time to make your move…and this song truly begins the jazzy sax flavoring - which is not only interesting and unique, but it also fits with the rest of the music incredibly well. Great song. The sax bounces effortlessly along with the rest of the rhythm section.

“I’m Free Now” with that woozy swirling sax is another highlight, wow, it’s great. The lead singer’s voice lends itself to the music. It’s not overbearing or distracting, it’s not quite an instrument in itself, it’s more like a spice added to an already delicious meal.

“All Wrong” is a bit bouncier, beginning with gyrating saxes. That sudden break into the very brief and slow chorus (which immediately changes the tempo), “It’s all wroooong, all wroooong” is delicious. Another great song.

“Candy” begins a rather slow and slightly disappointing transition into less impressive tracks. I assume the lyrics can only be about a failed relationship where the woman in question (Candy) may or may not have arranged to have her boyfriend/husband be the target of a hit. (“Candy said she's made arrangements for me in the sand”) - either that, or Candy wants him to be dragged down to her level of…dysfunction? Anxiety? Depression? (“And Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland”) - maybe she’s bipolar - but the music itself is not as compelling as the songs previous, but not bad by any means.

“A Head With Wings” has more life to it musically, but it’s still a little disappointing. And in terms of lyrics, what the hell is he talking about?

I got a head with wings
I got a head with wings
I got a head with wings
And I can see so far away
I can see so clear
You would not believe
The view up here

My best guess is that this song is about getting high. If it’s not, I have no clue what he’s on about. Even if it is about that, the lyrics still come off as dumb and unimaginative.

“In Spite of Me” is okay, much more focused on earthy string plucking with breathy vocals - no real jazz flavor here. Not a bad song - probably better than the last two honestly. Again though, not great. Feels more like an intermission.

“Thursday” comes in with a dirty bass line meaning business, going to dirty motels (named The Wagon Wheel), playing pool, and drinking beers. And then…having an affair with a married woman??

Why don't you come back to my house
She said my husband's out of town
You know he's gone till the end of the month
Well I was just so nervous so nervous
You know I couldn't really quite relax
'Cause I was never really quite sure when her
Husband was coming back
Sure one of the neighbors yea one of the neighbors
One of the neighbors that saw my car
And they told her yea they told her
I think they know who you are
Well her husband he's a violent man a very violent and jealous man

Okay, I guess - not exactly the most original lyrical material, but at least it’s not boring. The music sells this track. The narrator should’ve stayed with his boys though. Maybe Candy would’ve been less depressed if her man wasn’t out cheating on her with a married woman.

For a title track, “Cure for Pain” is surprisingly forgettable. It does have an okay sax solo I guess. And lyrics about how people do drugs because they’re in pain. Eh, not into this one.

“Mary Won’t You Call My Name” sounds like much of what we’ve already heard musically - nothing new here. It’s lyrically about, uhhh…the dangers of marrying women with old money and farmhouses….I think? Pass.

“Let’s Take A Trip Together” is more deliberate in pace and steady in delivery - but ultimately boring. Lyrics are nothing special either.

And then there’s “Sheila”:

Sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
Puts a spell on the cat
A beautiful cat
Sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
The beautiful cat says:
Sheila, Sheila!

And that’s the gist of the song. Lyrically, it’s kinda funny but musically, again, more of what we’ve already heard. Steady rock rhythms and interspersed sax quips to provide flavor. In terms of cat songs, this really reminds me of the recent Linda Lindas song, “Nino” - this cat wasn’t beautiful though, he was a savage cat, killer of mice and rats.



And some mournful guitar licks tentatively about "Miles Davis’ Funeral" takes us out. A decent outro, though I would’ve preferred something a little bit more dramatic than sad and turgid. Then again, this was the ‘90s.

Overall, I liked this album. Jazz fusion kinda took jazz and retrofitted it with aspects of rock and funk and psychedelia. But this is more like rock that was sprinkled over with jazz (saxophone) to give it a different flavor. Ultimately though, I can’t help but feel that in doing so, it loses the strongest aspects of each - or perhaps they simply didn’t have enough great songs to make it convincing. It could make pretty decent road trip music though, I’ll give it that.

6/10

music_collector

Thanks for this list. I might even go back on the ones I missed. There have been some good suggestions.

Lisnaholic

I really enjoy reading your opinions about music I like, so thanks to rubber soul, Carpe and SGR for your detailed comments about Cure For Pain: I read them avidly.
Alas, I can't contribute any background info like rs did, but I have listened to some subsequent Morphine albums, so I will have that perspective to add. Here is my own track by track run down:

1. Dawna: so short, I don't think of it as a track, so much as a perfect, spooky curtain-raiser for Buena, which follows it so seamlessly.

2. Buena: a beautiful, measured build up as the bass, drums, and vocals come in and then the first sax solo blows us away.

3. I'm Free Now: this one reps a real drop in excitement for me as the vocals dominate, rather than the sax.

4. All Wrong: this is more like it! Good funky sax riff straight out of the box, and a great line: "She had a smile that swerved all over the road.". As Carpe mentioned, some great whaa-whaa stuff enlivens the second half of the song.

5. Candy: unlike your dark suspicions about this song, rubbersoul and SGR, I thought this one was just about Candy inviting her boyfriend down to her house at the beach! A sedate but pleasant song imo.

6. A Head With Wings: SGR is unhappy about the lyrics, Carpe thought it was boring and rubber soul didn't mention it: I therefore designate this track as the album's underrated gem. It has perhaps my favourite sax solo on the album, and though Mark Sandman's lyrics are hardly exceptional, I just love his delivery on "I've got a head with...yeah...oh...a head with wings"

7. In Spite of Me: It's most noticeable for having mandolin as the lead instrument, and no sax. In one way it's a welcome change of mood, but at the same time sounds like it's from another album altogether.

8. Thursday: We're back on track with the "proper" Morphine sound, and this time, a song that tells a clear enough story. It's quite fast-paced, but doesn't quite have the impact of the first half of the album.

9. Cure for Pain: Really can't improve on your description, SGR!

10. Mary Won't You Call My Name?: OK, but by now the Morphine sound is feeling rather "samey"

11. Let's Take a Trip Together: "Brought the drugs to the lounge" says Carpe, which about sums it up. Some nice oozy sax, but it was more slow than psychedelic and didn't do much for me.

12. Sheila: By the time this song ends, I'm tired of hearing the word "cat" in what I regard as the lyrics low-point of the album. A very forgettable track imo.

13. Miles Davis' Funeral: More like something by Calexico than Morphine, this leisurely outro would've made a neat book-end to the intro track, if only they had had the sense to put some saxophone in it. Duh!

So, overall, an album that starts strong. Full marks to Morphine for their unusual, stripped down line up and the absence of lead guitar. But slowly, song-by-song, the excitement wanes. Some songs sound like wasted opportunities that could've been developed beyond their typical 3-mins, but other songs make it feel like the band didn't have enough ideas or variations of mood - or when they did try to vary things, it was done too suddenly, without much effort at integration.
Subsequent albums, to my mind, bare out the idea that their ideas rather dried up: they have a few good tracks on each album, although, in fairness to the band, by my ranking, "good" just means "of equal quality to Buena"

Rating: 8/10

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

music_collector

No problems with the order. Move them around as you see fit.

I'll take a gander at Morphine.

music_collector

I'm giving Morphine a 7/10.

The standout tracks for me were Buena, Candy (loved the sax and the bass line), and In spite of me (had a Going to California vibe to it).

I liked the dueling sax and bass/guitar throughout. Thursday is a good example of this.

I like having the instrumental intro and outro tracks. I think it's a great way to bookend the album. More bands should do this.

Thanks for the suggestion.

SGR

Hey y'all, I'll be on vacation for the next 5 days or so - don't miss me while I'm gone and don't take my lack of contribution for lack of interest.

Marie Monday

Neverending White Lights - act II
It start with strong, assertive drums! But then the strings etc. come in and add a little too much bombast. I'm still receptive to the song though, but it loses me a few seconds later when the vocals come in. I'm not listening to the lyrics but the singing here is a deal breaker for me. The heavier guitars that come in at the end of the song don't help. The next song starts out all right but the nice guitar gets drowned in other sounds and then disappears in favour of the dreaded singing. I hope it comes back (it does not). I find the singing slightly more palatable on this track, to be fair. It sounds more processed but less strained and mannered. Untill the bells come in at the end I can almost enjoy this track. The next song is more inoffensive but dull. I dislike the reverb and sonic sparkles of the song after that.
omg a Hole cover! Why do the vocals sound so muffled and sleepy? This is completely stripped of Courtney Love's gut punch. Also what's up with the tin drum machine beat? The next song has more of the vocals I dislike (the vocal answer chorus is even worse) and uneventful music. Then there's a danceable song! I'm not very into the beat, but it's a nice change. The singing is not danceable though (not that it's meant to be) and the chorus irks me. The next song can be classified among those unfortunately inspired by the Moonlight Sonata (sorry Beethoven, it's not the Moonlight Sonata's fault). I'm not impartial here because I tend to hate duets but I especially dislike the singing here. I don't really have anything new to say about the next song. The song after that starts out with a fresher sound again, which is a relief. As before, the relief is broken by the vocals. Then we get a slower and heavier song again, which brings out the aspects of the music that I dislike more strongly. The next song is also slow but fainter (as is the singing) so it goes easier on my nerves. When she goes 'you never know your place now' there's something in her voice that I enjoy. The vocals of the last song combine two voices in a way that just clashes? but not in a nice way.
all in all a 3/10 from me sorry

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