It's only been a few years since Boston's Morphine first rumbled up from the netherworld and took the guitar out of rock. With just bass, drums, and saxophone, this unlikely power trio has become an international phenomenon, playing for sold-out crowds in both clubs and on festival stages around the world in support of their surprise hit album, CURE FOR PAIN. Having barely cooled their heels after more than a year on the road, Morphine delivered their third Rykodisc release, yes, another penetrating set of "low rock" tunes too addictive to deny.

Consisting of Mark Sandman on two-string slide bass and vocals, Dana Colley on baritone saxophone, and drummer Billy Conway, Morphine continues to turn the alleged restrictions of their instrumentation to their advantage on yes. The album's twelve tracks were roadtested on crowds from Austin to Tokyo, and two songs were, in fact, recorded on the road by the group's soundman Phil Davidson: "Sharks Patrol These Waters" (recorded for a Dutch television documentary) and "I Had My Chance" (recorded live at KCRW in Los Angeles). Other highlights, recorded at Fort Apache with Paul Q. Kolderie and the band sharing production, are the driving "Honey White," the rock-noirish "Whisper," the more seductive and poppish "All Your Way," and more experimental tracks like "The Jury."

Opening with the monstrous riffs of "Honey White" (the album's first single) the album takes Morphine's trademark "low rock" sound to new places. Colley swoops and soars like a sax-slinging Jimi Hendrix, and on "Radar" and "Super Sex" he plays tenor and baritone sax simultaneously. While certifiable pop hooks abound, the combo stretch the boundaries of rock on "Sharks Patrol These Waters" and "The Jury," two forays into near-spoken-word territory. Throughout the album, Sandman continues to baffle traditionalists with his provocative two-string slide bass, while drummer Conway's soulful backbeat locks in the groove.

1. Honey White
2. Scratch
3. Radar
4. Whisper
5. Yes
6. All Your Way
7. Super Sex
8. I Had My Chance
9. The Jury
10. Sharks Patrol These Waters
11. Free Love
12. Gone For Good

Recorded at : Fort Apache / Q Div. / Hi-N-Dry / Hell West / Outpost, Cambridge, MA.
Released : March 21, 1995
Label : Rykodisc
Manufacturer and Marketer : Rykodisk #RCD 10320
Producers : Mark Sandman and Paul Q. Kolderie

Mark Sandman - 2 String Slide Bass, Vocals
Dana Colley - Baritone Saxophone
Billy Conway - Drums

Dana Colley - Tenor Sax on #4 #9 #10, Double Sax on #3 #7
Mark Sandman - Piano on #4, Chamberlin on #7, Tritar on #7, Guitar on #12
Frank Swart - Wah Bass on #9