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