Morphine

The Boston trio Morphine's unusual lineup -- two-string slide bass guitar, baritone sax, and drums -- practically guaranteed that some observers would see it as nothing more than a musical freak show. But over the course of five studio albums, the group proved that it wasn't just a purveyor of shtick. Mixing blues, jazz, and goth rock without owing much to any of those genres, Morphine created a sound of unique and timeless cool, which the band's leader, singer/bassist Mark Sandman, aptly dubbed "low rock."

"Rock noir" would also be appropriate. The world presented on Good, Cure for Pain, and Yes is one of dimly lit bars and pool halls, suffused with cigarette smoke and furtive desire, inhabited by addicts, adulterers, and various other not-so-beautiful losers. All three albums are excellent, but the latter two get the nod for their heavier grooves. Cure for Pain is the best place for the curious to start, featuring such gems as "Buena," "Thursday" and "A Head With Wings."

Like Swimming, by contrast, sounds tired. The band's repeating itself, and the shtick has begun to overwhelm the spirit. Sadly, this would be the last Morphine album that Sandman saw released; he died in July 1999 after suffering a heart attack onstage in Italy. Sadder still, the band's posthumously issued final studio recording, The Night, is nearly Cure for Pain's equal, and it shows Morphine successfully moving beyond "low rock," incorporating keyboards, cello, and oud on haunting tracks like "Rope on Fire" and "Take Me With You." Where it all would have gone from here we'll never know.

The Best of is a good intro; both the B-sides collection and the dodgy-sounding live album are fun but nonessential. (MAC RANDALL)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide