Bootleg Detroit
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Description
Not only is Bootleg Detroit an aptly named live album, it's also an atypical one. For this, "the only official live release of Morphine," Rykodisc has released a low-fidelity recording made by an audience member during the band's Cure for Pain tour in 1994. Although the recording was mastered by frontman Mark Sandman before his onstage death in 1999, the sound quality never rises above that of your average bootleg. The drum sound echoes, and the baritone sax and bass are muddy. However, Sandman's dry voice shines through fairly well. The total package is somewhat voyeuristic, as if Bootleg Detroit were meant to sound like putting an ear up against the outside of a theater. For those who never got the chance to see Morphine's amazing live show, this is, sadly, as close as one can get. Yet even under the aural murk, the band's sexy and sulky low rock is spellbinding. --Jason Josephes
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