MORPHINE

Formed: 1990, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Disbanded 1999

Members: Mark Sandman, lead vocals, 2-string bass guitar, keyboards (born 24 September 1952; died 3 July 1999); Dana Colley, baritone and tenor saxophones (born 17 October 1961); Billy Conway, drums (born 18 December 1956). Former member: Jerome Dupree, drums (born 9 November 1956).

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Cure for Pain (1993)

In an era ruled by guitar-driven grunge rock, Morphine was a band without a guitarist. The trio's minimalist sound and guttural grooves evoked midnight passion, foreboding scenarios, and abstract dreams. Its sensual, bluesy music was often compared to the nightmarish qualities of the experimental films of David Lynch, or the crime fiction of Jim Thompson. College airplay and positive press made the group one of the 1990s' best-respected cult bands.

Morphine emerged out of Treat Her Right, a conventional blues group headed by bassist and vocalist Mark Sandman. Saxophonist Dana Colley lived near Sandman and the two began to experiment together, creating what would become their signature sound. Sandman's deadpan voice sat in the same low octaves as Colley's baritone saxophone, and together they worked to supplant a lead guitar line. Surprised to discover such a minimal approach led to wider possibilities, they enlisted area drummer Jerome Dupree to complete the trio. In 1991 Morphine released its debut album Good on the independent label Accurate/Distortion. Rykodisc Records re-released Good the next year and Morphine received its first batch of solid reviews and college airplay across the country. Good was named Independent Album of the Year at the 1992 Boston Music Awards. Soon after, Dupree was replaced by Treat Her Right drummer Billy Conway.

Morphine's second album, Cure for Pain (1993), pushed the band into the mainstream and a word-of-mouth campaign that led to international tours, national press, and shows booked on large outdoor festival stages and lengthy residencies in small clubs.

Much of the fascination with Morphine revolved around its distinctive sound without a guitar, the signature instrument in rock. Morphine looked more like a jazz combo. "[Guitars] don't really matter," Conway told the Chicago Daily Herald in 1997. "Jerry Lee Lewis played piano and he rocked and Little Richard rocked. There's no law I know of that rock and roll has to have a guitar. I think the [rock] attitude is hopefully reflected in [the playing style] and hopefully we deliver the song in the proper package."

In 1996 Morphine jumped to Dream Works, a major label, and the following year the group released its fourth album Like Swimming. By that point Sandman's lyrics had grown darker, with images appearing to have been transcribed from dreams. "I swam out as far as I could swim 'til I was too tired to swim anymore and then tried to get my strength back," Sandman sings on the song "Empty Box." Despite a push from Dream Works, the album failed to bring Morphine big commercial success. On July 3, 1999, while on tour in Rome to promote the album, Sandman died onstage of a heart attack.

Morphine left a deep vault. In 2000 the posthumous album The Night was released, followed by the live album Bootleg: Detroit. In early 2003 Rykodisc released a best-of collection that included unreleased material. Conway and Colley toured as Orchestra Morphine in 2000 to say goodbye to fans. In 2002 they debuted as Twinemen, a new trio featuring singer Laurie Sargent.

Morphine's unusual sound and Sandman's wry, sobering vocals distinguished the band from its peers. Its albums tried to redefine the essential elements of rock.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Good (Rykodisc, 1992); Cure for Pain (Rykodisc, 1993); Yes (Rykodisc, 1995); B-Sides and Otherwise (Rykodisc, 1997); Like Swimming (Dream Works, 1997); The Night (Dream-Works, 2000); Bootleg: Detroit (Rykodisc, 2000); The Best of Morphine 1992–1995 (Rykodisc, 2003).

WEBSITE:

www.morphine3.com.

mark guarino

morphine principal derivative of opium , which is the juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy , Papaver somniferum. It was first isolated from opium in 1803 by the German pharmacist F. W. A. Sertürner, who named it after Morpheus , the god of dreams. Given intravenously, it is still considered the most effective drug for the relief of pain.

See also drug addiction and drug abuse .

Effects and Uses

Morphine, a narcotic , acts directly on the central nervous system. Besides relieving pain, it impairs mental and physical performance, relieves fear and anxiety, and produces euphoria. It also decreases hunger, inhibits the cough reflex, produces constipation, and usually reduces the sex drive; in women it may interfere with the menstrual cycle.

Morphine is highly addictive. Tolerance (the need for higher and higher doses to maintain the same effect) and physical and psychological dependence develop quickly. Withdrawal from morphine causes nausea, tearing, yawning, chills, and sweating lasting up to three days. Morphine crosses the placental barrier, and babies born to morphine-using mothers go through withdrawal.

Today morphine is used medicinally for severe pain, cough suppression, and sometimes before surgery. It is seldom used illicitly except by doctors and other medical personnel who have access to the drug. It is injected, taken orally or inhaled, or taken through rectal suppositories. Methadone treatment has been useful in curing morphine addiction.

History

Morphine was first used medicinally as a painkiller and, erroneously, as a cure for opium addiction. It quickly replaced opium as a cure-all recommended by doctors and as a recreational drug and was readily available from drugstores or through the mail. Substitution of morphine addiction for alcohol addiction was considered beneficial by some physicians because alcohol is more destructive to the body and is more likely to trigger antisocial behavior. Morphine was used during the American Civil War as a surgical anesthetic and was sent home with many wounded soldiers for relief of pain. At the end of the war, over 400,000 people had the "army disease," morphine addiction. The Franco-Prussian War in Europe had a similar effect.

In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act required accurate labeling of patent medicines and tonics. Various laws restricting the importation of opium were enacted, and the Harrison Narcotics Act (1914) prohibited possession of narcotics unless properly prescribed by a physician. Despite legislation, morphine maintained much of its popularity until heroin came into use, it in its turn believed to be a cure for morphine addiction.

Bibliography

See publications of the Drugs & Crime Data Center and Clearinghouse, the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, and the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.

Morphine

Morphine is the most effective naturally-occurring compound used to relieve pain. It also induces sleep and produces euphoria (a feeling of well-being). Morphine is an opiate (derived from opium) and is named for Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.

Morphine's Advantages and Disadvantages

Morphine is a narcotic (it dulls the senses). It acts on the central nervous system to allow a person to tolerate more pain than would otherwise be possible. Morphine produces a calming effect which protects the body in traumatic shock. Its greatest disadvantage is its addictiveness.

In 1898 the Bayer corporation synthesized methadone from morphine and marketed it as an antidote to morphine addiction. Methadone is a synthetic (artificial) drug that is less addictive than morphine. Today, methadone is often used in place of morphine as a pain killer. It is also used for the treatment of morphine and heroin addictions.

morphine (mor-feen) n. a potent analgesic (see opiate) administered by mouth, injection, or in suppositories to relieve severe and persistent pain, particularly in terminally ill patients; it also induces feelings of euphoria. Trade names: Morcap, Morphgesic, Oramorph, Sevredol, Zomorph, etc.

morphine White, crystalline alkaloid derived from opium. It depresses the central nervous system and is used as an analgesic for severe pain. An addictive drug, its use is associated with a number of side-effects, including nausea. Morphine was first isolated in 1806. See also heroin

mor·phine / ˈmôrˌfēn/ • n. an analgesic and narcotic drug, C₁₇H₁₉NO₃, obtained from opium and used medicinally to relieve pain.

morphine An alkaloid present in opium (see opiate). It is an analgesic and narcotic, used medically for the relief of severe pain.

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