''Good'' is the first album by the Boston-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

trio

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

. It was released in 1992 on the Accurate/Distortion label. It was reissued by

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...

in 1993 after the band signed with the label.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that the album "establishes the goods, excavating a slippery, sultry groove that suggests

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

without becoming either by providing ample room in the spacious mix for two evocative voices."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "While it may not be as stellar as their future releases would be ... ''Good'' did a splendid job of introducing the Boston trio's highly original sound. While it was the

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

crowd who immediately latched onto Morphine, their music was geared more toward the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

scene – a wailing saxophone, lead bass (played with a slide), and lyrics influenced by '50s

beat poetry The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatione ...

were all-important ingredients."

Track listing

;Japanese edition bonus track

2020 vinyl expanded edition

On September 9, 2019, the Run Out Groove label announced that ''Good'' had been voted as their next vinyl rerelease and would include a bonus record of unreleased tracks remastered from the original source tapes. It was released on January 17, 2020. * ''side one (1-6) and two (7-13) as per original album'' ;Notes *All tracks on side three and four were recorded between 1989 and 1991. All tracks, except "Shame" and "Mona's Sister", are previously unreleased. "Shame" was released in 1993 as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the "Cure for Pain" single, and "Mona's Sister" was included on the 2004 box set '' Sandbox: The Mark Sandman Box Set''.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. ;Morphine *

Mark Sandman Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

– vocals, 2-string slide bass, organ, guitar, tritar *

Dana Colley Dana Colley (born October 17, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the baritone and tenor saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early life Colley was born in Portland, Maine, but he was raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, wh ...

– baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, double saxophone, triangle, backing vocals on "You Look Like Rain" *

Jerome Deupree Jerome Deupree (born November 9, 1956) is an American musician, based in Massachusetts. He is best known as the original drummer in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early career Deupree started playing drums at the age of six, with the hel ...

– drums ;Additional musicians * Billy Conway – drums on "You Speak My Language" and "You Look Like Rain" *

Jim Fitting Jim Fitting is an American harmonica player based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is known for his work with Treat Her Right, The The, and Session Americana. His credits include guest performances on various other artists' albums and live gigs. ...

– bass harmonica on "I Know You (Part I)" ;Technical * Mark Sandman – producer *

Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bosstone ...

– co-producer, engineer (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13) * Tom Dubé – co-producer, engineer (3, 8, 11, 12) * Mike Dineen – mixing (9) * Toby Mountain – mastering * Eric Pfeiffer - artwork ;Notes * Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 13 recorded at The Outpost. * Tracks 3, 8, 11 and 12 recorded at Q Division and Fort Apache * Track 6 recorded at High-N-Dry.

References

{{Authority control 1992 debut albums Morphine (band) albums Albums produced by Paul Q. Kolderie Rykodisc albums