Favorite Underrated Bands #1 - Morphine

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For the last nine days, I have been covering bands that I consider underrated. Some have experienced a bit of success. A couple have even had a Top 40 hit or two, and yet these bands fly (or flew) under most people's radar. We have arrived at #1 in my Favorite Underrated Bands series, Morphine. Formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1989, Morphine was a jazzy/bluesy rock trio led by Mark Sandman (vocals, homemade two-string slide bass,) saxophonist Dana Colley, and, drummers Jerome Deupree and Billy Conway, both of whom served multiple stints in the band. A minimalistic, self-described low-fi band, Morphine was also capable of producing quite the jazzy roar when it moved them, such as on the song "Buena," linked below. Unfortunately, the band folded after Sandman died of a heart attack onstage in Italy. You may have heard "Buena" without knowing it if you watched sports in the 90's. The song was used in an MGD commercial, and received airplay on college radio. And while the band did build up a large cult following due to excessive touring (I was lucky to see them, paying forty bucks to a scalper,) they never caught on with a larger audience. R.I.P, Mark.