Un felice anacronismo, non saprei come altro definire questo gruppo di Boston rispetto alla scena americana dell'epoca, dominata dall’esplosione del grunge. L’unico precedente che mi viene in mente, con tutti i distinguo del caso, è quello che rappresentarono i primi Dire Straits nella scena londinese del 78 allora travolta dalla furia punk. Già la formazione base del trio: basso, batteria e sax la dice lunga di come questi ragazzi, più che ai Nirvana, guardassero ai complessi degli anni '50/60 e ad un periodo in cui la chitarra elettrica non era diventata la mistress di ogni gruppo rock (non che quì non ci sia ma viene usata poco e bene).
In un periodo poi, come i primi novanta, in cui si cercava di sfruttare in tutti i modi il nuovo formato cd, diluendo il grano con quintali di oglio (e potrei farne di esempi di buoni dischi danneggiati dall'eccessiva lunghezza) ecco un disco che raggiunge di poco il minimo sindacale per un lp, solo 37:11 min, come ai bei tempi dei Beatles e degli Stones. Smart Choice!
Raffinata anche la scelta di aprire e chiudere con due brevi e meditativi strumentali: il secondo un requiem per il grande Miles Davis, da poco scomparso, ricorda un po’ “He loved him madly” pezzo che lo stesso trombettista di St. Louis dedicò alla morte di Ellington.
Buena: Un pezzo che inizia con un giro di basso così invitante è sempre una perfetto apripista per un funky cantato con la giusta dose di coolness da Sandman fino all'esplosivo chorus dove attacca l'indiavolato sax baritono di Dana Colley (masculo nonostante il nome). Mui Buena!
I'm Free Now: brano più rilassato (nonostante il basso a due corde di Sandman sia sempre frizzantino) con una ripetitiva melodia triste al sax su cui Sandman inserisce il suo cantato molto sciolto, discorsivo e autoironico ("flexing like a heartbeat, we don't like to speak, don't talk to me for about a week").
All Wrong: Si rialza l'interesse con un ingegnoso riff al sax ma il meglio è il solo filtrato dal pedale wah-wah. Pezzo semplice e brillante. Menzione d'onore per il verso: "and when she laughs I travel back in time, something flips the switch off and I collapse inside!"
Candy: Ecco l'immancabile ballad. Il titolo lascia intedere qualche influenza loureeddiana. Ha sicuramente il ritornello più orecchiabile ("Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland") e sarebbe potuta essere l'hit più commerciabile. Anche qui scorgo una certa ironia nel canto un pò (esageratamente) melenso di Sandman.
A Head With Wings: uno dei brani più retrò, old school boogie. Mi piace quel breve momento di anarchia percussiva dopo il chorus "I got a head with wings!". Solito solo ben costruito di Colley, questa volta al tenore.
In spite of me: Quì sorprendono un pò con un inizio folk (un pò alla "Going to California" degli Zeppelin) con fingerpicking e mandolino ed una voce baritonale soffiata e morbida fra Leonard Cohen e Nick Cave. Un intermezzo volatile troppo breve però per proporsi come cura al dolore.
Thursday: E’ il brano che più potrebbe avvicinarsi al Grunge del periodo coi grugniti del baritono e le distorsioni chitarristiche finali ad appesantire per bene il sound di un pezzo su una tresca interrotta dalla paura della reazione violenta del marito geloso.
Cure for Pain: “Someday there'll be a cure for pain That's the day I throw my drugs away When they find a cure for pain” pare un pò il manifesto della filosofia di vita del compianto Sandman. Altro brano un pò spiazzante perchè sembra prenderla con rassegnata ironia, poi però uno pensa che comunque ci è morto quel dì fatale a Palestrina di un misteriosissimo infarto…
Mary Won't You Call My Name?: attacco poderoso col sax sovrainciso per un pezzo dal ritmo sostenuto quasi uno ska alla Madness. Il ritornello è lasciato alla sola voce di Sandman sul tintinnio dei timpani. Finale sospeso.
Let’s Take A Trip Together: quasi un’oscura b-side di Tom Waits dall’andamento sinuosamente ipnotico che si dissolve, come la precedente, in un soffio. Bisogna riconoscere che questi Morphine sanno come creare un atmosfera stuzzicante con pochi mezzi: una voce sovraincisa, un flebile organo su ritmo latino.
Sheila: non sono molto sveglio ma ho il sospetto che il gatto di Sheila non sia un felino ma una bella frusta a nove code, d’altra parte il refrain: “I'm yours to command, Shelia, Shelia” è abbastanza inequivoco. Perversa.
Insomma un bel disco, di quelli in apparenza low profile ma che sembrano fatti apposta per diventare dei piccoli cult, una band affiatata ed originale nell’andare controcorrente con una formula minimalista, magari ad un primo ascolto un po’monocorde ma che rivela tante piccole delizie ai successivi.
Dieci anni dopo la morte di Sandman Dana Colley è ritornato a Palestrina per celebrare le canzoni del suo amico: “Nessuno sta cercando di essere Mark, nessuno sta cercando di essere i Morphine. Ma queste canzoni hanno bisogno di essere suonate". Come cantavano i Drifters, uno di quei gruppi R&B che magari piacevano a Sandman, a good song never dies....
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 Buena (03:20)
I hear a voice from the back of the room
I hear a voice cry out
We want something good
Well come on a little closer let me see your face
Yeah come on a little closer by the front of the stage
I said come on a little closer I got something to say
Yeah come on a little closer wanna see your face
You see I met a devil named buena buena
And since I met the devil I ain't been the same, oh no
And I feel alright now I have to tell you
I think it's time for me to finally introduce you to the
Buena buena buena buena good good girl
It's comin' to me
Yeah it's comin' to me
Now I think I know
What it is you need
I know some people wanna make a change
But I know how to make it go away
You see I met a devil named buena buena
And since I met the devil I ain't been the same, oh no
And I feel alright I have to tell you
I think it's time for me to finally introduce you to the
Buena buena buena buena good good girl
04 All Wrong (03:41)
She had black hair like ravens crawling over her shoulders
All the way down
She had a smile that swerved
She had a smile that curved
She had a smile that served all over the road
It's all wrong all wrong
All wrong all wrong
She had a way of making people feel good to be around her
As it should be
It's all wrong all wrong
All wrong all wrong (x2)
All wrong
And when she laughs I travel back in time
Something flips the switch and I collapse inside
It's all wrong all wrong
All wrong all wrong (x2)
All wrong
05 Candy (03:15)
candy told me nothing really matters anymore
when I ask her what she means, she says I oughtta know
candy says she's made arrangements
for me in the sand
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she wonders why we try
I couldn't think of what to say
I hadn't already replied
candy says I'd like it where she is
she says it's an opportunity I don't want to miss
candy says she's made arrangements
for me in the sand
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy asked me if she died
if I could go on
of course I said I couldn't
and of course we knew that's wrong
but candy, I said, candy no you can't do that to me
because you love me way too much
for you to ever leave
candy says she's made arrangements
for me in the sand
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she's made arrangements
for me in the sand
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
candy says she wants me with her
down in candyland
06 A Head with Wings (03:40)
i've got a head with wings
i got a head with wings,
i got a head with wings
and i can see so far away i can see so clear
you would not believe the view up here
i got a head with wings, a head with wings
now im floating around up here way above the clouds
so high above the ground
and the only thing that holds my head to the ground
is this one little skinny string
i got a head with wings, head with wings
i got a head with yea oh
a head with wings
i got a head with wings
i got a head with wings
i got a head with wings
and i can see so far away yes so far away
well i can see the shadows fall across your face
i got a head with wings
head with wings
i got a head with yea yea
a head with wings
a head with wings
yea yea
07 In Spite of Me (02:35)
last night I told a stranger all about you
they smiled patienty with disbelief
I' always knew you would succeed
no matter what you tried
and I know you did it all
in spite of me
still I'm proud to have known you
for the short time that I did
proud to have been a step up on your way
proud to be a part of your illustrious career
and I know you did it all
in spite of me
in spite of me
late last night
I saw you in my living room
you seemed so close but yet so cool
for a long time I thought that you'd be coming back to me
those kind of thoughts can be so cruel
so cruel
and I know you did it all
in spite of me
in spite of me
08 Thursday (03:26)
Band: Morphine
Song: Thursday
We used to meet every Thursday
Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple a beers
And a game of pool
We used to go to a motel
A motel
A motel across the street
And the name of the motel
Was the "Wagon Wheel"
OH!
One day she said
C'mon C'mon
She said why dont you come back to my house
She said my husbands out of town
You know he's gone till the end of the month
Well I was just so nervous, so nervous
You know I couldn't really quite relax
'Cause I was really never quite sure
When her husband was coming back
It turned out it was one of the neighbors
One of the neighbors, one of the neigbors that saw my car
And they told her, yeah they told her
They think they know who you are
Well her husband is a violent man
A very violent and jealous man
Now I have to leave this town
I gotta leave while I still can
We should have kept it every Thursday
Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple of beers
And a game of pool
(REPEAT 1X)
She was pretty cool too!
09 Cure For Pain (03:14)
Where is the ritual?
And tell me where, where is the taste?
Where is the sacrifice?
And tell me where, where is the faith?
Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain
Where is the cave where the wise woman went?
And tell me where, where's all that money that I spent?
I propose a toast
To my self control
You see it crawlin' helpless on the floor
Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain
Find a cure for
Find a cure for pain
10 Mary Won't You Call My Name? (02:29)
Cross my fingers and I hope to God
I knock on wood and pray with all I've got
Cross my bow with a cannonball
I see the writing on the wall hey
There's no map and there's no clue
Of where to go and what to do
Yea who to dog who to ride and who to hold
Forever by your side (x2)
Mary won't you call my name (x2)
Mary won't you call my (x2)
Mary won't you call my name
I fell into the hands of a rich man's daughter
She led me like a lamb no bother
To go and live inside a barn on her Daddy's 90 acre farm
Hide your daughters in the snow and watch out for the undertow
Hold both hands against the door and dig your feet into the floor
Tell ya there's no map and there's no clue
Of where to go and what to do
Who to dog and who to ride and who to hold
Forever by your side (x2)
Mary won't you call my name (x2)
Mary won't you call my (x2)
Mary won't you call my name
11 Let's Take a Trip Together (03:00)
let's take a trip together
headlong into the irresistable orbit
breathe in the cold black space
with the glistening edges
let's take a trip me and you
let's go the scenic route
get to finally
get to finally
get to finally
get to know eachother
just to be alone
just to be alone
just to be alone with thee
somewhere there's no distracting breeze of information
leaking through the windows dripping from the trees
somewhere there's no earthquakes
of other people's anxious questions
no nervous wrecks
going down
no nervous wrecks
going down
let's take a trip together
headlong into the irresistable orbit
12 Sheila (02:49)
sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
puts a spell on the cat, a beautifully cat
sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
yeah the beautiful cat says sheila sheila
sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
puts a spell on the cat, a beautiful cat
she takes the cat, looks him in the eyes
makes him reply sheila sheila
oh most gracious of beings
oh most gracious of beings my queen
i'm yours to command
yours to command
i'm yours to command sheila sheila
sheila has a cat, she pets the cat
puts a spell on the cat
she runs her fingers down his back
cause sheila has a cat, puts a spell on the cat
looks him in the eyes, makes him reply
sheila sheila
sheila sheila
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Bleach
I Morphine sono stati una delle bands più originali degli anni 90 e Cure For Pain è il disco della fama mondiale oltre che il loro più alto vertice creativo.
Sandman è a tutti gli effetti un poeta triste e metafisico nella tradizione di Cave e Waits.
Di Stefano90
I Morphine hanno il grande merito di avere, per primi, proposto il classico misto di Rock & Blues senza chitarra.
La musica dei Morphine è una musica che vive di un contrasto meraviglioso: il freddo raziocinio e il calore avvolgente della voce di Sandman.
