Morphine: B-Sides And Otherwise

There's a catch-22 that goes along with any collection of B-sides and outtakes: Almost all of them are for diehards only, but those same diehards are the music buyers most likely to have already gone out and bought the compilations' source material. Seven of the 12 tracks on Morphine's B-Sides And Otherwise are culled from only three CD singles ("Super Sex," "Honey White," and "Cure For Pain"), which many of the band's fans will already own, though they are out-of-print. The remaining songs—pulled from two soundtracks, two tribute albums, and one Japanese import—at least find Morphine in an innovative state of mind: Tributes to Jack Kerouac and Ernest Noyes Brookings sound nothing like Morphine's relatively similar studio albums, as does Get Shorty's stylishly smooth instrumental "Bo's Veranda." There is solid material scattered throughout B-Sides And Otherwise, but casual fans will be better off sticking to Morphine's other, more consistent albums.