Sandbox: The Music of Mark Sandman


Sandbox: The Music of Mark Sandman is a posthumously-released 2-CD/1-DVD set of music written and performed by American musician Mark Sandman released in November 2004 by Hi-N-Dry and distributed by KUFALA.
The set contains 31 songs on the CDs, mostly unreleased before Sandbox, while the accompanying DVD contains music videos, interviews, live performances, artwork, and photos.The songs are performed by Sandman and his various bands and projects, including solo recordings, song with Morphine, Treat Her Right, Hipnosonics, Pale Brothers, Supergroup, Candy Bar, Treat Her Orange. However, none of the tracks on the two CDs are credited to a particular band.

Background

After Sandman's death in 1999, remaining Morphine members Dana Colley and Billy Conway, among others, opened up Sandman's home studio, Hi-N-Dry, for public use and started a record label of the same name. But when they tried to release Sandbox, Morphine's former label Rykodisc filed a lawsuit, claiming they owned several of the recordings. Hi-N-Dry eventually won the case in court, but with no money left to promote the album it received little notice upon original release.
According to Paste magazine, "Sandbox frequently extends beyond Morphine’s core sound" – blues and jazz elements combined with rock – "highlighting territory Sandman explored in side projects." These projects included Sandman's longest-running side band, the horn-driven funk ensemble Hipnosonics ; Supergroup with Chris Ballew ; and the Jimmy Ryan collaborations Treat Her Orange and the Pale Brothers.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that, with few exceptions, Sandbox "is nothing but memorable hooks and perceptive storytelling... piano pops up in "Tomorrow," melodic allusions to the Kinks' "Celluloid Heroes" surface in "Patience," blow-your-woofer rock drives "Goddess" and "Doreen," and "Hombre" and "Hotel Room" will leave you sobbing in your cerveza. Each song brings something new to the table." Riverfront Times felt that Sandman's "cast-offs" and side projects were better than many other performers' best material, and that his "inviting, clear, honest singing, and the slightly rough-hewn joie de vivre in the instrumental performances" were the album's "unifying qualities." They concluded that Sandbox is not a "for-devotees-only collection" but for "anyone who values music encompassing both "roots" and restless creativity." Dallas Observer wrote, "The first disc, aside from a few kitschy songs, has a surprising number of strong Morphine outtakes. A studio version of live favorite "Goddess" is worth the price of admission, while the soft piano eulogy of "Devil's Boots," the country twinge of "Patience" and the spacey poetry of "Imaginary Song" reveal unseen shades of Morphine that will appease fans." They felt that most of the second disc "are for die-hards only."

Track listing

;DVD

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.
;Musicians
;Technical