High concept/low rock: That's one way to describe the late (more or less), great Boston trio Morphine, who, until frontman Mark Sandman's untimely death in 1999, made thrilling music without the benefit of a guitar or piano as lead instrument. Instead, the group featured Sandman's unique two-string bass (which he played with a slide, no less), Billy Conway's funk-jazz drumming, and Dana Colley's bleating baritone sax. Sandman knew a marketing hook when he saw it, and dubbed the amalgam "low rock," which has turned out to be as fitting a term for Morphine's sound as any.

But there was more to the band than mere concept, which this 1994 live recording makes plain. It was taped by a fan during a particularly ecstatic show at Detroit's St. Andrew's Hall, so the sound is as rough and immediate as the "bootleg" title would indicate. Yet, it captures how much Morphine made with its minimalist approach. The band is all back alleys and night-time soundscapes, driven by Sandman's rubbery lines and Conway's kinetic rhythms, while Colley's sax added intrigue to latter-day beatnik rants ("My Brain"), full-on rock ("Thursday"), and songs about various and sundry women ("Mary," "Candy," "Sheila," "Claire").

These days, Morphine carries on in the guise of Orchestra Morphine, which plays Sandman's music but fleshes it out through an expanded instrumental lineup. It's hip, but decidedly different. Bootleg: Detroit may be a hot live record by a great little band, but it's also a measure of how much has been lost with Sandman's passing.