Ever since disbanding in 2000, the Smashing Pumpkins have held the distinction as not just one of the biggest acts of that decade, but also arguably the most accomplished and unique band of the era. The Pumpkins hailed from Chicago, and while they were lumped into the alterna-grunge stew, their style and sound were as different and necessary to the overall movement as the Pearl Jam / Nirvana / Soundgarden Seattle sound and the Jane’s Addiction / Red Hot Chili Peppers Los Angeles sound. Over their career, the band moved from psychedelic to neo-goth, all the while infusing a rock esthetic. After a seven year hiatus, the Great Pumpkin himself has resurrected the name and songs of the Smashing ones. Joining Billy Corgan is longtime drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and together they created Zeitgeist, which drops in a few weeks. Having heard many of the new tracks from their current European tour, it looks (and sounds) like a return to form (and far less dicey a proposition than the anticipation and delivery of the latest Chris Cornell album proved). Here now is a primer to get you ready for Pumpkins 2.0…
Legendary
Siamese Dream
The album that broke the band and made them into stars, it parallels the success of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten, which it shortly followed. It also boasts producer Butch Vig, who did Nevermind, although the two albums share little else in common sonically. There are many stories from this period which highlight the dysfunctional and chaotic relationships of the band members. Former couple D’arcy Wretzky and James Iha not only battled each other, but also Corgan’s over-controlling tendencies, which may have sparked the rumor their bass and guitar parts were re-recorded by Corgan.
Yet out of the internal strife and clashes, Siamese Dream captured the best parts of the Smashing Pumpkins, specifically their hard/soft gearbox. One of the tenets of the Pumpkin’s sound was the ability to instantly switch between ear-shattering rock and beautifully soft lush melodies, which they exercised on many of the tracks, like "Today" and "Hummer".
In 1994, I saw them on my local Lollapalooza stop, and I swear to God their set was the loudest thing I’d ever head in my life, before or since – and this was outdoors too. I shit you not, their guitars went to 11, and nothing was more intense than the blasts of distortion clicking on or the vacuum of quiet when they cut back out. You could have landed over the audience and you’d have not even heard it.
“Cherub Rock”
Also listen to: “Soma”, the dreamy mid-album track, and “Geek U.S.A.”, a balls-out rocker that barely lets up to let you catch your breath.
Classic
Gish
Their debut, also produced by Vig, was an uncommon blend of psychedelic rock, metal riffing, and jazzy, muscular drumming. Both Iha and Corgan play some of their best parts together, and D’arcy’s bass lines are also at their most present and distinct. There is an acid-drenched atmosphere about the album, no small part due to an experimentation with LSD during that period, but it gives the music a more fluid and hallucinogenic feel than their alternative contemporaries. What is striking about Gish is the raw energy of the songs regardless of their ferocity or tranquility, and what also makes transitions from the driving "Tristessa" to the bubbling build up and release of "Window Paine" cohesive.
“I Am One”
Also listen to: the shredding guitars over the length of “Bury Me”, one of the most underappreciated songs on the album, and the trippy, droning pace of “Suffer” which was later sampled by Tricky respectfully in his tune “Pumpkin”.
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
Widely considered their magnum opus, Mellon Collie was the Pumpkins at their most decadent. Always having been a prolific band (more on that later), the band took a few pages out of the 70’s rock playbook and made a not just concept album, but a double album as well. The two discs, Dawn To Dusk, and Twilight To Starlight would each be solid enough with hits to be released on their own, but together, the set was a juggernaut of rock songs and down tempo ballads meant to conceptually reflect the cycle of life and death
The greatest luxury of the two-disc set was the opportunity it gave the band to experiment with new sounds and styles. Producer Flood gave the album a colder edge than the gritty Vig era albums by adding electronic tones and keyboard elements, but kept it texturally dense. Due to the excessive amount of songs they could include, the band was also able to keep their ideas more focused, and they started to move away from the hard/soft style of their previous records. And while the range was much broader than before, had the band whittled their 28 tunes in half, they may have created the most devastatingly perfect albums of the last 25 years – it’s a tad bloated to reach legendary status.
“Zero”
Also listen to: the lullaby “Into The Arms Of Sleep”, showcasing the unplugged and softer side of the band, “Thru The Eyes Of Ruby”, a mini epic that’s equal parts dreamy and sinister, the simple dirge “To Forgive”, and “Bodies”, a distortion laden rock locomotive.
“Drown”
The Singles soundtrack (as previously praised) was a masterstroke of compiling the best bands of the time. How influential and pervasive were the Smashing Pumpkins? Enough to be included on the Seattle based film’s soundtrack as one of two non-local bands.
Good
Pisces Iscariot
While writing material for albums, Corgan and company churned out vast libraries of songs, many of which, had the Pumpkins been a regular band, would never see the light of day save a rare demo. But the Smashing Pumpkins loaded their singles with b-sides a plenty, and Pisces was the first collection of tunes from the Gish / Siamese Dream era. So tasty and popular were the songs that many were played live around the release of the album.
The biggest surprise was that even their throwaway tracks that they padded the backside of a single with were legitimately first string material. Although the production varies between tunes, the songwriting is strong and the music is compelling. Unlike either of their two releases to date, the songs are less thematically congruent as a whole, but that makes the compellation stand out with more dramatic shifts between the songs.
"Starla"
Also listen to: “Plume”, as close to grunge as the Pumpkins would allow themselves to get, and their version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, which kicks the crap out of the original.
The Aeroplane Flies High
The second major compellation of b-sides, this was a specially assembled boxed set of the five singles from Mellon Collie, each fairly well loaded with tracks, although extra songs were added for this package. The diversity and depth of the Pumpkins back catalog is once again evident as they cull nearly 30 tracks, ranging from quirky covers (The Cars "You’re All I’ve Got Tonight" and Blondie’s “Dreaming”), to softer fanfare ("…Said Sadly"), to requisite rock songs ("Mouths Of Babes").
“Tribute To Johnny”
Also listen to: “Set The Ray To Jerry”, an upbeat, pop number, and the sparce and numbing "Ugly".
For Fans
Adore
At their peak of success during the Mellon Collie tour, keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died of a heroin overdose, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession and subsequently fired from the band. Corgan later said was the worst the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation. Meanwhile the band had decided to move away from the traditional guitar-bass-drums sound of past albums and move into more electronic influenced territory.
Corgan’s dark electro rock contributions to the Ransom soundtrack was an indicator of the new style, which the Pumpkins showed on both the Lost Highway and Batman Forever movie soundtracks, and eventually on Adore. There were far less guitar driven tracks and a definite gloom about the album, as the song arrangements featured more electronic instruments and keyboards. The subsequent tour found the trio taking not just a drummer, but two percussionists along to further deviate from their past sounds. While not a successful release in terms of sales, the band still managed to write a few good tracks in their newly adopted style.
“Tear”
Also listen to: “Ava Adore”, their bouncy electro-rock single, and “Once Upon A Time”, a lovely and introspective melancholy tune.
Machina / The Machines Of God
In a surprise move, Chamberlin rejoined the band before the decade’s end, and the original quartet made what would be their final traditional release. Like Adore before it, this was another shift stylistically, but it moved the band from electronica to a harder, grittier rock sound. Corgan again infused the album with a concept and theme (see more below), but it did little to garner interest in the record. Having left before the completion of recording, D’arcy was replaced by Melissa Auf Der Maur for the subsequent tour.
“The Everlasting Gaze”
Also listen to: “Age Of Innocence”, the closing tune which is strangely similar in it’s style to their older works, and “Stand Inside Your Love”, the darkly romantic third track.
Garbage
Machina II / Friends And Enemies Of Modern Music
The second set of tunes for the Machina sessions yielded this internet only release meant as a snub to former record label Virgin. Unsatisfied with the prior two albums, the label had initially declined to release what Corgan was calling the conclusion of his intended Machina double album. It had the same raw energy as it’s earlier namesake, but had a more lo-fi sound, perhaps in part to the distribution limited to 25 albums, which were then uploaded from the hand cut vinyl.
“Cash Car Star”
Legendary
Siamese Dream
The album that broke the band and made them into stars, it parallels the success of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten, which it shortly followed. It also boasts producer Butch Vig, who did Nevermind, although the two albums share little else in common sonically. There are many stories from this period which highlight the dysfunctional and chaotic relationships of the band members. Former couple D’arcy Wretzky and James Iha not only battled each other, but also Corgan’s over-controlling tendencies, which may have sparked the rumor their bass and guitar parts were re-recorded by Corgan.
Yet out of the internal strife and clashes, Siamese Dream captured the best parts of the Smashing Pumpkins, specifically their hard/soft gearbox. One of the tenets of the Pumpkin’s sound was the ability to instantly switch between ear-shattering rock and beautifully soft lush melodies, which they exercised on many of the tracks, like "Today" and "Hummer".
In 1994, I saw them on my local Lollapalooza stop, and I swear to God their set was the loudest thing I’d ever head in my life, before or since – and this was outdoors too. I shit you not, their guitars went to 11, and nothing was more intense than the blasts of distortion clicking on or the vacuum of quiet when they cut back out. You could have landed over the audience and you’d have not even heard it.
“Cherub Rock”
Also listen to: “Soma”, the dreamy mid-album track, and “Geek U.S.A.”, a balls-out rocker that barely lets up to let you catch your breath.
Classic
Gish
Their debut, also produced by Vig, was an uncommon blend of psychedelic rock, metal riffing, and jazzy, muscular drumming. Both Iha and Corgan play some of their best parts together, and D’arcy’s bass lines are also at their most present and distinct. There is an acid-drenched atmosphere about the album, no small part due to an experimentation with LSD during that period, but it gives the music a more fluid and hallucinogenic feel than their alternative contemporaries. What is striking about Gish is the raw energy of the songs regardless of their ferocity or tranquility, and what also makes transitions from the driving "Tristessa" to the bubbling build up and release of "Window Paine" cohesive.
“I Am One”
Also listen to: the shredding guitars over the length of “Bury Me”, one of the most underappreciated songs on the album, and the trippy, droning pace of “Suffer” which was later sampled by Tricky respectfully in his tune “Pumpkin”.
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
Widely considered their magnum opus, Mellon Collie was the Pumpkins at their most decadent. Always having been a prolific band (more on that later), the band took a few pages out of the 70’s rock playbook and made a not just concept album, but a double album as well. The two discs, Dawn To Dusk, and Twilight To Starlight would each be solid enough with hits to be released on their own, but together, the set was a juggernaut of rock songs and down tempo ballads meant to conceptually reflect the cycle of life and death
The greatest luxury of the two-disc set was the opportunity it gave the band to experiment with new sounds and styles. Producer Flood gave the album a colder edge than the gritty Vig era albums by adding electronic tones and keyboard elements, but kept it texturally dense. Due to the excessive amount of songs they could include, the band was also able to keep their ideas more focused, and they started to move away from the hard/soft style of their previous records. And while the range was much broader than before, had the band whittled their 28 tunes in half, they may have created the most devastatingly perfect albums of the last 25 years – it’s a tad bloated to reach legendary status.
“Zero”
Also listen to: the lullaby “Into The Arms Of Sleep”, showcasing the unplugged and softer side of the band, “Thru The Eyes Of Ruby”, a mini epic that’s equal parts dreamy and sinister, the simple dirge “To Forgive”, and “Bodies”, a distortion laden rock locomotive.
“Drown”
The Singles soundtrack (as previously praised) was a masterstroke of compiling the best bands of the time. How influential and pervasive were the Smashing Pumpkins? Enough to be included on the Seattle based film’s soundtrack as one of two non-local bands.
Good
Pisces Iscariot
While writing material for albums, Corgan and company churned out vast libraries of songs, many of which, had the Pumpkins been a regular band, would never see the light of day save a rare demo. But the Smashing Pumpkins loaded their singles with b-sides a plenty, and Pisces was the first collection of tunes from the Gish / Siamese Dream era. So tasty and popular were the songs that many were played live around the release of the album.
The biggest surprise was that even their throwaway tracks that they padded the backside of a single with were legitimately first string material. Although the production varies between tunes, the songwriting is strong and the music is compelling. Unlike either of their two releases to date, the songs are less thematically congruent as a whole, but that makes the compellation stand out with more dramatic shifts between the songs.
"Starla"
Also listen to: “Plume”, as close to grunge as the Pumpkins would allow themselves to get, and their version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, which kicks the crap out of the original.
The Aeroplane Flies High
The second major compellation of b-sides, this was a specially assembled boxed set of the five singles from Mellon Collie, each fairly well loaded with tracks, although extra songs were added for this package. The diversity and depth of the Pumpkins back catalog is once again evident as they cull nearly 30 tracks, ranging from quirky covers (The Cars "You’re All I’ve Got Tonight" and Blondie’s “Dreaming”), to softer fanfare ("…Said Sadly"), to requisite rock songs ("Mouths Of Babes").
“Tribute To Johnny”
Also listen to: “Set The Ray To Jerry”, an upbeat, pop number, and the sparce and numbing "Ugly".
For Fans
Adore
At their peak of success during the Mellon Collie tour, keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died of a heroin overdose, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession and subsequently fired from the band. Corgan later said was the worst the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation. Meanwhile the band had decided to move away from the traditional guitar-bass-drums sound of past albums and move into more electronic influenced territory.
Corgan’s dark electro rock contributions to the Ransom soundtrack was an indicator of the new style, which the Pumpkins showed on both the Lost Highway and Batman Forever movie soundtracks, and eventually on Adore. There were far less guitar driven tracks and a definite gloom about the album, as the song arrangements featured more electronic instruments and keyboards. The subsequent tour found the trio taking not just a drummer, but two percussionists along to further deviate from their past sounds. While not a successful release in terms of sales, the band still managed to write a few good tracks in their newly adopted style.
“Tear”
Also listen to: “Ava Adore”, their bouncy electro-rock single, and “Once Upon A Time”, a lovely and introspective melancholy tune.
Machina / The Machines Of God
In a surprise move, Chamberlin rejoined the band before the decade’s end, and the original quartet made what would be their final traditional release. Like Adore before it, this was another shift stylistically, but it moved the band from electronica to a harder, grittier rock sound. Corgan again infused the album with a concept and theme (see more below), but it did little to garner interest in the record. Having left before the completion of recording, D’arcy was replaced by Melissa Auf Der Maur for the subsequent tour.
“The Everlasting Gaze”
Also listen to: “Age Of Innocence”, the closing tune which is strangely similar in it’s style to their older works, and “Stand Inside Your Love”, the darkly romantic third track.
Garbage
Machina II / Friends And Enemies Of Modern Music
The second set of tunes for the Machina sessions yielded this internet only release meant as a snub to former record label Virgin. Unsatisfied with the prior two albums, the label had initially declined to release what Corgan was calling the conclusion of his intended Machina double album. It had the same raw energy as it’s earlier namesake, but had a more lo-fi sound, perhaps in part to the distribution limited to 25 albums, which were then uploaded from the hand cut vinyl.
“Cash Car Star”
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