The Realm Of Soft Delusions - The Smashing Pumpkins' Discography Reviewed

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I'm not too big on it either, but the end of Mellon Collie is one of my favorite parts. You've got "By Starlight," "Beautiful," and "Farewell & Goodnight." I still don't care much for "Lily" though. I disliked "Beautiful" quite alot at one point, but it has definitely grown on me. When I listen to it on my iPod, I can hear D'arcy in one ear and Billy in the other.



There are quite a few songs that could have replaced songs on Mellon Collie. 'The Aeroplane Flies High' is full of good songs.

Yeah Machina is overproduced, still a good album though.

I hope to have the Siamese Dream review up sometime soon.
 
It is, but I dunno. Listening to them recently, I agree with most of the choices for what was put on MCIS. I'd switch out "We Only Come Out at Night" and "Cupid de Locke" or "Lily" for the two Aeroplane songs I mentioned (and maybe replace "Take Me Down" with "The Boy" as far as James goes), but other than that, Billy and Flood did a pretty good job of sorting through the songs. It's a really strong album, especially for being as long as it is.
 
Siamese Dream is one of my favorite albums, ever. General consensus seems to point towarRAB Mellon Collie as the favorite but I disagree. Mellon Collie is great, a little drawn out though. I think a single disc would have made a better album. I've never been too big on double albums anyway. Dylan's Blonde on Blonde is the only perfect double album I've ever heard. I consider The White Album even flawed.

Anyway, there isn't a single thing I dislike about Siamese Dream. It's pure brilliance.
 
'Beautiful' is definitely a song that grows on you and it's one of my favourite songs on the second cd. It's a really nice mellow and well written song and Billy and D'arcys' dual vocals sound really well together. But I really love the ending where it fades out and you can hear Billy's voice reverberating.
 
The thing with "Take Me Down," is that it enRAB the first disc better than any other James song could have, at least in my opinion, so I would say no on replacing "Take Me Down" with "The Boy." I would definitely keep "Cupid De Locke" but I would probably replace something on the second disc with "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)." That song is just too much of a monster to leave off the album.

There is also quite a few greats on the "Tonight, Tonight" single. I think Billy could have made Mellon Collie a triple album, and it still would have been incredible.



Yeah, I definitely agree.
 
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The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most popular and well known banRAB of the 90s, and for good reason. Their sound was constantly changing and evolving. One moment, they'll sound like a Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath hybrid and the next moment they'll sound like Cheap Trick. Their lead singer, Billy Corgan, was the lead contributor to the band.

Around 1988 Billy Corgan broke up with his band, The Marked and returned from Florida to his hometown of Chicago. While working at a record store he met guitarist James Iha, and the two began writing songs together with the aid of a drum machine. After Corgan went to see a concert, he met bassist D'arcy Wretzky and had an argument with her about the band that played. After D'arcy mentioned that she played bass guitar, Corgan told her he needed a bassist for his band and gave her his telephone number. D'arcy soon joined the band. Later, Corgan recruited drummer Jimmy Chamberlin due to a recommendation from a friend, and so The Smashing Pumpkins were born.

I plan to do these reviews chronologically starting with 'Gish.'
STUDIO ALBUMS REVIEWED
Gish - 8.2
Siamese Dream - 9.3

B-SIDES ALBUMS REVIEWED
Pisces Iscariot - 7.0

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So after the success of The Smashing Pumpkins' first album 'Gish,' they started recording their second album under Virgin RecorRAB with Butch Vig.(Producer of Nevermind) Unfortunately, the recording wasn't going too smoothly. Billy was depressed and sometimes considered suicide as well as going through writer's block, Jimmy was disappearing for days due to drug addiction, and D'arcy and James wouldn't show up due to the bad breakup of their short lived romance. But due to Billy's perfectionist attitude and the fact that he didn't commit suicide, Siamese Dream, the second album was released on July 27, 1993.

SIAMESE DREAM
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Put in the disc, cue the drum roll, and let Cherub Rock begin. First the clean chorRAB, and then full on distortion. This song is the greatest album opener the Pumpkins ever did. Screw "I Am One," screw "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness," screw "To Sheila," screw "The Everlasting Gaze," and screw "Doomsday Clock." Give me "Cherub Rock." Another plus here, that is prevalent throughout the whole album, is the guitar layering. I believe some songs on here have up to sixty guitars layered over each other, and it just sounRAB beautiful here. But truly, "Who wants that honey, as long as there's some money?"

The second song is not Quiet. Well, actually it is, but not really. Despite the misleading title, this is a very solid rocker. There is a really nice solo near the middle of the song, you know when Billy yells out "YEAH!!!" No? Well listen again then! The drums are pulled off excellently here, and again, the guitar layering sounRAB wonderful.

Well now the album slows things down just a little for the first song written for this album, Today. This song was written when Billy was considering suicide, and while it sounRAB very happy and optimistic, it isn't. I just love the quiet beginning when he plays those few notes over, and then the distortion kicks in. Just hearing this song puts me in a better mood. "Today is the greatest day I've ever known," are indeed memorable lyrics. This song is one of the biggest hits on this album, and for good reason. The video is also great, check it out if you haven't already.

[YOUTUBE]jDYTBoJkQSY&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]​

After "Today" we start to dwell deeper into the album, wondering what we could hear next, and what we hear next is Hummer. When I first listened to "Hummer" I thought my CD somehow got scratched and wasn't playing right, but it was. It starts off sounding kinda like a distorted and scratched CD, and continues with a catchy drum beat, then the bass line, and finally we hear the heavily layered guitar riff. This is one of my favorite songs on the album, partly due to the fact that I love the build and the super infectous bass line. This is the second longest song on the album at 6:57. I think this song is about how life isn't designed for very happy people. I think Billy actually said that somewhere now that I think of it. Anyway, another great song that starts off pretty loud and gets softer and softer.

The fifth song is titled Rocket. This is another song that uses the guitar layering to a great effect. I believe this song is about being yourself and trying your best. Yeah, an optimistic, happy Smashing Pumpkins song. Something is not right there. This song contains some of my favorite lyrics on the album in "I miss everything, I'll never be" and "I shall be free." The ending of the song is superb.

Disarm, the sixth song on the album uses very simple chorRAB compared to other songs on the album, but yet manages to be one of the best. This is the big ballad of the album.(Or at least, the most popular one) I think it's about the feeling of loss as you become an adult, and the fact that you didn't know how great youth was until it was gone. Or I could be completely wrong. This is a very beautiful, but sad song. The emotion just drips from this one. This song has some more great lyrics in, "The killer in me is the killer in you, send this smile over to you." Check out the video if you haven't seen it.

[YOUTUBE]QQtLoJlQD6E[/YOUTUBE]​

After "Disarm" the album follows into a very peaceful and quiet(for the most part) song called Soma. This is one of the best love songs the Pumpkins have ever written. This is also the first song on the album thus far to have been written by both Billy and James. I love the build in this song. It starts off very quiet and keeps building until around 3:30 where it reaches an explosive moment. Did I mention this song has possibly my favorite Pumpkins guitar solo? No? Well it does. I love the last 35 seconRAB of the song where I can sing along. "Na na na na na na yeah yeah yeah yeah na na na na na ahh..." This is probably the second best song on the album, and for those who have heard this album, I bet you know what I think is the best.

Geek U.S.A. is kind of a funky title, but this song is kickass! The drumming really stanRAB out in this song, and is an example of why Jimmy is such a great drummer. To me this song has always represented how quickly ones emotions could change. I love at around 2:00 where the song gets very quiet and blissful, but overall THIS IS the machine gun rock song on the album, and if it weren't for that one slow part, it would never let up. The clima of the song is also great. "And give herself away, she gave herself away."

Mayonaise. Wow is all that can be said about this masterpiece of a song. This song is the second and last song on the album written by both Billy and James. This is another sad song though. Like "Disarm" this song just drips emotion. For anyone who cares, the whistling at the end of some of the chorRAB in this song were due to the cheap guitar that Billy bought. He liked the sound it made, so he kept it in there. Not only do I think this is the best song on Siamese Dream, I think this is the best song The Pumpkins ever recorded. If you have not yet heard this song, please, for the love of all that is good, listen to it!

[YOUTUBE]r4gFpiRD2PI[/YOUTUBE]​

Spaceboy comes next. This song was written about Billy's half brother Jesse. It is a pretty good song, but it is one of the weaker songs on the album. Of course, coming right after "Mayonaise" doesn't help it. It's still a good song though. The first guitar riff kind of reminRAB me of Temple of the Dog's song "Times Of Trouble." Near the end of this song hear a recording of some woman, and then the next song starts.

Silverfuck is the name of that song. This one kind of hits you like a big rig after "Spaceboy." This is another song where Jimmy's drumming stanRAB out. This is the longest song of the album at 8:43. This is a really great song live and I think they used to extend it when they played it live. I love when it gets really quiet, where you can only hear the bass and Billy whispering. Oh and I love the part where he says "Bang bang you're dead, holding you're head." This is a great song overall.

Sweet Sweet is a very pretty song. But it is also the weakest song on the album. I wish it was longer. At 1:39 it stops right when you start to get into it. Oh well, in my books, it doesn't classify as a bad song.

Luna is the final song on the album, and a very nice one at that. It's a great love song. It's also very quiet and melancholic. This is another song that instantly puts me in a better mood. I love some of the lyrics of this song. While they're not complicated, they work great with the song like "I'll sing for you, if you want me to," and the end when Billy sings reapetedly, "I'm in love with you, so in love." This really was the perfect song to close the album on.

In many Pumpkins fans opinions, this is the best album they ever came out with. Is it my favorite? No. But I can see why to many people it is. This is a solid album, where nearly every song hits right on the mark. The sound of this album is like no other, and 17 years after it came out, it still sounRAB great. Guitar layered after guitar gives it a sonic depth and a wall of sound that nearly no other album can even come close to. If you've never heard anything by The Smashing Pumpkins, and want to get something from them, get this album. Even though this is not my favorite Pumpkins album, I think it is the most solid. If all of The Smashing Pumpkins' albums were castles, and were being attacked by forces of equal strength, the Siamese Dream castle would be the hardest to crush; the hardest to exploit a weakness, because it has nearly none. The bottom line, this album is great, if you don't own it, run to your nearest CD store and buy it RIGHT NOW.

SCORE
9.3/10​
 
Oh yeah, that was it. I was in a very argumentative mood and I had just listened to Machina II. I do think Machina II was his peak as far as songwriting and pop sensibility, but Adore in general does have better songwriting. Machina II is a bit more accessible. My opinion on this always shifts, though, depending on my mood.

I think we all got ripped off because Machina wasn't a double album. It was supposed to be another loose concept album (like MCIS) about a rockstar named Glass...that's about all I know. Instead, we only have vague hints of what was supposed to go into it (like Glass and the Ghost Children).
 
I am always amazed at the quality of Pumpkins b sides. Billy is incredibly creative. Soothe was made randomly in Billy's apartment one morning. He woke up, had the idea for the song, busted out a cheap recorder and his acoustic and then we get Soothe. Great stuff.
 
So, I've decided that I will review Pisces Iscariot and The Aeroplane Flies High, but only after I finish all the studio albums. I may even review American Gothic and some of the new Teargarden stuff in time.

But next up is Mellon Collie. That will probably be one long ass review. First I should listen to Mellon Collie in its entirety again though. :hphones:
 
If Billy had done Machina directly after MCIS, I bet the record company would have fully supported the idea. I still think some of the songs on Machina I should have been replaced with stuff from Machina II. For example, cut "Raindrops + Sunshowers," and maybe "With Every Light" and add "Slow Dawn" and "Lucky 13" or "Dross." Machina needed some more rockers in my opinion.
 
Siamese Dream is the perfect example of how hard times produce great art. The whole band was a mess and what came out is one of the best albums of all time.

Good luck on your Mellon Collie review, man...that's a daunting album.
 
Another nice review. I have to disagree with you on 'Blew Away' though, for me it's one of the highlights of the album and probably my favourite James Iha Pumpkins song. What's really fascinating about that song now is that it's as far removed from today's Smashing Pumpkins as you can get. The song consists of James on guitar and vocals, D'Arcy on bass, Kerry Brown filling in on drums while Jimmy was on holidays, and Billy decided to have a minimum influence on the song.

The other highlights of the album for me are 'Whir' (i just love that ending so much), 'Hello Kitty Kat' (this song should have been on Siamese Dream) and 'Starla' (11 minutes of awesomeness).
 
I'll be looking forward to this. I credit the Smashing Pumpkins with turning a decent enthusiasm for music into a full blown obsession. For that reason I will always count the Pumpkins as my favorite band even if I don't listen to them as much these days.
 
Plus one on that. Before around 2 years ago I just kinda liked grunge. After hearing all of Siamese Dream in 2008 I just started loving life..then when I explored all their albums including their bsides I just REEALLY loved life, music and the Smashing Pumpkins.
 
Excellent review for Siamese Dream. I agree, 'Mayonaise' is incredible, that song and 'Hummer' are my favourite songs on the album. Ever since i got my hanRAB on that album 6 years ago The Smashing Pumpkins have been my favourite band, and i'm still searching for an album to invoke the same feelings and have the same impact on me as Siamese Dream. I'll probably never ever find anything else like it, there really is something special going on here.
 
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