This is album is basically a collection of the Smashing Pumpkins greatest hits spanning their whole career, and includes two never before released tracks.
I won’t bother with a history of the band, but those who don’t know, here it is briefly..
The Smashing Pumpkins formed in Chicago in the early 90’s and their first show they opened for Jane’s Addiction. They fused different types of popular music to make their own blend of alt rock. They released 5 studio albums (Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, Adore and Machina). They’re final album was released over the internet for their fans to download. The band broke up in 2000 after a farewell tour that ended in Chicago.
The band are/were..
Billy Corgan - Vocals, Guitar. Genius behind the band, did most the song writing. Can have a slightly annoying voice to some people but it doesn’t bother me. Currently touring with his solo project, but wants to reform the Pumpkins.
James Iha - Guitar. A good guitarist, and can be a very good co-songwriter, e.g. Mayonaise off Siamese Dream. Back to solo work again I believe after playing guitar for A Perfect Circle.
D'Arcy Wretzky - Bass. She isn’t an amazing bass player, but holds together a good rhythm section. And I have no idea what she’s doing at the moment (anyone help me with that??)
Jimmy Chamberlin - Drums. Excellent drummer, was fired from the band during the Mellon Collie tour, but was later invited back. And at the moment in his own band.
Melissa Auf Der Maur - Darcy’s replacement after she left. Former member of Hole and is a strong player. At the moment she’s in her own band.. Auf Der Maur.
Anyway, on with the album..
From the album Gish…
Siva - A hard rock song really, with a great opening lead riff. In the verses Billy’s voice flows with the guitar great. The song has quite a few very good solos played by (that I don’t know!), and has some excellent drumming from Jimmy. Darcy’s bass plays strong through out. The song kind of moves all over the place with loud parts and then some calmer moments before exploding again into another solo section to finish. A great start to the album. 4.5/5
Rhinoceros - One of the Pumpkins quieter songs, but around the 3 minute mark things heavy up a bit with Corgan singing ‘She knows, she knows..’ over. Amazing solo around that point too, with some good playing from the rest of the band until the end of the song. 4/5
Drown - Now, I’m not too sure which album this is from, I think It’s a possible B-side…
Opening clean guitar riff repeats quite a few times until the rest of the band comes in, and then continues on. Sounds strangely familiar though.. Some softly sung vocals by Billy through the first half, and then alike ‘Rhinoceros’ everything goes heavy and a simple but effective solo is to follow, and then a bit of a quiet section again until a build up to a louder ending. 4/5
From the album Siamese Dream…
Cherub Rock - Everyone’s got to have heard this song really… Starts off with a bit of a random snare playing by Jimmy, and then followed by a clean guitar riff until…bang everything comes in. Thick distorted guitars played throughout, although the song in general has a mellower feel (probably due to the way Billy sings). Good vocals from Billy, they’re kind of are sung softly at points and then get a bit harder. Interesting sounding solo (but don’t worry its good!) which leads into the final chorus. 5/5
Today - A catchy guitar part opens this song, until the rest of the band join in with some thick distorted guitars and pounding bass and drums, but once again has a kind of light-hearted feel. Although the music has a sort of poppy feel, the lyrics are dark. The song weaves between soft verses and heavier chorus and interludes. 4.5/5
Disarm - Another famous Pumpkins song, contains the line ‘the killer in me, is the killer in you…my love’. Its supposed to be about Billy’s parents. It starts off with a quiet acoustic guitar, and has some string sections occasionally popping up. Some good vocal work from Billy again. The bass joins the guitar in the second verse, which is simple but effective. Final chorus sounds massive. Its truly amazing. Billy’s vocals keep building up, with the sections getting ever louder. Then to end everything just stops while the final notes die out. Amazing ending… 5/5
From the album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness…
Bullet With Butterfly Wings - The last song on the album that is similar to the previous tracks. I think this song works so well because its cleverly written. Apart from having decent lyrics, it’s the way they are sung that will have it stuck in you’re head. In the chorus Billy yells ‘despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!’, while the rest of the band behind him follow. The guitars are strong through-out, and the song kind of follows the Pumpkins song formula of quiet verses and loud choruses and interludes before it drops down to a quiet section again, to finish with a huge ending with the drums pounding heavily behind everything. 4/5
1979 - The first song that is very different to the others. Begins with a drum machine that fades in and then everything joins in (however the drum machine is replaced by Jimmy). 1979 is a calm song, not quite a ballad though, with good vocals from Billy in the chorus. Darcy’s bass is very effective in this song, giving the guitar that extra bit, while Jimmy plays a fairly straight forward beat through-out. Unlike a lot of the Pumpkin songs on the first of this album, this track ends quietly in a verse where the opening drum beat on the machine fades out by itself. 4/5
Zero - What a great riff! A heavier Pumpkins song with some good vocal work from Billy. I quite like the lyrics too. Unlike the other heavy songs, this doesn’t have quite sections in it’s 2 and half odd minutes of glory. There are some strange sounding solos, but they follow the song well and sound good. To finish there is a final loud chorus until it drops out to Billy just singing ‘don’t leave…’. 5/5
Tonight, Tonight - Possibly the best song on the album. Clean guitars played through with a loud, beautiful string sections following it. Also the drumming is amazing by Jimmy, it adds that powerful and loud effect. The verses are quiet and has a nice bass line from D’arcy. Song carries on until the end everything builds up, and this is effective done by notably Billy’s singing and Jimmy’s drums that get ever louder and stronger. This goes on for about a minute until everything stops and it’s just Billy singing and playing guitar until an amazing ending with everything playing the last few notes. Great stuff 5/5
From the album Adore…
These songs are from the album which Jimmy was fired during writing and recording, so they used a drum machine like they did when they started.
Eye - A very dark song, the drum machine however simple it is, is a strong backbone for the song. Most the sounds on the song are synthesized apart from Billy voice and possibly the guitar. A very different Pumpkins song (a taste of what is to come!). Fairly quiet through-out until these voice effects are loudly played near the end, in which the drum machine pulls the song to an end. 3/5
Ava Adore - A love song, with a similar drum beat to Eye. In the verses Darcy’s bass plays strongly, while Billy’s vocals are some what aggressive. But the chorus has a light-hearted side to it with clean guitar played about the other parts with Billy singing ‘we must never be apart’. Around the 2 and half minute mark there is a simple and short solo that sounds great which follows off into a final chorus that still has that happier feel to it. And once again to finish the song is led out solely by the drum machine.
Perfect - Has some live drums rather than a drum machine, and has a general happy mood through out. It is fairly quite all the way through, but does flare up a couple of times, but it isn’t anything epically long. This song could be a bit repetitive for some peoples liking. 3/5
From the album Machina…
The Everlasting Gaze - The first heavy song since Zero, but it quite different to those early Pumpkins songs. The guitars are good, and have a lot of fuzz on them. So does the bass, which is also good and plays strongly through out. Jimmy is back on the drums and plays a great drum beat (especially the end which is amazing). And I warn people who can find Billy’s voice annoying, DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS SONG. This is his voice at it’s most nasal, and he has his own section in which the instruments drop out and sings a few lines to himself quickly. After this bit though there some great work with their instruments and that is probably the best part of the song. 4.5/5
Stand Inside Your Love - I don’t really feel this song is anything particularly amazing, but it‘s good. Opens quietly with the drums bass pounding with some nice guitar work. Billy’s vocals come in during the verse and he sings the words slowly. Chorus is louder though, some thick distortion like back in the earlier days. Sounds good. This song is very much like an older Pumpkins song following their kind of formula of quiet verses, loud thick distorted chorus, effective solo following to a loud ending. 4/5
Try, Try, Try - Another quiet song. Through it is more piano based that guitar. Bass follows the piano nicely, and Jimmy’s drums although only using a small amount of his kit, plays a fairly loud, strong rhythm section. There is also so backing keyboard effects that work well. Around the 3 and half minute mark things get a bit louder, and then drop all down to a piano and keyboard playing along and everything is then brought back in by a decent fill from Jimmy. The song has a sad mood in general, and some people could find this a bit repetitive. 4/5
The unreleased tracks…
Real Love - This song reminds me Billy’s recently released solo work. It has a loud keyboard part, and the guitars have a fuzzy sound on them again. I like Jimmy’s drumming. I don’t like Billy’s voice. In this song though, it kind of sounds more like a drone than his usual thing and its annoying. This song is very repetitive, which is probably due to the keyboard part. The worst song on the album… 2/5
Untitled - A good way to end the album. Has a poppy and happy feel to it. But it’s good, it always makes me think of all the good music they produced and this is kind of a positive way to go out before the split. The song is acoustic based, and some great vocals from Billy. Bass is fairly simple, and the lead guitar section is good, it has a simple but great solo. Drums are good through out. Ends with the solo, some vocals in the background singing ‘to be in love…’, and Jimmy is going pretty crazy on the drums which sounds great. 4.5/5
This is a great way to get into the band if you have never heard of them, it has a good variety of songs spanning their entire career. Showcasing they were one of the best bands to come out of the alternative scene in the early 90s, not always stick to that kind of grunge sound, but progressing to carry on moving. Experimenting with a dark industrial sound, and then ending with a more popper side of them. Although I do prefer and would probably recommend the earlier work, I still enjoy the later stuff.
Pros:
Very diverse set list
Some great song writing throughout
Has all a lot of their most famous, classic songs on
Cons:
Billy’s voice can be annoying. If you’re getting into this band, this is what will make/break it for you
Some songs can be repetitive
Because this is a greatest hits collection I’ll give it a 4 because it can’t be a classic really…
