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

The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most popular and well known bands 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.'

Looking forward to reading these reviews and never ever thought the Smashing Pumpkins ever sounded like Cheap Trick!!!

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.

Nice one, i'm really looking forward to this thread. You should definitely review more than the studio albums though, the likes of Pisces Iscariot really deserve a review. Go forth and do them justice son!

'Gish' Review
 

Five classic alternative rock albums were released in 1991. Those albums are 'Nevermind' by Nirvana, 'Ten' by Pearl Jam, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' by Red Hot Chili Peppers, 'Badmotorfinger' by Soundgarden and 'Gish' by The Smashing Pumpkins.('Sailing Through The Seas Of Cheese' and Temple Of The Dogs' s/t album were great too though.) Out of those five albums, the one that was released first was 'Gish.' Although the other albums garnered more critical attention, 'Gish' really was in a league of its own. Psychadelic, hard-hitting, soft and melodic all at the same time, 'Gish' still managed to get grouped with the grungers. Despite the varied traits of this album, it is still the most traditional rock album by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Though it was recorded quickly when compared to other Pumpkins albums, (due to inexperience) the sessions were still tough for the band. D'arcy still wonders how the band survived the recording. Billy actually had a nervous breakdown during these sessions. But through the bands difficulty, 'Gish' was born.


The album starts with the hard hitting song, I Am One. The first thing you hear is a really nice drum beat laid down by Jimmy Chamberlin. Then a mezmerizing bass line kicks in. Then a few guitar chords, and then the song explodes as Billy sings "I am one as you are three, try to find messiah in your trinity." The song seems to have a spiritual vibe to it. The greatest part of the song though is 3 minutes 18 seconds into it, the whole band stops except for D'arcy and then at 3:26 the whole band kicks back in and then we get to hear a tasty guitar solo. This would be the greatest album opener the Pumpkins ever did if it wasn't for "Cherub Rock."

The next song is called Siva. I believe this was the first song to be released as a single to promote 'Gish.' "I Am One" and "Tristessa" both had releases before 'Gish.' The song starts off with a nice guitar riff before both the drums and the bass kick in. The song seems to be about letting out repressed anger. My favorite part of this song is when the band gets really quiet for the second time in the song as Billy sings "All this pain smothers me
Like a bomb that you can't see, tell me, tell me what you're after, I just want to get there faster." And then all hell breaks loose, as the band gives it everything it's got. "Siva" has some really nice guitar solos as well. This song is even better than "I Am One" even though it doesn't have that really nice build in the beginning.

After "Siva" we get the longest song of the album Rhinoceros. This is one of the best songs on the album, and also one of the more subdued. But man, that psychadelic melody is great! This was the second single from 'Gish.' I think the song is about lies and that anxiety you get when you think someone has seen through it. One of my favorite lyrics on the whole album are on this song in "Open your eyes, to these must I lie?" Another great song though.

The Pumpkins speed things back up with Bury Me, the fourth track on the album. The song starts off with arguably the greatest bass line on 'Gish.' I much like the guitar riff that comes after and the little solo before Billy starts singing. James sings a little bit in this song.("chain unchain, hide hide, and why why" part) This definitely one of the best songs on 'Gish.' I've heard that the song is about LSD, but who knows.

The Pumpkins quickly slow things down with a nice love song entitled Crush. This song really revolves around a simple bass line and a simple guitar riff. I've always envisioned a rainy day when I hear this song. I really love the spacey sounding guitar going on in the background. What sounds like a tambourine adds a really nice touch to the chorus. This song also contains another one of my favorite lines from the album in "you're sleeping in your bed, just rest your weary head, maybe you shouldn't care, throw away those dreams and dare." This is a nice song, but ultimately, it is the weakest of the first five songs.

Side 2 of the album starts with Suffer. This song is different from all the other songs on this album. It is really slow and really quiet and never really elevates above that point. I'm not quite certain what this song is about. Some of it sounds like it is about addiction, but I'm not sure about some of the rest. It took me awhile to gain a liking to this song. It's one those growers for sure, but it's definitely a solid tune. Not the best on 'Gish' but certainly not the worst.

After "Suffer" we get Snail. This is a really great song, and a sort of foreshadowing on what 'Siamese Dream' will sound like. Alot of great lyrics in this one. I think it's about pursuing your dreams and never giving up. I really like this one and think it is one of the highlights of the album. One of my favorite guitar riffs of the album is in this song too.

The last all out rocker on 'Gish' is the eight track, Tristessa. I like this song, but I also think it is the weakest rocker on the album, but maybe that comes from my lack of understanding it. I know that "Tristessa" means sadness in spanish, but the way he uses doesn't translate well with the meaning. Either way, good song, but weaker than alot of others on here.

Window Paine is the ninth track. I think this is a really great song, and it really sticks out for some reason. It starts off very quiet and subdued, but gets louder as the song progresses. I really like at 3:30 where the song keeps getting faster and faster leading into an acapella part where Billy sings without any instruments playing. The drums are really great on this track too. I have always interpreted this song as being about someone who needs to find and pursue his dreams and do whatever he has to do to get there.

The last song on the album is Daydream. It is sung by D'arcy who actually has a really nice voice. It is an accoustic song and it even has violins in it. It's a really short song, but it's nice. I believe it is about hope and trying to look on the bright side. It is one of the weakest songs on the album though. The song has a hidden track, I'm Going Crazy. It is about a minute long and isn't very exciting. It pretty much signifies how Billy felt during the sessions for the album.

This is a great album, especially when you consider the fact that it was a debut album and the band members were rather inexperienced at this point. This is a good album to start with if you've don't know much by The Smashing Pumpkins and want to hear something by them. No song is overly weak, other than "Daydream." But from here on out (for the most part) The Smashing Pumpkins' albums only get better.

You're doing a great job so far, I'm really looking forward to Siamese Dream and MCATIS.

Good review. I wouldn't say Gish is the best starting point, however. I would go with either Siamese Dream or MCIS...those two are considered their classics. Gish is still pretty good, though. Random fact: Snail is Billy's favorite song off this album.

Thank you.

Nah, I don't think Gish is the best starting point either, but it is certainly a better starting point than 'Adore' or 'Machina.'

Unlike some Pumpkins fans I don't despise Adore or Machina at all. There are definitely some songs on them though I don't care much for.

Siamese Dream is my favorite, but in all honesty I think Adore shows Billy at his peak as far as songwriting goes. I think we may have even gotten into this before. I know I got into an argument with someone about it. Machina is horribly underrated and Machina II should get more recognition than it does (though it's understandable since he released it for free).

Actually yes, we did get into an argument about that. I said that 'Adore' was the peak of Billy's songwriting ability, and you thought 'Machina II' was even better, or something like that, and then we posted song lyrics from each of them.:laughing:

Yeah, Machina is underrated, songs like "I Of The Mourning" and "Stand Inside Your Love" are up there with The Pumpkins bests, and Machina II has possibly my favorite Iha song, "Go."

To this day, I still wonder what the tracklisting for Machina would be if Billy got his way and it was a double album.

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).

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.

Did Jimmy have a drug problom during the making of Gish?

He was probably taking drugs during Gish but it didn't really become a big problem until 95/96 during the Mellon Collie tour.

I've had a good 10 years to absorb Machina I and I've decided that I actually like it just the way it is. The only reason you might get the feeling it needs more rockers is because of the length...try starting the album after "Heavy Metal Machine" and I promise those later songs will sound a lot better to your ears. Billy was never one to throw in a song just because it was a quick fix. He always tried to stick to his concept and put in what fit more, not what was more catchy (which is why I forgive him for clunkers like "We Only Go Out At Night"). Everytime a b-sides release came out, there were albums worth of songs that were just as good if not better than what was on the studio albums. Machina I was meant to be a very progressive album and punchy numbers like "Lucky 13" or "Dross" would have been too out of place.

It started escalating during Gish and the band recorded Siamese Dream in Georgia just to get Jimmy away from his contacts. He still managed to find more hook ups, especially since he was under such a huge amount of stress (according to Billy, Butch Vig wanted nothing less than perfection and Jimmy wasn't used to recording under such stringency). It came to a head during the MCIS tour when he and their keyboardist OD'd in a hotel room (the keyboardist died, Jimmy didn't).

You know, now that you say that, it reminds that the length of Machina really does get on my nerves sometimes, but oddly enough, Adore never did. Maybe it is because I just like Adore better.

The whole concept of Machina was a bit in pieces though, due to the fact he was forced to make it a single album.

Also you meant "We Only Come Out At Night." :)

Shows you how much I enjoy that song.

We only come out at night, we only come out at night, the days are much too bri-i-ight, we only come out at night!

Come on duga, you know you love it! It is the Pumpkins own "Yellow Submarine."

Ssssshhh. I have nightmares about that song. I really don't know what possessed Billy to write that song or the record company to approve of it. I surely assume it's there to make the rest of Melon Collie sound better :)

Maybe. Heh. But I still would've put "Set the Ray to Jerry" or "The Last Song" in its place.

Anyway, I really like Adore for the most part. As for the Machinas though... especially between them, there's probably a great album there, but neither Machina or Machina II is all that great the way it stands. There are a few songs that work really well with the treatment they're given ("Vanity," "Wound") but as whole albums they just sound too... homogenized for me--everything's kind of fuzzed out and glossy which prevents songs from standing out the way they did on prior records (MICS especially).

Anyway, intrigued for the rest of this.

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.

'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 ends 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.

So after the success of The Smashing Pumpkins' first album 'Gish,' they started recording their second album under Virgin Records 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.


Put in the disc, cue the drum roll, and let Cherub Rock begin. First the clean chords, 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 sounds 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 sounds 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 sounds 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.


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 chords 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.


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 seconds 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 stands 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 chords 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!


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 reminds 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 stands 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 sounds 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.

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:

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.

Thank you Duga. Yeah, Mellon Collie is going to be difficult to review. Adore will probably be a difficult review as well because of the fact that some songs would be hard to explain.

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 hands 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.

Yeah, Mayonaise and Hummer are great. My two favorites are definitely Mayonaise and Soma. I don't know if any of you have Sirius or XM radio but they almost always play only the singles from a band, but I've seen them play Soma, Mayonaise, and Hummer. Single or not, Sirius/XM plays them anyways because the songs are too good to ignore!

Mayonaise is almost always my favorite Pumpkins tune, but man, sometimes after listening to Thru The Eyes Of Ruby, I'm not so sure. :)

Siamese Dream is one of my favorite albums, ever. General consensus seems to point towards 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.

I changed my mind about reviewing Pisces and Aeroplane at the end. Pisces Iscariot review is coming up next. (and very soon)

PISCES ISCARIOT

In 1994, one year after Siamese Dream and one year before Mellon Collie, The Smashing Pumpkins released a b-sides and outtakes compilation entitled Pisces Iscariot. To some surprise, this album contained some very, very good songs.

This album contains some essential Pumpkins tunes. It also displayed a bit more variety than their first two albums with tracks like "Obscured," "Spaced," and "Blew Away." Being a b-sides compilation, the great flow of the last two albums isn't entirely here, but it isn't terrible. Some songs like "Blew Away" and "La Dolly Vita" aren't exactly great songs, but they work well within the context of the album. Speaking of "Blew Away," it is the first song sung by James Iha, to be put on a Pumpkins album. Eventually though, Iha will be writing better tunes than "Blew Away."

There are some crap songs on this album, to go along with the good ones like "Spaced," and "Girl Named Sandoz." The former isn't much of a song while the latter hurts what flow the album has. The great songs include "Starla," "Hello Kitty Kat," and "Landslide." Despite being a cover, "Landslide" feels right at home here.

At about 57 minutes, this album is longer than Gish but shorter than Siamese Dream. Honestly, the album goes by too quickly with the amount of good to great songs here.

Although this album is good, let's face it, it IS a b-sides album. It isn't quite as good as Gish and its not close to Siamese Dream. In 1994 though, it certainly helped the wait for Mellon Collie and it introduced us to some great Pumpkins songs. If you liked Gish and Siamese Dream you'll definitely like this one, and it is a worthy buy for any Pumpkins fan.


So the album starts off with a very subdued accoustic track titled Soothe. It rides along with a quiet, sad guitar riff. In fact, that's all there is to this song. Just a nice little guitar riff and Billy's vocals. I believe he is saying "Hold me, hold me again," but he could be saying "Hungry, hungry again." I'm not entirely sure. This is a bit of a contrast to their last two albums which began with a full out rocker. While the song may be simple, it pulls off the job of the opening song quite well, and what it lacks in drums and bass it makes up for in a very nice guitar riff and vocal melody.

Now we get Frail And Bedazzled. Jimmy shines on this one. "Frail And Bedazzled" reminds me a lot of "Siva" from Gish. This song probably could have replaced "Quiet" as the second track on Siamese Dream, but "Quiet" contains a much better vocal melody than this song does. The song contains a nice short little solo or two, but the main riff can become tiring.

The third song is titled Plume. This song is carried by a very distorted sludgy riff. This song is pretty much an ode to the monotony of every day life and it also contains a few interesting solos.(Of course, not as good as "Soma's" solo, but still good) There is nothing interesting here in terms of bass lines. Sometimes its hard to hear the bass because of the obnoxious sludginess of the guitar. A few laughable lyrics here though. (My boredom has outshone the sun, I don't care or give a f*ck, etc) Overall though, this is pretty decent track but its obvious why it didn't make the cut for Siamese Dream.

"Plume" is follwed by Whir. This track has a real nice guitar riff and atmosphere. The drums take a bit of backseat in this song. This song deals with the problem of things going bad after you thought they had finally gotten good. Billy comes up with a pretty good vocal melody for this song, although when he says "Whir yourself around" it almost sounds like "Worry yourself around." This song could have been on Siamese in my opinion. Maybe it could have replaced "Sweet Sweet" or something.

After the great song that is "Whir" we get an Iha track with Blew Away. This song, like nearly every Iha song, is a bit quiet and subdued. Also like nearly every Iha song, it is a love song. "Blew, blew away!" I'm not gonna lie, this song isn't one of my favorites on Pisces. Iha's vocal melody here is a bit lacking. The drum work isn't anything fancy. At the very least, it has a nice build to the decent solo in it and it works within the context of the album rather nicely. I know some Pumpkins fans love this song, but I’m not one of them. It’s just average.

Probably one of the fastest, most all out rock songs the Pumpkins ever did is here. This song is Pissant. Jimmy lays down a very nice beat, and Billy comes up with a very nice, infectious riff. "Inside your head, trust me instead" is the chorus in this song, and it works rather nicely. Billy actually gets a few good screams in this song. I believe D'arcy tried to get Billy to put this song on the album(Siamese Dream), but he wouldn't because he thought it wasn't good enough. The highligh of this whole song isn't the guitar solo, but rather when all the instruments stop and Billy whispers, "Baby..." Anyway, this is definitely a great tune.

"Pissant" is followed up by another all-out rocker in Hello Kitty Kat. This song has one of the best vocal melodies on this album, oh and it has also got a nice short little guitar solo near the beginning. Jimmy is a beast on this song too. While this song is a tad slower than "Pissant" this song has a better chorus and vocal melody along with better drum beats. Later in the song there's a longer guitar solo that kicks 10x as much ass as the one in the beginning. I wanna say that this song has been around since the Gish days, but I'm not sure. I know it has been around since at least '92. Anyway, another great tune, definitely a highlight of the album.

Now we get a bit of a weirder Pumpkins song with Obscured. This has got bongos or something like that taking the place of JC and his traditional drum kit. It is another quiet one. It has nice lyrics and a decent vocal melody but for me, it isn't one of the highlights. The chord progression is also pretty nice. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a good song, it just isn't one of the bests on PI.

Landslide is the ninth track. Anyone who knows anything about anything knows that this is a cover song originally played by Fleetwood Mac, and written by Stevie Nicks. This is actually probably the best cover song the Pumpkins have ever put to record. Billy's voice sounds really good on this song, and this song fits in with a lot of other Pumpkins song with the whole theme of getting older, and your youth disappearing quickly. In fact, this is one of my favorite covers by any band. The Pumpkins have some good covers on The Aeroplane Flies High boxset too, but that is for a different review.

So the next track is the epic of the album, Starla. Like most quality Pumpkins epics, it starts off slow, and builds up to the distortion. Billy actually named this song after a girl he met who he thought was named Starla, but her name was really Darla. Billy thought that would be a great name for a song so he used it for this one. Billy met the girl sometime later and told her, "Did you hear the song we named after you, Starla?" and she replied "What? My name's Darla. But that's ok, Darla, Starla close enough." This is definitely a fan favorite and it must have been amazing to hear them play this back in '93 and '94. (Did they play this in '93? I'm not sure) Anyway, this Pumpkins epic doesn't build up to any real explosive moments unlike "Thru The Eyes Of Ruby" or "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans." It does build up to the meat of the song which is the 5 minute guitar solo, which, in my opinon, is one of the best Pumpkins guitar solos ever. Yeah, this song is definitely a highlight, and could have easily replaced some of the best songs on Siamese Dream.

They follow up "Starla" with track 11, Blue. Finally we get a kickass bassline. Hoohrah! This song sounds kind of middle eastern with its guitar riff. For the most part, this is a mid-tempo rocker, and a decent one at that. Being mid tempo, Jimmy doesn't get to go as crazy as I'm sure he'd like to, but his performance is still top notch. Unfortunately, the vocal melody isn't as good as the bass line. It has a little breakdown around 2 minutes in, and it transitions into a slower song at about the pace of "Mayonaise." It's too bad that this song never really goes anywhere interesting though. The bass line is the highlight of this song.

Now we get another cover, Girl Named Sandoz. This song was originally by The Animals, and I believe it was a b-side. To be honest, I never liked The Animals version of this song, and I don't care much for The Pumpkins version of it either. It kind of ruins the flow being so unlike other Pumpkins songs. While "Landslide" could have been mistaken for a Pumpkins original if someone didn't know any better, this song definitely couldn't have.

The next song is La Dolly Vita. This is a slower more subdued track. This contains one of the funniest Pumpkins lyrics of all time in "Cool as ice cream!" "La Dolly Vita" is carried by its psychadelic guitar riff. The lyrics certainly aren't a standout on this one, even though they can be funny. I've always been sort of indifferent to this song, I never really hated it, but never took a fancy to it either. At around 3:30 the song gets better with some distortion and some classic Jimmy. Just an okay song though.

Final track on the album is Spaced. This really isn't much of a song, but a bunch of layers of Billy talking and a repetitive guitar riff. I will admit though, this track is relaxing. Like "Obscured" this song is one of a kind, and manages to at least be relaxing and unique (for the first few listens anyway) but it isn't anything to write home about.

Highlights

Starla

Landslide

Hello Kitty Kat

SCORE

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.

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).

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.

Cant wait for your MCIS review..oh and side 2 IS an outstanding track list..despite what the bandwagon says..

I find alot of 90's bands have awsome bsides. Nirvana, RHCP, and Porcupine Tree for starters.

Glad to hear it. I'd tell you if I agreed with your sentiment on disc 2 but that would ruin the review!;)

I can see why you'd love life after hearing Siamese Dream, life is always better with Smashing Pumpkins. Well, at least for Smashing Pumpkins fans. There are some people who can't stand Billy's voice, though those are the people who haven't really given the Pumpkins a chance.

@RezZ You forgot Oasis! They had some GREAT b-sides in the Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory days. Even on later albums, the b-sides were better than many songs on the actual albums like "Let's All Make Believe" and "Eyeball Tickler."

I've always enjoyed Corgan's music and attitude and gained a greater appreciation for him after watching the Rush documentary in which he appeared and vouched his love for the band and their musicianship.