Rock, Metal

Smashing Pumpkins - Machina II. The Friends and Enemies Of Modern Music (2000)

2012-05-30T16:56:29Z

Smashing Pumpkins - Machina II. The Friends and Enemies Of Modern Music (2000)


1. 	"Glass" 	1:54
2. 	"Cash Car Star"   	3:18
3. 	"Dross"   	3:26
4. 	"Real Love"   	4:16
5. 	"Go" (James Iha) 	3:47
6. 	"Let Me Give the World to You"   	4:10
7. 	"Innosense"   	2:33
8. 	"Home"   	4:29
9. 	"Blue Skies Bring Tears"  	3:18
10. "White Spyder"   	3:37
11. "In My Body"   	6:50
12. "If There Is a God" 	2:08
13. "Le Deux Machina" 	1:54
14. "Here's to the Atom Bomb"	3:51

Personnel:
Melissa Auf der Maur -	Bass
Jimmy Chamberlin - Drums
Billy Corgan - Guitar, Vocals
Mike Garson - Keyboards
James Iha - Guitar, Vocals

Having decided that the earlier Friends and Enemies effort at getting rare songs out to the Pumpkins' fan base surreptitiously was successful, Billy Corgan organized a more formal effort with Machina II, borrowing the original tape title while revamping the contents. Twenty-five copies were made on three 10" and two 12" vinyl discs. Instructions were given to distribute the material on the Web; artwork was also made available online, making this possibly the first full release of an album strictly as a free Web effort. The first 10" disc includes the heavy-yet-dreamy "Slow Down" and a "spacy" version of "Glass' Theme"; the second features one of the Pumpkins' most surprising covers, James Brown's "Soul Power," which turns out to be a great Pumpkins bash-and-thrash fest. It also includes the Adore outtake "Cash Car Star," a fantastic hyper-thrash assault with some insane guitar work, and a fantastic version of the "Stand Inside Your Love" B-side "Speed Kills." The final 10" contains a piano/vocals version of "If There Is a God," and a lighter take on "Try, Try, Try." The two 12" disc releases -- the "official" Friends and Enemies release -- features alternate takes of the original cassette's tracks, including "Dross," and a heavy rip through "Blue Skies Bring Tears," while "Le Deux Machina" and the loud, sparkling soar of "Real Love" remain unchanged. New songs include a fine James Iha number, "Go," the haunting "Innosense," and the official release of "Let Me Give the World to You," here given a triumphant total-band take. As a high-class artifact and a gift to a loyal fan base, Machina II is a winner. --- Ned Raggett, AllMusic Reviews

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Smashing Pumpkins - Machina. The Machines of God (2000)

2012-05-11T17:07:07Z

The Smashing Pumpkins - Machina. The Machines of God (2000)


1. 	"The Everlasting Gaze"   	4:00
2. 	"Raindrops + Sunshowers"   	4:39
3. 	"Stand Inside Your Love"   	4:14
4. 	"I of the Mourning"   	4:37
5. 	"The Sacred and Profane"   	4:22
6. 	"Try, Try, Try"   	5:09
7. 	"Heavy Metal Machine"   	5:52
8. 	"This Time"   	4:43
9. 	"The Imploding Voice"   	4:24
10. "Glass and the Ghost Children"   	9:56
11. "Wound"   	3:58
12. "The Crying Tree of Mercury"   	3:43		play
13. "With Every Light"   	3:56
14. "Blue Skies Bring Tears"   	5:45
15. "Age of Innocence"   	3:55		play

Musicians:
Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, production, art direction, mixing
James Iha – guitar, bass guitar[48]
D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar (certain tracks only)
+
Mike Garson – piano on "With Every Light"

Any record called MACHINA/The Machines of God couldn't be a pure rock album. The title suggests this is a concept album, which are at least a little progressive. As it happens, MACHINA is a lot progressive. Though it's damn near impossible to figure out the story line, the album plays like a concept album, with each track floating into the next, winding up with an album artier than Adore. That's not a liability, since the Smashing Pumpkins were always arty, yet Billy Corgan was very clever in camouflaging his artiness. "The Everlasting Gaze" rocks more overtly than anything on Adore, and the storybook-styled artwork deliberately evokes memories of Mellon Collie. Enthusiasts will find moments to admire throughout MACHINA, but ultimately, they might be disappointed with a record that crosses Mellon Collie with Adore without relying on the strengths of either. MACHINA appears to be ornately straightforward, yet as it progresses, it becomes increasingly insular. By the time it gets to "Heavy Metal Machine," designed as the record's crushing centerpiece, its weaknesses become apparent. "Heavy Metal Machine" should be a brutal, bruising experience, yet it's toothless, processed within an inch of its life. It becomes clear that the chief strength of the album is production. Not once does MACHINA ever feel like the work of a band; it feels as if it was painstakingly assembled by Corgan and Flood. The Smashing Pumpkins have always been Corgan's band, but they've never sounded like a solo vehicle the way that they do here. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

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Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (1995)

2010-12-26T00:58:37Z

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (1995)

CD1 (Dawn To Dusk)
01) Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness     play
02) Tonight, Tonight 
03) Jellybelly 
04) Zero 
05) Here Is No Why 
06) Bullet With Butterfly Wings 
07) To Forgive 
08) An Ode To No One 
09) Love 
10) Cupid De Locke 
11) Galapogos 
12) Muzzle 
13) Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans 
14) Take Me Down                               play

CD2 (Twilight To Starlight)
01) Where Boys Fear To Tread                   play
02) Bodies 
03) Thirty-Three
04) In The Arms Of Sleep
05) 1979 
06) Tales Of A Scorched Earth 
07) Thru The Eyes Of Ruby 
08) Stumbleine                                 play
09) X.Y.U. 
10) We Only Come Out At Night 
11) Beautiful 
12) Lily (My One And Only) 
13) By Starlight
14) Farewell And Goodnight

Personnel

The Smashing Pumpkins
* Jimmy Chamberlin – drums, vocals on "Farewell and Goodnight"
* Billy Corgan – lead vocals, guitar, piano, production, mixing, string arrangement on "Tonight, Tonight", art direction and design
* James Iha – guitar; vocals, mixing, and additional production on "Take Me Down" and "Farewell and Goodnight"
* D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar, vocals on "Beautiful" and "Farewell and Goodnight"

Additional musicians
* Chicago Symphony Orchestra – orchestra in "Tonight, Tonight"
* Greg Leisz – pedal and lap steel guitar on "Take Me Down"

Billy Corgan doesn’t do small gestures. The Smashing Pumpkins’ ringleader – and the circus analogy is apt given this band's history – desired a debut that’d find its place amongst the greats. But although 1991’s Gish was certainly bold, it was 1993’s Siamese Dream that elevated his band to the global stage.

And how to follow up one prog-pop-rock odyssey? With another twice as long, naturally. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: the title’s clunky, but it’s got nothing on the contents. Split into ‘Dawn to Dusk’ and ‘Twilight to Starlight’ discs, its 28 tracks are actually the result of a substantial editing process, the band having recorded over 50 for potential inclusion.

Which goes some way to explaining the epic scale of this reissue. Amongst its 64 extras are a strings-free Tonight, Tonight and an acoustic version of Thru the Eyes of Ruby. These rough(er) mixes and skeletal(ish) sketches are interesting insights – but only a true fan will resist the lure of the skip button.

Corgan argued 1995’s double-disc effort wasn’t a concept album, but there’s certainly a thematic backbone, which the frontman summarised as a farewell to his youth. The impudence of a title like F*** You (An Ode to No One) can only come from regression into teenage angst.

Stylistically, Mellon Collie is all over the place. Building-razing rockers rub shoulders with piano ballads, heartfelt confessionals with overblown bombast. It showcases this band at both its best and worst; and such is the variety that no two fans are likely to have the exact same favourite tracks.

Lead single Bullet With Butterfly Wings is raw and rugged; while the woozy, romantic Lily (My One and Only) is a track of real tenderness. The charming 1979, the final song recorded for this album, almost didn’t make the cut at all – which would have been madness, as it’s brilliant.

Stumbleine is a bare-boned voice-and-guitar piece, but the ugly squall of X.Y.U. threatens to pop one’s speakers irreparably. The electronic thuds of Beautiful, meanwhile, foreshadow the digital design of 1998’s follow-up LP, Adore. The best track remains Tonight, Tonight – with its string section present, it’s almost untouchably perfect.

Mellon Collie is no masterpiece, but its ambition is clearer than anything else Corgan has ever been involved with. It’s the grandest of Pumpkins gestures, expensive and infuriating and inspirational – and just occasionally capable of tossing the listener around like a ragdoll. --- Mike Diver, BBC Review

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Smashing Pumpkins - The Aeroplane Flies High 1996

2011-10-28T18:26:01Z

The Smashing Pumpkins - The Aeroplane Flies High (1996)

Bullet with Butterfly Wings
1.    "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" (Billy Corgan) – 4:16
2.    "...Said Sadly" (feat. Nina Gordon) (James Iha) – 3:09
3.    "You're All I've Got Tonight" (Ric Ocasek) – 3:10
4.    "Clones (We're All)" (David Carron) – 2:43				play
5.    "A Night Like This" (Robert Smith) – 3:36
6.    "Destination Unknown" (Dale Bozzio/Terry Bozzio/Warren Cuccurullo) – 4:14
7.    "Dreaming" (Debbie Harry/Chris Stein) – 5:11

1979
1.    "1979" (Corgan) – 4:28
2.    "Ugly" (Corgan) – 2:52					play
3.    "The Boy" (Iha) – 3:04
4.    "Cherry" (Corgan) – 4:02
5.    "Believe" (Iha) – 3:15
6.    "Set the Ray to Jerry" (Corgan) – 4:10

Zero
1.    "Zero" (Corgan) – 2:39
2.    "God" (Corgan) – 3:09
3.    "Mouths of Babes" (Corgan) – 3:46
4.    "Tribute to Johnny" (Iha/Corgan) – 2:34
5.    "Marquis in Spades" (Corgan) – 3:17
6.    "Pennies" (Corgan) – 2:28					play
7.    "Pastichio Medley" (Corgan) – 25:59

Tonight, Tonight
1.    "Tonight, Tonight" (Corgan) – 4:15
2.    "Meladori Magpie" (Corgan) – 2:41					play
3.    "Rotten Apples" (Corgan) – 3:02
4.    "Jupiter's Lament" (Corgan) – 2:30
5.    "Medellia of the Gray Skies" (Corgan) – 3:11
6.    "Blank" (Corgan) – 2:54
7.    "Tonite Reprise" (Corgan) – 2:40

Thirty-Three
1.    "Thirty-Three" (Corgan) – 4:10
2.    "The Last Song" (Corgan) – 3:55
3.    "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" (Corgan) – 8:31
4.    "Transformer" (Corgan) – 3:25								play
5.    "The Bells" (Iha) – 2:17
6.    "My Blue Heaven" (George Whiting/Walter Donaldson) – 3:20

Personnel:
Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, piano, production, liner notes, mixing, illustrations
James Iha – guitar; vocal; production; engineering; mixing
D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar, vocals on "Dreaming" and "The Bells", production, engineering, mixing
+
Keith Brown – piano
Bill Corgan, Sr. – guitar solo on "The Last Song"
Dennis Flemion – instruments on "Medellia of the Gray Skies"
Jimmy Flemion – instruments on "Medellia of the Gray Skies"
Nina Gordon – vocals on "...Said Sadly"
Chris Martin – piano
Eric Remschneider – cello on "The Bells"
Adam Schlesinger – piano on "The Bells"

The legendary Smashing Pumpkins originally released the highly limited ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ in 1996. The box set has been given the reissue treatment with many added extras for 2013.

The Smashing Pumpkins have become a bit of an institution in the world of rock and alt. rock. Billy Corgan is rightly hailed as genius for his musical output over the years, since The Smashing Pumpkins inception.

In the early to mid nineties, along with Pearl Jam and Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the leading lights of the dying grunge era. With 1991’s ‘Gish’ and 1993’s ‘Siamese Dream,’ the band had already started to carve what would become a legendary legacy of releases. Granted, latter day releases haven’t hit the heights of the earlier discography, but the albums are still better than most bands could ever dream of.

The Aeroplane Flies High fits in with the bands discography after 1995’s epic, landmark release; ‘Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness.’ Contained herein are EP’s that are representative of the singles from the album. The single’s herein include such masterpieces as the charming pop of ‘1979’ the attitudinal ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ and the majestic and epic ‘Tonight, Tonight.’ As well as re-mastered versions of these single cuts (the other singles being Zero and Thirty Three), the collection pulls together all the material from the original release of this box set in 1996, as well as additional live tracks from the era, demos, alternate versions of songs and cover versions.

An added bonus for this issue is a compilation of live material on CD and a live DVD disc recorded in France in 1997. The line up of Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlain, James Iha and D’Arcy Wretzky was the definitive line up of The Smashing Pumpkins, so this disc will serve as a great document for a great band at a point in time when they were firing on all cylinders.

Across the CD’s there are the aforementioned singles as well as the b-sides from the singles. In addition to these the box set contains around 90 tracks in total. The alternate versions of songs and acoustic songs with Corgan in solo mode show the true genius of the man. The demo tracks also show the wealth of material that the band had at their disposal. Mellon Collie is chock full of great songs, so these extras really help to heighten the experience of an already great album.

Among the vast collection, particular highlights include the ‘Pistachio Medley’ (a 23 minute long collection of riffs written before the album was recorded), the title track of the box set, Corgan’s solo take on ‘1979’ and a sublimely heavy live version of ‘Where Boys Fear to Tread’ on the live disc.

Billy Corgan’s work ethic has never waned (bar a short hiatus between Machina/Machina II and Zeitgeist). Following Mellon Collie, the band ended up going down a slightly less fruitful road in terms of their output. Adore and Machina were very good albums, but problems within the band led to various members departing. Now, in 2013, Corgan is the sole remaining member of this (1996) legendary line up. With copies of the original release of this box set a huge collector’s item, this reissue is a welcome chance to own an excellent piece of musical history. ---louderthanwar.com

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Smashing Pumpkins – Adore (1998)

2012-05-08T15:56:27Z

Smashing Pumpkins – Adore (1998)


1. To Sheila 
2. Ava Adore 
3. Perfect 
4. Daphne Descends 
5. Once Upon A Time 
6. Tear 
7. Crestfallen 
8. Appels + Oranjes 		play 
9. Pug 
10. The Tale of Dusty And Pistol Pete 
11. Annie-Dog		play  
12. Shame 
13. Behold ! The Night Mare 
14. For Martha 
15. Blank Page 
16. 17

Musicians:
    Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, 
    James Iha – guitar, vocals
    D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar

Left without a drummer after Jimmy Chamberlin's dismissal, the Smashing Pumpkins took the opportunity to revamp their sound slightly -- which is what Billy Corgan claimed they were going to do on their fourth album anyway. Adore, however, isn't a drastic departure. Using dream pop ballads and the synthetic pulse of "1979" as starting point, the Pumpkins have created a hushed, elegiac album that sounds curiously out of time -- it's certainly an outgrowth of their previous work, but the differences aren't entirely modern. Whenever synthesizers are added to the mix, the results make the band sound like a contemporary of the Cure or Depeche Mode, not Aphex Twin. That's not necessarily a problem, since Adore creates its own world with layered keyboards, acoustic guitars, and a rotating selection of drummers and machines. There's none of the distorted bluster that cluttered Mellon Collie and none of the grand sonic technicolor of Siamese Dream. Adore recasts the calmer moments of those albums in a sepia tone, in an attempt to be modest and intimate. Only Billy Corgan would consider a 74-minute, 16-track album a modest effort, but compared to its widescreen predecessors, it does feel a bit scaled down. Still, Corgan's ambitions reign supreme. This is no mere acoustic album, nor is it electronica -- it is quiet contemporary art rock, playing like a concept album without any real concept. Its very length and portentousness tend to obscure some lovely songs, since all the muted production tends to blend all the songs together. But even with its flaws, Adore is an admirable record that illustrates the depth of the Pumpkins' sound, even if it ultimately isn't a brave step forward. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Smashing Pumpkins – Rotten Apples – Greatest Hits (2001)

2009-10-12T20:34:12Z

Smashing Pumpkins – Rotten Apples – Greatest Hits (2001)


1.	"Siva" – 4:21 
2.	"Rhinoceros" – 5:53 
3.	"Drown" – 4:30 
4.	"Cherub Rock" – 4:59 
5.	"Today" – 3:22 
6.	"Disarm" – 3:18 
7.	"Landslide" – 3:06 
8.	"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" - 4:18 
9.	"1979" – 4:23 
10.	"Zero" – 2:41 
11.	"Tonight, Tonight" – 4:15 
12.	"Eye" – 4:54 
13.	"Ava Adore" – 4:21 
14.	"Perfect" – 3:22 
15.	"The Everlasting Gaze" – 4:02 
16.	"Stand Inside Your Love" – 4:13 
17.	"Real Love" – 4:10 
18.	"Untitled" – 3:51

Personnel:
    Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
    Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, programming, mixing, production, art direction
    James Iha – guitar
    D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar
+
    Matt Walker – drums on "Ava Adore"
    Joey Waronker – drums on "Perfect"

Like many alt-rock bands, the Smashing Pumpkins sound better than expected as a singles band -- probably because their high points were singles, no matter how carefully created their albums were. The Smashing Pumpkins fit this bill particularly well for two reasons. For one, they rose up through the ranks in indie rock circles, where limited-edition singles on Sub Pop meant as much as a full-lengths on Caroline. Then, after they made it through the indie jungle, they had to fight their way onto MTV airwaves with songs and videos that sold their intricate albums. This was a good, even prosperous, situation when the Pumpkins (OK, when their leader, Billy Corgan) could balance their knack for great singles with their desire to make sweeping neo-concept albums like Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. They did for a few years, conquering the alt-rock pack after Nirvana imploded, but the group itself eventually turned in on itself -- either because of Corgan's own hubris or the group's complacency. They had more than enough great material for a good compilation, and Greatest Hits almost fits the bill. Its main problem is that, like most even-handed compilations, it gives too much credence to the music made after the group's peak, at the expense of some of the group's better material. Essentially, anything that most listeners will want to hear wraps up 11 tracks into the 18-track album, when the collection dives into material from Adore and MACHINA -- two albums that aren't embarrassments, but really only of interest to the hardcore, particularly in how they desperately attempt to embrace the fleeting electronica fad of the '90s (something almost all alt-rock bands did, almost always to no avail). So, this collection bogs down more than it should, and because its final eight tracks are taken from the Pumpkins past their peak; consequently, it's hard to recommend this to anyone who just wants an album with all the hits. Yes, it does have many of the cuts that they'll want on one disc, including the non-LP "Drown" and "Landslide," but the desire to justify two albums nobody bought -- especially at the expense of "I Am One," "Rocket," "Geek USA," and "Here Is No Why," among others -- hurts a collection that should have showcased the Pumpkins at their peak. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist (2007)

2009-10-12T20:36:54Z

Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist (2007)


01 Doomsday Clock 
02 7 Shades Of Black 
03 Bleeding The Orchid 
04 That's The Way (My Love Is) 
05 Tarantula 
06 Starz 
07 United States 
08 Neverlost 
09 Bring The Light 
10 (Come On) Let's Go! 
11 For God And Country 
12 Pomp And Circumstances

Personnel:
    Jimmy Chamberlin – drums, percussion, production
    Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, production

In their prime The Smashing Pumpkins were pompous, bombastic, almost apologetically unfashionable but mostly just an awesome rock band.

Chief Pumpkin Billy Corgan seemed to be a grunge Morissey in the early 90s, massively talented but despised and revered in equal measure. Was he the saviour of rock or just a monumentally precious, whining tosser, guilty of taking himself far too seriously and seemingly bereft of any recognisable sense of humour?

Like the po-faced Manchunian Smiths man, Corgan was both. Again, just like The Smiths man, after his band disbanded, his latter work palled into significance compared to his earlier triumphs.

So years after Billy’s ill-fated Zwan project, Chicago Billy is back, head still shaven and still looking like Uncle Fester’s guitar-wielding twin.

Guitarist James Iha and bassist Darcy were not invited back for the big reunion, or maybe they just laughed out loud when they heard the title of this LP, the band’s sixth but first with just drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and Corgan as the only original members.

Zeitgeist? Why not just call your LP 'Showing off on Facebook', 'Complaining about reality TV', or 'Download the best songs', all equally stupid but utterly now titles.

Still, at least the music pummels away with no mercy, like a rabid boxer or an annoying child next to you on the bus. ‘'Doomsday Clock'’ kicks off the record and it is fiercely, brilliantly intense rock, the like of which even the Pumpkins themselves haven’t really managed since '‘Quiet'’ booted the hell out of their breakout album, Siamese Dream.

Ex heroin-addict Chamberlain is still a drummer not to be trifled with, and there will be moments when listeners may wonder, like on the taut, puncturing ‘'7 Shades Of Black'’, how exactly the former jazz drummer hits his snares that hard without his elbows disintegrating into dust. Top work, fella.

Skinhead Bill still sings in the same vampiric croak and yes, still bangs on histrionically about how sad it is to be a millionaire rock-star. But even that can’t hide the fact that this tightly-produced slab of angst is not just a return to form for the world’s favourite vegetable band but a stonking rock album in its own right. Now back to Illinois with you, and don’t show your face round here ‘til you’ve learnt some jokes. ---Louella Deville, BBC Review

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