Smashing Pumpkins - Machina: The Machines of God
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Free Music Notes for Machina: The Machines of God
Free Music Review: what is it you want to change?
Hit: 5 Stars
You know what they say. History repeats itself. In 1993, the Smashing Pumpkins released an album that can only be described as perfect. That album was called 'Siamese Dream' and nothing I have heard since has surpassed its greatness. Heck, nothing I have heard since has even equaled it's greatness.....until now. And wouldn't you know it, it's the same band. The same band, but two very different records. 'Siamese Dream' had a very consistent sonic theme, while 'Machina' is very schizophrenic. In fact, 'Machina' is much more similar to 1995's almost equally brilliant 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness', in spirit and in eclecticism. The only difference between the two is that while 'Mellon Collie' occasionally seemed to lose its lungs, 'Machina' always manages to stay afloat. A big controversy has been stirred up about the new record as opposed to their last, 1998's 'Adore', a reputed "failure" despite selling three million copies worldwide. Many have claimed it to be the "anti-Adore". Not to these ears. To me, 'Machina' sounds like a band who is completely at peace. This is an album that acknowledges the band's past, each song echoing the sounds of all their previous records while at the same time looking toward the future. This sentiment is punctuated by the album's first song and single, 'The Everlasting Gaze', a blaring, uncompromisingly fuzzy number, as heavy and daring as anything they have released heretofore that just happens to break into a blindingly memorable chorus very reminiscent of 'Adore'. To say this album is perfection is to recognize that there are no wasted moments. Therefore, every song is worthy of mention. 'The Everlasting Gaze' is followed by 'Raindrops And Sunshowers', a soaring, majestic piece in the tradition of , though certainly not in debt to their earlier song '1979'. 'Stand Inside Your Love' seems to be the long lost twin of 'Mellon Collie's' 'Tonight, Tonight', louder and more desperate, but just as achingly beautiful. 'I, Of The Mourning' combines two songs to brilliant effect and climaxes with an intensity that is awe inspiring. 'Adore' peeks even more obviously through the cracks on the next two songs, 'The Sacred And Profane' and 'Try, Try, Try', two songs that, despite this parallel also offer stark contrast. Billy Corgan's vocals deluge in 'Sacred's' sonic soup, actually becoming part of the melody, while they are alarmingly up front in 'Try', reflecting the song's mournful tone. 'Heavy Metal Machine' blasts into life with a sound every bit as loud as the title implies, but still manages to smuggle in a chorus of epic grandiosity. This little slice of bombast precedes two more shimmering jewels, 'This Time' and 'The Imploding Voice', both of which will dance in your head immediately after listening. Then comes the kicker. 'Glass And The Ghost Children' combines two songs and, strangely enough, an interview with Billy Corgan himself into ten minutes of something that is more than just a song. 'Glass' is what elevates 'Machina' into brilliance. It doesn't pack the hooks or choruses of the encompassing songs but it doesn't need them. This is the song that the rest of the album is entirely dependent upon. . They give each other context, just as 'Silverf**k' did with it's surroundings on 'Siamese Dream'. After 'Glass', 'Wound' gallops onto the scene with startling immediacy while 'The Crying Tree Of Mercury' drowns in a sound that is unlike anything 'The Pumpkins' have made before. 'With Every Light' sparkles with a radiance evocative of 'Siamese's' 'Sweet, Sweet' and 'Blue Skies Bring Tears' mopes around provocatively until it hits the stratosphere at its end. And lastly, we have 'Age Of Innocence'. There are no words left to describe this song, if you wish, feel free to choose any of the above adjectives, for any of them would most assuredly describe the song adequately. Not enough can be said about the return of Jimmy Chamberlain. Besides being one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, he also supplys the requisite emotional content that each song would only imply without him. Of course, he would not be able play these songs if it were not for Billy Corgan, a man who has become a miracle worker of sorts to me. There seems no doubt, especially now, that he will go down as one of the greatest songwriters of his, or any generation. Also, James Iha has been called the "backbone" of the group in the past and the album certainly does nothing to deny that. And while I was saddened to see D'arcy go, I am glad she stuck around to participate in this masterpiece. Thank you Pumpkins. Once again, you are smashing.Free Music Review: Someday we'll wave hello, and wish we never waved goodbye
Hit: 5 Stars
The Smashing Pumpkins lead an outstanding career of 12 years. They broadened the boundaries of rock music and created new energies. I was very sad to see them leave the music scene last year. It seems now that most people have forgotten about the Smashing Pumpkins and their great music. I, for one, have not seen any of their music on TV besides some of the tracks on their "Mellon Collie..." epic. I really wished that some of their other albums got better recognition.This album, in my opinion, was hard to get into at first. I didn't really know what to expect when I first popped it into my CD player. At first I was confused, a little disturbed, and slightly dissapointed. But then I listened to it five times more, and another five times more. It eventually grew on me. It's now my favorite Pumpkin's album. I like it even more than Siamese Dream (which is very hard to top). I'll review this album by grading each track.
1.The Everlasting Gaze-90/100- Wow! what a powerful way to start off the disc. Hearing Billy Corgan whine and yell "You Know I'm not Dead!", as to make a stand at the media that he can still write music after the poor success of Adore, was a very interesting piece of the song. The guitars roar with anger and the drumming (by returning Band member Jimmy Chamberlain) is some of the best around.
2.Raindrops+Sunshowers-79/100- A little dull and repetitive, but still a catchy and listenable song. It has a great drum beat to it.
3.Stand Inside Your Love-90/100-In the same league of The Everlasting Gaze. The lyrics are excellent, and the instrumental work is nothing short of brilliant (Jimmy is just such a wondeful drummer).
4.I of the Mourning-110/100-The best song on the album. The guitar work is just godlike and the songs climax nearly brought me to tears. I'd buy the album just for this song.
5.The Sacred and Profane-70/100-Nothing special. It doesn't really fit on this album after hearing the amazing song before it.
6.Try,Try,Try-85/100- I really like this song, because it's such a change of pacing after the hard rock of the previous songs. The
song is slightly repetitive, but the lyrics are some of the best ever.
7.Heavy Metal Machine-60/100-I don't think Billy Corgan cared if people liked this song or not. It's barely listenable at the beginning of the song, but gets better as it goes on.
8.This Time-80/100-A little melodramatic, but still excellent. Pretty depressing though.
9.The Imploding Voice-87/100-A great rock song that I never get sick of listening to. It runs a little long though. I felt it could have been atleast 30 seconds shorter
10.Glass and the Ghost Children-100/100-The second best song on the album. This 10 minute epic of a song is what I've always wanted to hear out of the Smashing Pumpkins. The song is divided into three parts. The first part is the rock segment, the second is a soft and creepy piano solo with Billy talking to some lady in the backround(my favorite part), and the third part is the spacey segment with very obscure lyrics. It's style reminds me Pink Floyd.
11.Wound-89/100-A great romantic rock song. I love the warped guitars that run throughout the song.
12.The Crying Tree of Mercury-84/100- A little redundant after Heavy Metal Machine, but more enjoyable. I liked how they blended the keyboards with the guitars.
13.With Every Light-95/100-Another one of the best tracks on the album. It's a great refreshment of upbeat-ness after the last track.
14.Blue Skies Bring Tears-86/100-It runs a little long(again) but I love the way the song ends by having the guitars turned up so loud that it's jarring.
15.Age of Innocence-93/100-An excellent way to end the album. The songs clack of the drums reminds me of Tonight, Tonight. This is another good upbeat song that will always be having you tap your foot or fingers.
Overall, this is 74 minutes of musical greatness that I could never do without.
Free Music Review: The Pumpkins go out with a Bang
Hit: 5 Stars
With "Machina: The Machines of God", Billy Corgan has shown a new dimension of his song-writing genius. After his previous effort, "Adore" left critics cold, Corgan responds strongly with his latest effort. Combining the lyrical complexities of "Adore" with the musical stylings of "Siamese Dream", the Pumpkins prove that it can be done both ways. This album combines classic alt. rock stylings, loud cries of desperation, and near Shakesperean drama. Also, considering this is the Pumpkins last (or next to last) album, they have clearly went out on top and tragically, at the height of their musical integrity. Undoubtedly, this record will go down as one of the most creative, inspiring, and interesting works of the alternative era. The following is a song-by-song review:1. The Everlasting Gaze- back to business, clearly shows the band is back from the tranquil haitus taken in "Adore", combines intense lyrics with thrashing guitar riffs.2. Raindrops and Sunshowers-a haunting song with a consistent electronic beat, seemingly equating love with avoiding raindrops in a summer shower.3. Stand Inside Your Love- achingly love sick tones combined with the feel of the classic "Mellon Collie" cut "Tonight, Tonight" make this a highlight of the album.4. I, of the Mourning- an intensely emotional song about the incredible sadness of being lonely.5. The Sacred and Profane- not the most complex song, but a highlight of Billy's senses of rhythm and lyrical prowess.6. Try, Try, Try- one of the weaker songs, to be honest, very repititive. It's strength may be in its lyrics.7. Heavy Metal Machine- the intense drive of this song nearly returns the Pumpkins to the grunge era, also expresses an undying love of rock-and-roll.8. This Time- a musical treat, clearly written in moments of songwriting brilliance, very dramatic in tone, yet not overly sympathetic, haunting as the line "Crashing down again" is repeated.9. The Imploding Voice- almost pop-like, very catchy, rare for Corgan, expresses self determination in an almost fun way, a great change of pace.10. Glass and the Ghost Children- a ten minute meander as Corgan takes his occasional dip into the art-rock movement, haunting as the music nearly stops and a session between a psychiatrist and a mental patient seems to be taking place.11. Wound- another change of pace, a spirited tirade about the joys of love and a willingness to do anything for that person, incredible lyrics.12. The Crying Tree of Mercury- a weaker song, perhaps a bit overbearing and overly dramatic, seems to go on continuously about a life of hardship.13. With Every Light- charming and peaceful, with a nice soft beat, leads very well into the next track.14. Blue Skies bring Tears- wonderful lyrics, an opus about how sometimes happiness isn't all its cracked up to be, and how some people foolthemselves and hinder themselves with shallow positivity.15. Age of Innocence- nice to hear an upbeat and spirited song as the closing track, clearly one of the many highlights of the album, a great tone, just from the first few notes, it can be recognized as the finale, also, a beautiful bridge to set up a spirited closing sequence, seemingly about self-destruction. While the album is a bit long (app. 73 minutes), and does seem to drag on, it does represent a creative leap for the band and a sense of artistry only surpassed by the epic Pumpkins triumph, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." It's truly a shame that this may be the last project for the Pumpkins, just at the time they seem to be reaching their peak. I guess we'll all be stuck with shallow, unimaginative, and overly-commercialized music by such tired acts as N'Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and Britney Spears while true artists like Billy Corgan fade into obscurity.Free Music Review: Perfect counterpart to Adore
Hit: 5 Stars
Machina is basically Adore with drums and guitars, and it follows up where that album was headed perfectly. Of all the Pumpkins albums, Machina may well be the weakest, but regardless its still amazing and perhaps the best album released in 2000. Its also has glossier production than any other Pumpkins album, and is definately Corgan at his most blatently commercial. Its sometimes quite similar to the sound of Hole's Celebrity Skin, but maybe even more slick and streamlined. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad album though; in fact Billy Corgan's great talent lies in his ability to make his songs accessible while still making sure they have artistic value. The whole Machina story is ridiculously complex, see the Pumpkins's website for details, but its really the catchiness and amazing songwriting that makes this album so great. Not to mention that they invented an amazing new guitar sound for this album that sounds kind of like the Celebrity Skin guitars with a bit of metal and grunge distortion thrown in for good measure.The Everlasting Gaze--The Pumpkins tune their guitars down 2 steps to C and write the heaviest, fastest single they've ever released. The first time you hear it you might laugh at the vocals-only bridge, but soon you'll love it.
Raindrops and Sunshowers--Proof that Corgan didn't want to abandon all the new ideas he tried out on Adore, this song is the counterpart to Appels and Oranjes from that album.
Stand Inside Your Love--Really one of my least favorite songs here, its a very marketable rock/love song
I of the Mourning--The Pumpkins cranks up the volume at the end of this song in an amazing trick that'll give you chills the first dozen times you hear it.
The Sacred and the Profane--Mid-tempo rock song. Really good though. Probably the biggest weakness of this album is that like Adore, Corgan filled it up with too many midtempo songs.
Try, Try, Try--Innovative song structure, very good.
Heavy Metal Machine--Bitter, downtuned metal. Lots of people don't like this song, but its awesome, the guitars have almost a synthetic/plasma feel to them.
This Time--The Pumpkin's breakup song.
The Imploding Voice--Some cool vocal effects, a pretty standard Machina song.
Glass and the Ghost Children--The one song on here that's too long to have ever been released single, its a three-part haunting epic with one of the best Pumpkins bass lines ever.
Wound: Fairly happy, bright acoustic guitars.
The Crying Tree of Mercury--Sounds cool at first, featuring some Chinese gong work, but it probably should have been left off the album.
With Every Light--Corgan sure knows how to write a happy song when he wants to. You can just picture children frolicking in a grassy field.
Blue Skies Bring Tears--Spooky. The man really messed up the last 20 seconds of this song, but otherwise its cool. I'm surprised he decided on this final song structure, there's some other faster versions of this song that I think are a lot better.
Age of Innocence--Maybe the best song on here. The Pumpkins have always ended their albums with dreamy ballads, and here they put in an upbeat rocker that leaves you wanting more. Too bad there won't be any, but the Machina II stuff isn't bad. Try and check some of it out, its inconsistent but songs like Cash Car Star, Dross, In My Body, and Let Me Give the World to You are some of the Pumpkins' best work.
Free Music Review: Desolation yes, hesitation no (what a great line)
Hit: 5 Stars
If there is a spiritual side to rock and roll, Billy Corgan has found it. And if there is a new sound to be heard, Corgan will find it and play it with pride. "MACHINA/The Machines of God" is progressive rock and roll, pure and simple. Gone from Corgan and his band are the dreamy lullabies and straight-ahead alterna guitar rock he helped invent in the early 1990s. "MACHINA," to be sure, is still tuneful music, but it's just...tunefulness smeared with other artistic elements that take some getting used to.
Everywhere you turn on "MACHINA," shrillish chainsaw guitars will knock you over the head. If you're not in the mood for that type of invasive sound, skip this album over, or at least skip over tunes like "The Everlasting Gaze," "Heavy Metal Machine" and "Blue Skies Bring Tears," a song that even grates on my nerves a bit with its overloaded guitar feedback toward the end. Even the non-guitar-oriented tunes are loaded with background atmosphere, songs like "Raindrops + Sunshowers," "Try, Try, Try," "I of the Mourning" and "The Sacred and Profane," which for reasons I can't explain reminds me a little of Queen (see that band's Greatest Hits). As ever, Corgan hauls out the songs that will tug at your heartstrings: "Stand Inside Your Love" is as nice of a love song that has ever been written, while "Age of Innocence" is a classy goodbye to fans, with lyrics that sum up the band's viewpoint, foibles and ultimate downfall as everyone went his (and her) own way.
"The Imploding Voice" might encompass the overall feel of this CD: buzzed-out guitars, swirling synth, philosophical but direct lyrics and Corgan's adaptable voice moving in and out of various ranges. Going back to Corgan's spiritual side, "Glass and the Ghost Children" is as eerie as songs come, perhaps because of Corgan's overt willingness to instill religion into its theme. The song starts out in a sonically haunting way, but gets downright terrifying halfway through when Corgan broadcasts his therapy sessions while speeding up and slowing down his troubled voice over a morbid grand piano and a building crescendo. If you've never heard this song be warned: It's pretty powerful and personal stuff. "Glass..." goes through a third, totally different phase at the end, where Corgan sings, "As she counted the spiders/As they crawled up inside her." Yes, it's a bizarre, long tune, but it's also ultimately fulfilling once you get through its various stages.
Some might say the production of "MACHINA" by Flood and Corgan was heavy-handed and overstepped its bounds, but to me, the way these sounds bleed into one another makes the melodic portions of the album that much more sumptuous. And don't worry, there's plenty of melody to go around on "MACHINA." Overall, a lot of work went into this improbably elegant album, including the stunning artwork within the CD booklet by painter Vasily Kafanov. Also of note on "MACHINA" is the welcome return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, who chips away at his drums as if he never missed a beat (pardon the bad pun.) If you're up for a bit of a challenge, check this CD out. Music shouldn't always be spoon fed to us, and "MACHINA" succeeds in testing the limits of Pumpkins fans without totally isolating them, if you give it a fair chance.