Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness
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Free Music Notes for Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness
Free Music Review: A successful album that takes a theme and runs with it
Hit: 5 Stars
Billy and Co. have certainly crafted a masterpiece with this album. They took an idea, teenage angst, loss, and pain, and successfully moved it to vinyl like no band since Pink Floyd. The thing I love about the Pumpkins is that they are one of these bands that in thirty years our kids are going to be impressed that we were around to see. I am a big fan of the "album" idea...so far as I like records that flow and are a part of a grander scheme. I have heard compliments to this record that it could be mistaken for a greatest hits album, I'm not sure if I agree but if I did that would be its only negative in my mind. The tendency of this album to wander occasionally. The band hits its mark with "Mellion Collie" and then into "Tonight, Tonight". One of the best songs ever. "JellyBelly" is a decent song that would be a wonderful song by any other band. One of the songs that too blatantly pushes Billy's "i'm a teenager, feel for me" theme. But I love the final vocals and the guitars driving the song. I never really got into "Zero", it was a shame he always wore that silly shirt, c'mon lets not kid ourselves. But the song does speak for the album and it is a good one to groove along with. "Here is No Why" is a song that I really enjoy. The deadening of the riffs is something I don't always get into but I like it here. Another song that has a nice build-up of musical emotion as Billy begins to crank up the vocals into the refrain. Ten bucks for anyone who tells me what a sad machine is. BWBW is a good single that has the perfunctary rage included. Honestly, when I first heard this song on the radio I thought that this album was going to be a bomb. "To Forgive" is one of the few slow songs on the album but like the others it is lovely. The part where Billy talks about what he has forgotten is incredible. Minimal guitars here and it works fine. "An Ode to No One" is an annoying song until you get over the initial reaction of the song and look for the humor and truth in the lyrics of the song. "Love" probably turned off a lot of listeners...but I find it a interesting song and is a precursor for the later house sound that this band would delve into. "Cupid de Locke" is a song that must be tolerated until it grows on you enough to listen all the way through...then you are rewarded with Billy's words and the angelic host singing in the background. "Galapogos" was my favorite song on this album for awhile and still showcases its beauty with the final emotional statements that Billy poses at the end of the song. A song that gives hope for the future yet reminds you jkust how awesome a band we have here right now. Often my biggest problem with Pumpkins tunes is that my favorite ones never make it to the radio(really not a problem when you think about it because it remains a personal song); however, this one made it primetime and I couldn't have been more excited. This is definitely a Billy song powered by the lyrics and the distant strumming of a guitar. Pretty much any review of this album includes some boasting about "Porcelina" and I am no different. What a fantastic song that has all the spic dimensions of past wonders like "Silverfuck". James Iha gets a chance to sing lead on "Take Me Down" and at worst pulls it off much better than D'Arcy in "Daydream" from Gish...and at best creates a quasi-listenable song. "Where Boys Fear to Tread" is basically a primal attack on the senses that can be appealing depending what mood you are in. Quirky sound effects are present in this one like the atomic dropping sound and the whiplash. "Bodies" at first listen has a pretty aggressive sound that may cause some to pass over but it is a darling song that will have you singing along in no time. "But nobodies...." "33" is one of my favorites and has a lullaby sound that made me first think I was listening to "In the Arms of Sleep". This song evokes any and every important childhood memory for me that relates to home, comfort and belonging. A really well done song with good maracas use. "Arms" has this wonderful intro where you can makes out each note as the first guitar chord is slowly plucked. This is less comforting than the last and leaves the door open to that terrible theme of never finding anyone. "1979" is one of those popular songs that you don't mind liking cause it is so good and makes you feel like dancing or go driving. The drum machine(to be honest I don't know where Jimmy left off and Billy's use of computers took over) is really cool. "Tales" is way too intense for me and I never really got into the vocal distortion...however, the guitars in this song kick some booty. "Thru the eyes of Ruby" is also on my favorites list and is one of those songs I wished to here on the radio once and show off all the skills of my favorite band to my friends. This song has it all: wailing guitars of the arena rock past, sad simple Billy lyrics, a song that slowly progresses towards crescendo, and funky interludes. I'm not sure how most feel about "Stumbleine" but I think it is a nice song. The lyrics are interesting and keep ypu guessing about what he is talking about. The song has a very personal feeling with each guitar chord being felt by the listener along with every word. "X.Y.U." is another one of those songs that attacks and I often fight back by changing songs. Interesting parts to this song, some working as individual parts, but as a song it doesn't work as a collage of these things. When I first bought this album I put the CD onto a 100 minute tape to listen to in the car. I missed these final five songs from the tape. "We Only Come Out at Night" is a song I can see people not liking...however, I feel this song could compete on the White Album of Beatles fame and has a strong place in the Pumpkins library. This song is very different for them and i feel successful. "Beautiful" starts out quirky but has a nah nah kinda refrain which is very good. Tends to fall apart at the end though. "Lily" is also a song that I would credit the Beatles as influence. Interesting song that combines an odd vocal track with a weird drum line. "By Starlight" is a great song that I wished the band had ended the album with...has all the longing that should end any great album. Again, a simple drum beat that is vocally driven and has a guitar to complement Billy's singing. "farewell and goodnight" is somewhat of a bland song and is a disappointing final song. Too bad for such a wonderful album that I think will be a must in any collector's library as that person tries to gain a fixture on the music that defined the 90's and hopefully beyond.Free Music Review: Sprawling and occasionally quite derided double album.
Hit: 5 Stars
Mellon Collie... is an album that was much acclaimed on its initial release, becoming a huge hit and developing an immediate reputation as something of an alt-rock landmark. Subsequent years have seen the Pumpkins become less fashionable, and their albums (this in particular!!) have been criticised for being nothing more than sprawling, self-indulgent odes to Billy Corgan's rock-star apathy, and sense of creative pretension. Whether this criticism holds true is really down to the individual listener... to me, it still sounds good, even if this kind of store-bought angst doesn't really ring true in an age where the word is threatened by something much more uncertain (and much more dangerous!) than rampant self-pity.
The album holds together exceedingly well, which is surprising given the tendency for double albums to wane slightly at certain points of the running time... Mellon Collie just about works, capturing the same sense of mystery and archaic wonder suggested by the retro-style cover art, whilst aurally conforming to the fuzzy-distorted style of guitar-driven alt-rock popular in the last decade. There are, of course, deeper musical references to be found beneath the grungy veneer, with Corgan and Co. drawing on elements of shoe-gazer dream pop, 80's style electro, 70's prog and indie-orchestral... managing to find a comfortable middle-ground between Black Sabbath and Procol Harum, whilst simultaneously pointing to My Bloody Valentine and British label-mates The Auteurs (particularly their mid-nineties opus, After Murder Park). Some songs are better than others, which is to be expected of an album that clocks in at almost two-hours, with Corgan really pushing the light-grunge distortion thing on the first disk, offering up live standards like Jellybelly, Galapogos and Muzzle, as well as the singles, Bullet with the Butterfly Wings and Zero.
There's also the beautiful instrumental title-track, which shows the Pumpkins moving into the realms of melody and atmosphere... something that had often been buried beneath the layers of angular guitars and piercing percussion. Then there's that other great single, Tonight Tonight, a string drenched ballad that is cinematic in the best possible sense (the video, which captured the hand-cranked, colour-tinted style of films like A Trip to the Moon, remains one of the greatest music videos ever made), and does act as the calm before the raging storm that developed throughout the next four or five tracks. Other highlights from the first disk include the raging and pulsating Love (a song that has fierce droning noises and angular samples that seem to evoke dentist drills and tattooist's needles), the lush To Forgive (one of Corgan's most beautiful ballads) and the gentle James Iha penned closer, Take Me Down.
The second disk is more varied... Corgan and his co-producers (Alan Moulder and U2/My Bloody Valentine collaborator Flood) incorporating more electronic samples, slower tempos and traces of light-jazz (most apparent in that gorgeous track, In The Arms of Asleep). The most iconic moment here is the über-hit-single 1979, Corgan's anthemic ode to apathetic youth and listless abandon, which still stands up exceedingly well ten-years on, even if it does lack the musical adventurousness of certain other songs found on the album(s) in question. Thru the Eyes of Ruby is an epic stadium-rock ballad that begins well, but quickly becomes a mess of repeated choruses and repetitive solos, until the end when it suddenly becomes a beautiful acoustic downer, and, for one brief moment, begins to make sense... much better is the pulsating Where Boys Fear to Tread, the fantastically sinister Bodies (perhaps my ultimate favourite song from both albums), the bleak and remorseful Stumbleine, and the closing track, Farwell and Goodnight, which is really the best place to end.
Between those highlights there are a few other hidden-gems (X.Y.U., Tales of the Scorched Earth, An Ode to No One, Beautiful, Lily..., etc), but really there's too much to mention. You could argue that some of the album's heavier tracks now sound dated... or that the mid-90's vogue for all things self-pitying (a trend that reached it's nadir with nu-metal) sounds a little embarrassing in this "indie-saturated" day and age. Regardless, I think Mellon Collie is a great piece of work... an epic and ambitious project that shows Corgan and the Pumpkins moving away from the anthemic grunge rock of Siamese Dream and embracing prog and almost psychedelic influences. In fact, the only thing missing from the album to make it more authentic (in a late 60's early 70's sense) is an overriding concept... however, that said, many have take the sequencing of the record (and the two-disk subtitles Dawn to Dusk/Twilight to Starlight) to imply a conceptual feel.
Whether or not you approach the album this way is completely down to you... though for me, the album seems to be about the idea of dreams and nightmares, and how even the most beautiful of dreams can be as troubling and as upsetting as even the most terrifying of nightmares. It's hard to believe that this album is already ten years old. I remember listening to it a lot through school and college, but then, sort of forgot about it sometime a few years ago. Reacquainting myself with an album that played such a large part in sound-tracking my adolescence was a strange experience... and although I feel I probably enjoyed it a lot more as teenager, I feel that it's an album that justifies itself perfectly, featuring a handful of great and/or interesting songs, and proving once and for all, that the Pumpkins where a greater and more creative band that most would ever give them credit for.
Free Music Review: Mellon Who?
Hit: 5 Stars
I was a mere 10 years old when this hit the market. It was a stage when I was still extensively listening to country (did I really buy all those Garth Brooks CDs?) So, lucky for me, I missed the grand "play out" stage of this album. Lucky for me. I bought it in 1998 and became and instant and loyal listener, both to this album and the pumpkins as a whole. Now it's 2005, and if anything, I love it more. In fact, either this or Counting Crows' "August And Everything After" may be my favorite album of all time. And that says a lot. I listen to anything from the Beatles' "Abby Road" to Green Day's "American Idiot." As a previous reviewer mentioned, this double disc has a lot in common with the Beatles' "White Album," not so much as in the way the songs sound, but just how they flow and are arranged. So, w/out further adew, here is the breakdown of the songs:
DISK ONE: Dawn to dusk
1.Title Track-I might have picked more of a rocker for a beginning, but this is still a beautiful, instrumental piano opening.
2.Tonight, Tonight-Everyone who remembers the 90s remembers this. It's a mainstreem radio-friendly award-winning song that is actually good!
3.Jellybelly-The opening is a little messed up, and it's a typical pumpkins "fuzzed out" rocker. Not my fav but I listen to it.
4.Zero-big hit for it's time, inspired the "zero" pumpkins t-shirts. Never cared much for this t-shirt, but this song kicks a**!
5.Here is no why-No idea how they got the title for this. nevertheless, this has always been a favorite. The analogy about "sad machines" speaks to me, in a way
6.Bullet W/ Butterfly Wings-Classic. Need I say more?
7.To Forgive-Meh. Not the most interesting song on the album, but it's listenable.
8. Ode 2 No-one- or F--- You, as it is sometimes refered to as. The lyrics are a bit cheezy (corgan was obviously pissed as hell about a former love) but fits well as one of the album's heavier rockers.
9.Love-Listen to this song on headphones and you'll feel really tripped out. I think Corgan's idea was to musically recreated this dizzy in-love-for-the-first-time feeling. Always loved this one.
10.Cupid De Locke-Took me a bit to understand this one. It's not really "teenager" but now that I'm almost 22, I recognize that this is living proof that Pumpkins can be satanic or sweet.
11.Galapagos-BEAUTIFUL more mellow piece about change and nostaligia. Reminds me of my past summers in MI
12.Muzzle-Another hit from the album, I always loved the lyrics to this one. It not too heavy, not too soft. One of my favs.
13.Porcelina of the vast oceans-This should have gotten playtime on the radio, all the way! It's classic. I do wonder how they came up with porcelina, though. Sounds like a toilet.
14.Take Me Down-James Iha-penned slower song to finish off the first half of the show. I usually skip this one. They should just let Corgan write the songs.
Disk 2:Twilight To Starlight
1.Where Boys Fear To Tread-Complete Hard Rockin' redemption from the first disk's poor closing. The band I used to be in jammed on this song sometimes. Always been a fav.
2.Bodies-Another Fav, same rocking vein as the previous. I remember wondering what was going on between this song and the last. I thought something was wrong with my cd player. How creative!
3.33-Another hit song. Well written, deep, and a good calmer tune after the previous two.
4. In the arms of sleep-If the pumpkins would have made an mtv unplugged (with they should have!), this would have been on it. Great guitar work, and overall, great song.
5.1979-classic hit song and one of my favorite sp songs ever
6.Tales Of A Scorched Earth-can almost feel the heat of it happening too. The pumpkins rip your face off after three slower songs. Rock on!
7.Through The Eyes Of Ruby-This is a really poetic alternative song, followed by a reprise of the title track at the end. This is a friend of mine's favorite sp song. It's not mine but it's fab!
8.Stumbeline-I play this on my guitar sometimes. This is prolly the best from Corgan's solo acoustic catalog. "Jupiter's Lament," which prolly got bumped by this one, isn't nearly as good.
9.XYU-Jeeze! I would really like to know where Corgan got this title idea AND the lyrics! This giant rocker makes Korn sound like sesame st. music.
10.We Only Come Out @ Night-A song about bats. And who better to write a song about bats than the pumpkins. This is one of the reasons I say that this has similarities with the "White Album"
11. Beautiful-Title says it. I'll save the wearNtear on my keyboard.
12. Lily, My 1 + Only-This track is genious, and is another potential radio-hit. It's a slower song about a guy who climbs a tree and watches his crush through her window.
13.By Starlight-Straight forward and clean, this could have been from a U2 session. Good sound.
14.Farewell and goodnight-"The White Album" ended with a track with a similar title. That song is kinda tacky, while this ending is perfection. Nicely done, pumpkins!
Smashing Pumpkins are one of the 90's best bands, the this album is the reason why. How can u go wrong?
Free Music Review: Mellon Who?
Hit: 5 Stars
I was a mere 10 years old when this hit the market. It was a stage when I was still extensively listening to country (did I really buy all those Garth Brooks CDs?) So, lucky for me, I missed the grand "play out" stage of this album. Lucky for me. I bought it in 1998 and became and instant and loyal listener, both to this album and the pumpkins as a whole. Now it's 2005, and if anything, I love it more. In fact, either this or Counting Crows' "August And Everything After" may be my favorite album of all time. And that says a lot. I listen to anything from the Beatles' "Abby Road" to Green Day's "American Idiot." As a previous reviewer mentioned, this double disc has a lot in common with the Beatles' "White Album," not so much as in the way the songs sound, but just how they flow and are arranged. So, w/out further adew, here is the breakdown of the songs:
DISK ONE: Dawn to dusk
1.Title Track-I might have picked more of a rocker for a beginning, but this is still a beautiful, instrumental piano opening.
2.Tonight, Tonight-Everyone who remembers the 90s remembers this. It's a mainstreem radio-friendly award-winning song that is actually good!
3.Jellybelly-The opening is a little messed up, and it's a typical pumpkins "fuzzed out" rocker. Not my fav but I listen to it.
4.Zero-big hit for it's time, inspired the "zero" pumpkins t-shirts. Never cared much for this t-shirt, but this song kicks a**!
5.Here is no why-No idea how they got the title for this. nevertheless, this has always been a favorite. The analogy about "sad machines" speaks to me, in a way
6.Bullet W/ Butterfly Wings-Classic. Need I say more?
7.To Forgive-Meh. Not the most interesting song on the album, but it's listenable.
8. Ode 2 No-one- or F--- You, as it is sometimes refered to as. The lyrics are a bit cheezy (corgan was obviously pissed as hell about a former love) but fits well as one of the album's heavier rockers.
9.Love-Listen to this song on headphones and you'll feel really tripped out. I think Corgan's idea was to musically recreated this dizzy in-love-for-the-first-time feeling. Always loved this one.
10.Cupid De Locke-Took me a bit to understand this one. It's not really "teenager" but now that I'm almost 22, I recognize that this is living proof that Pumpkins can be satanic or sweet.
11.Galapagos-BEAUTIFUL more mellow piece about change and nostaligia. Reminds me of my past summers in MI
12.Muzzle-Another hit from the album, I always loved the lyrics to this one. It not too heavy, not too soft. One of my favs.
13.Porcelina of the vast oceans-This should have gotten playtime on the radio, all the way! It's classic. I do wonder how they came up with porcelina, though. Sounds like a toilet.
14.Take Me Down-James Iha-penned slower song to finish off the first half of the show. I usually skip this one. They should just let Corgan write the songs.
Disk 2:Twilight To Starlight
1.Where Boys Fear To Tread-Complete Hard Rockin' redemption from the first disk's poor closing. The band I used to be in jammed on this song sometimes. Always been a fav.
2.Bodies-Another Fav, same rocking vein as the previous. I remember wondering what was going on between this song and the last. I thought something was wrong with my cd player. How creative!
3.33-Another hit song. Well written, deep, and a good calmer tune after the previous two.
4. In the arms of sleep-If the pumpkins would have made an mtv unplugged (with they should have!), this would have been on it. Great guitar work, and overall, great song.
5.1979-classic hit song and one of my favorite sp songs ever
6.Tales Of A Scorched Earth-can almost feel the heat of it happening too. The pumpkins rip your face off after three slower songs. Rock on!
7.Through The Eyes Of Ruby-This is a really poetic alternative song, followed by a reprise of the title track at the end. This is a friend of mine's favorite sp song. It's not mine but it's fab!
8.Stumbeline-I play this on my guitar sometimes. This is prolly the best from Corgan's solo acoustic catalog. "Jupiter's Lament," which prolly got bumped by this one, isn't nearly as good.
9.XYU-Jeeze! I would really like to know where Corgan got this title idea AND the lyrics! This giant rocker makes Korn sound like sesame st. music.
10.We Only Come Out @ Night-A song about bats. And who better to write a song about bats than the pumpkins. This is one of the reasons I say that this has similarities with the "White Album"
11. Beautiful-Title says it. I'll save the wearNtear on my keyboard.
12. Lily, My 1 + Only-This track is genious, and is another potential radio-hit. It's a slower song about a guy who climbs a tree and watches his crush through her window.
13.By Starlight-Straight forward and clean, this could have been from a U2 session. Good sound.
14.Farewell and goodnight-"The White Album" ended with a track with a similar title. That song is kinda tacky, while this ending is perfection. Nicely done, pumpkins!
Smashing Pumpkins are one of the 90's best bands, the this album is the reason why. How can u go wrong?
Free Music Review: Mellon Who?
Hit: 5 Stars
I was a mere 10 years old when this hit the market. It was a stage when I was still extensively listening to country (did I really buy all those Garth Brooks CDs?) So, lucky for me, I missed the grand "play out" stage of this album. Lucky for me. I bought it in 1998 and became and instant and loyal listener, both to this album and the pumpkins as a whole. Now it's 2005, and if anything, I love it more. In fact, either this or Counting Crows' "August And Everything After" may be my favorite album of all time. And that says a lot. I listen to anything from the Beatles' "Abby Road" to Green Day's "American Idiot." As a previous reviewer mentioned, this double disc has a lot in common with the Beatles' "White Album," not so much as in the way the songs sound, but just how they flow and are arranged. So, w/out further adew, here is the breakdown of the songs:
DISK ONE: Dawn to dusk
1.Title Track-I might have picked more of a rocker for a beginning, but this is still a beautiful, instrumental piano opening.
2.Tonight, Tonight-Everyone who remembers the 90s remembers this. It's a mainstreem radio-friendly award-winning song that is actually good!
3.Jellybelly-The opening is a little messed up, and it's a typical pumpkins "fuzzed out" rocker. Not my fav but I listen to it.
4.Zero-big hit for it's time, inspired the "zero" pumpkins t-shirts. Never cared much for this t-shirt, but this song kicks a**!
5.Here is no why-No idea how they got the title for this. nevertheless, this has always been a favorite. The analogy about "sad machines" speaks to me, in a way
6.Bullet W/ Butterfly Wings-Classic. Need I say more?
7.To Forgive-Meh. Not the most interesting song on the album, but it's listenable.
8. Ode 2 No-one- or F--- You, as it is sometimes refered to as. The lyrics are a bit cheezy (corgan was obviously pissed as hell about a former love) but fits well as one of the album's heavier rockers.
9.Love-Listen to this song on headphones and you'll feel really tripped out. I think Corgan's idea was to musically recreated this dizzy in-love-for-the-first-time feeling. Always loved this one.
10.Cupid De Locke-Took me a bit to understand this one. It's not really "teenager" but now that I'm almost 22, I recognize that this is living proof that Pumpkins can be satanic or sweet.
11.Galapagos-BEAUTIFUL more mellow piece about change and nostaligia. Reminds me of my past summers in MI
12.Muzzle-Another hit from the album, I always loved the lyrics to this one. It not too heavy, not too soft. One of my favs.
13.Porcelina of the vast oceans-This should have gotten playtime on the radio, all the way! It's classic. I do wonder how they came up with porcelina, though. Sounds like a toilet.
14.Take Me Down-James Iha-penned slower song to finish off the first half of the show. I usually skip this one. They should just let Corgan write the songs.
Disk 2:Twilight To Starlight
1.Where Boys Fear To Tread-Complete Hard Rockin' redemption from the first disk's poor closing. The band I used to be in jammed on this song sometimes. Always been a fav.
2.Bodies-Another Fav, same rocking vein as the previous. I remember wondering what was going on between this song and the last. I thought something was wrong with my cd player. How creative!
3.33-Another hit song. Well written, deep, and a good calmer tune after the previous two.
4. In the arms of sleep-If the pumpkins would have made an mtv unplugged (with they should have!), this would have been on it. Great guitar work, and overall, great song.
5.1979-classic hit song and one of my favorite sp songs ever
6.Tales Of A Scorched Earth-can almost feel the heat of it happening too. The pumpkins rip your face off after three slower songs. Rock on!
7.Through The Eyes Of Ruby-This is a really poetic alternative song, followed by a reprise of the title track at the end. This is a friend of mine's favorite sp song. It's not mine but it's fab!
8.Stumbeline-I play this on my guitar sometimes. This is prolly the best from Corgan's solo acoustic catalog. "Jupiter's Lament," which prolly got bumped by this one, isn't nearly as good.
9.XYU-Jeeze! I would really like to know where Corgan got this title idea AND the lyrics! This giant rocker makes Korn sound like sesame st. music.
10.We Only Come Out @ Night-A song about bats. And who better to write a song about bats than the pumpkins. This is one of the reasons I say that this has similarities with the "White Album"
11. Beautiful-Title says it. I'll save the wearNtear on my keyboard.
12. Lily, My 1 + Only-This track is genious, and is another potential radio-hit. It's a slower song about a guy who climbs a tree and watches his crush through her window.
13.By Starlight-Straight forward and clean, this could have been from a U2 session. Good sound.
14.Farewell and goodnight-"The White Album" ended with a track with a similar title. That song is kinda tacky, while this ending is perfection. Nicely done, pumpkins!
Smashing Pumpkins are one of the 90's best bands, the this album is the reason why. How can u go wrong?