Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness
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Free Music Notes for Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness
Free Music Review: Words can't describe this masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember being at the young age 7 of when I first saw the video for Tonight, Tonight. I also remember that same year, my father and I buying this album. It was pretty much the first album I had ever seen, little did I know 9 years later, it would still be one of, if not my favorite cd of all time. A few years later, I remember hearing a song called "Eye" by The Smashing Pumpkins. After listening to that song atleast 500 times, I went looking for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, I pretty much searched my entire hosue for my copy of it, sadly though I never did find it. However, I remember when I did buy it ( within a week of turning my house upside down) I remember sitting up at night before I went to sleep and in the dark lay in my bed and listen to this wonderful double album, which I still do. THis album holds many of my younger childhood memories. Now, enough for my emotional babble about my life and onto what I think of this incredible album.
From the start of the intro/insturmental " Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" you will realize you're in for a masterpiece. Every track represents something. Nothing is filler all 28 tracks are good in their own way. Even the artwork from the cover to the booklet down to the happy face on the " Dawn To Dusk" disk and the sad face on the "Twilight To Starlight" disk. I actually think one day the lyrics to this album could be made into a short poetry book of their own, they all come across as heartfelt and they even come across that way in Mr. Corgan's vocals. I don't care what people think he is one of the best vocalist I have ever heard and being a guitarist myself i think he is truly incredible the same goes for James.Jimmy is one of the best drummers I have ever heard and even though i'm not a drummer I truly respect his craft. Even though I have never picked up a bass in my life I truly enjoy D'arcy's work. I would give a personal run down of the songs but being that there are 28 I would run out of room. Also, I think this album alone destroys anything nirvana ever wrote no offense to them but I think they should never be compared to The Smashing Pumpkins because The Smashing Pumpkins just seem to be better musicians ( remember this is just an opinion) Picking a few favorite tracks is tought but if forced i'd say, Tonight tonight, Jellybelly, Here is no Why, Thirty-Three, In the Arms of Sleep, Stumbleine and my personal favorite "To Forgive" the first time I heard it I cried, whenever I have a tough time I just put this song on. THis double album has a few things, emotion power and intelligence. It is still that nearly a decade later, buy this. Enjoy.
Free Music Review: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING
Hit: 5 Stars
This Cd has to be one of Smashing Pumpkins greatest albums ever. I hear a lot of you saying "It sounds like they just put this music on here to fill up space", but that is not true, they actually cut a lot of the music out. And one thing that makes Smashing Pumpkins so unique is that each album has a different sound and actually a lot bands do this to attract other listeners. This cd inparticular has something for everyone on it. It has your grunge, alternative, rock, grind core even classical. By realeasing this cd The Smashing Pumpkins helped death meatl go more maintstream in a way even though it was mostly Pantera. In my opinion I think the heavier stuff is even better then the slower on this cd. And disc two is better then disc one in my opinion. For a band to cover that many genres of music on a single album has to have some sort of artistic abilities. I went to French websites, Germen websites, British websites, etc. And they respect this cd more then their native country (they even respect the band better as a whole), if you ask me that is pretty sad. I mean the Pumpkins are just amazing. I think one of are problems are, is that we expect so much from the artist, we expect the artists to stay with one sound, but what i say is, is how are they going to get a bigger audience to listen to their music if they don't go with the flow. And every once in a while it is good to experiment with different sounds it makes you more of a musician if you do. Here is my rating on the songs.
Disc 1
1) Mellon Collie and The Infanite of Sadness - 10/10
2) Tonight, Tonight - 10/10
3) Jellybelly - 9/10
4) Zero - 15/10
5) Here is No Why - 9/10
6) Bullet with Butterfly Wings - 15/10
7) To Forgive - 10/10
8) F**k (An Ode to No One) - 15/10
9) Love - 10/10
10) Cupid de Locke - 8/10
11) Galpogos - 8/10
12) Muzzle - 9/10
13) Porcelina of the Vast Oceans - 7/10
14) Take Me Down - 7/10
Disc 2
1) Dawn to Dusk - 15/10
2) Bodies - 15/10
3) Thirty - Three - 10/10
4) In The Arm of Sleep - 7/10
5) 1979 - 10/10
6) Tales of Scorched Earth - 15/10
7) Thru the Eyes Ruby - 7/10
8) Stumbeleine - 13/10
9) X.Y.U. - 15/10
10) We Only Come Out at Night - 7/10
11) Beautiful - 8/10
12) Lily My (One and Only) - 9/10
13) By Starlight - 7/10
14) Farewell and Goodnight - 7/10
Some of you complain about the distorted voices and guitares, but you know what i say, my Dad and Aunt who are both 49 like the heavier better then the slower.
Free Music Review: Rock Epic
Hit: 5 Stars
Two discs, twenty-eight songs, four flawless musicians, anthems galore, and you got yourself a masterpiece. You can't buy this and not find one song you adore, it's impossible; there's a great mixture of everyting on here. From acoustics to metal to grunge to punk, "Mellon Collie" has it all. When I first got it, I had to let it settle before giving an honest opinion. Two discs is a lot to handle, especially coming from a poet with more depth than the pacific ocean. Billy Corgan is a genius, he's more talented than you think, but he gives you songs that grow on you and take awhile to adapt with (in other words, we're only mortal, he's not).Dawn To Dusk: This starts off with a nice piano intro and leads directly into "Tonight, Tonight". Probably their biggest hit (and arguably their best single), and you can see why too. "Zero" sounds almost like Metallica, with it's pounding rhythms and sludgy guitars gives it the perfect sound for Billy's lyrics. "Here Is No Why" has lyrics that Kurt Cobain could have wrote, another great song. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" is an anthem. Maybe not as big as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", but it's amazing nonetheless. The disc slips a little but gets back up on it's feet with "Cupid De Locke", one of the most romantic songs of the decade. The disc ends nicely with "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans" and "Take Me Down".Twilight To Starlight: "Where Boys Fear To Tread" is great opener. "Bodies" however, might be the best off this disc with it's sorrow rage and beautiful guitar work. "Thirty-Three" and "1979" are the last singles with "1979" being the better of the two. It's synth-beat and easy going style make it irresistible. "Tales Of A Scorched Earth" is brutal in a beautiful sort of way. "Stumbeline" is a beautiful acoustic, one of my favorites. "X.Y.U." is an absolute classic in my eyes. It's up there with "Bodies" as the best on "Mellon Collie". "Farewell And Goodnight" is a great way to end this epic.All in all, you can't go wrong with this. I favor Twilight To Starlight over Dawn To Dusk, the singles are tempting, but the latter disc is better. Even though I'm crushed The Pumpkins are gonna call it quits at the end of the year, their music is timeless; I never get sick of them. Anyways, stop reading my dumb review and go put this in your Amazon basket right now.Free Music Review: A cornerstone of '90s alternative rock
Hit: 5 Stars
To start off, I will restate what is already obvious about this album...it defined a generation. Like Nirvana's Nevermind before it, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is one of those albums that managed to perfectly articulate every feeling and experience of Gen X adolescence. Of course, that wouldn't mean nearly as much as it does if the songs weren't great, too, and surprise, they are brilliant. Despite the album's near epic length, Billy Corgan's songs never seem to meander. Even the longer songs like "X.Y.U." and "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" manage to remain interesting throughout. Of course, it was the immediacy of the singles "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "1979" that gave this album its initial success, but deeper listening reveals that these two singles weren't just flukes. There are many great alternative guitar-based songs throughout, but the most beautiful moments come on emotional ballads like "Galapagos" and the demo-like acoustic song "Stumbleline." The two discs really don't flow in any particular order, the songs are kind of mixed around, but it all plays together well. Nothing really seems out of place.
This album also represents a moment in which the Pumpkins evolved again. Gone is the epic psychedelia of Gish and the My Bloody Valentine-like guitar swirl of Siamese Dream. Here the guitar sounds are harder and more immediate, giving the grungier songs a lot more kick. The Pumpkins also try many new sounds out too, such as the gothic dance dirge of "Love," the Cure-like alternative pop of "1979," and the fuzzed out bombast of "Tales of a Scorched Earth." Also, unlike Siamese Dream, the Pumpkins play here as a band (yes, D'arcy and James Iha are present this time around), making this feel like the work of a collective band. This album may be the Pumpkins' best selling album, but it is no accident that it is arguably their best. It feels like the band put everything they had into it.
I know I said it before, but this album defined the '90s. 1996 would have been nothing without seeing bald-headed Billy wearing that infamous ZERO shirt (remember?) and watching the Pumpkins breathe new life into the alternative genre, which was nearly derailed two years before. In fact, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness has stood the test of time. Its feelings and emotions are just as true in 2004 as they were in the mid '90s, making this truly one of the crowning statements in all of alternative rock.
Free Music Review: Second Best Album of all time
Hit: 5 Stars
Let's be perfectly clear about this for the last time-THE SMASHING PUMPKINS ARE NOT GRUNGE!!!
People expecting such may be disapointed as a result.
Let's take a trip back in time. 1995. Soundgarden were still together, Alec John Such was still in Bon Jovi and The Smashing Pumkins recorded Melon Collie and The Infinate Sadness. It was a good year.
This album was created on a crazy concept - to create a two CD album, which had an artsy idea to the way the tracks were set out and PULLED AWAY from the stylings of their previous material. And to top it all off, they used a new producer. This was doomed to be something new.
One note on listening to this album - don't expect to take it all in the first time you listen to it. It's not only two hours long, it also changes musical ideas every other heartbeat. It's alot to take in all at once, but after listening to it a few times you start to see the true genuis that lies beneith the amazing music.
The first disc (Dawn to Dusk) is admittedly better than the second (Twilight to Starlight), as every single track on the album is amazing, and the quality drops not even once. A particular highlight is Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, an amazing track that goes from a melodic balad to a heavier, upbeat alt-rock monster and back again repeatedly without warning. Also, one might wonder why singles were never made of JellyBelly, Muzzle and To Forgive, which have amazingly catchy choruses, brilliant melodies and sit beautifully with established favorites like Zero, Tonight Tonight and Bullit With Butterfly Wings.
Twilight to Starlight doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of it's counterpart, but is still an amazing CD none the less. Much heavier and down beat, it is balanced beautifully with the oh-so-tender Stumbleine and closer Farewell and Goodnight. Round of aplause to XYU, which is my particular favorite on the album and just goes to show that the hurt whinings of bands like Stain'd and Puddle Of Mudd can't even come close to the raw passion that Billy Corgan can exude.
The pure genius comes when you look at the albums comparitively. Both albums are set out to musically represent the cycle of a day (hence the disc names), with the first looking at life from a happier perspective, and the second looking from a more negative one. Ultimately, it's strength lies in it's amazing diversity that no other band before or since has tried to display.
An album you can't possibly live without, it's a real masterpiece.