Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist
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Free Music Notes for Zeitgeist
Free Music Review: Stop complaining
Hit: 5 Stars
I am so sick of these so called 'pumpkin fans', complaining and whining that this isnt the real Smashing Pumpkins. I am so over it. If these people really knew their stuff they would know D'Arcy and James barely played on some of their biggest material. Even so, they were an important part of the band, but the Pumpkins are back, and thats all that really REALLY matters.
D'Arcy and James were the people that broke the band up, so the fact they are gone doesnt bother me at all..
Now to the album.
"Zeitgeist" can be a mixed bag. At first listen, I didnt enjoy the album a huge lot. I really enjoyed the diverse sound of the Pumpkins that they created with "Siamese Dream", "Mellon Collie" and "Adore".
"Zeitgeist" isnt the most diverse album they have made. But it is a good listen, and I really mean that.
I saw the Pumpkins live last night in Christchurch, New Zealand and their "Zeitgeist" material was absolutely phenomenal. It sounded rocking, awesome and simply gave me a new appreciation for this album.
The best tracks here are:
Doomsday Clock, Tarantula, Come on (Lets Go!), Neverlost, Bring The Light, That's the Way (My Love Is), Pomp and Circumstance and Bleeding The Orchid.
I really like all these tracks with my favourites being 'Bring The Light' ,'Doomsday Clock' and 'Tarantula' which are AMAZING live!
I am so glad the Pumpkins are back and this album, while not the best in their collection (by far), is a great listen and a really cool sounding album to kick off their new era! So stop complaining and whining because the Smashing Pumpkins are back!!!
4½ stars.
Oh, and if you can get the "Zeitgeist" Deluxe Edition with the grey cover, it has awesome bonus tracks, my favourite being "Zeitgeist", the title track which is a cool acoustic track. OH and pick up "American Gothic", the EP, its an acoustic EP which proves the Pumpkins really havent gone anywhere or 'sold out'.
Free Music Review: A mixture of greatness.
Hit: 5 Stars
Having listened to this cd a number of times now, and I'm glad to say that it's a great album. This might actually be their best album since Melancholy. Even though two of the band members are not present in the current band, it doesn't really show. The songs are just as good as ever. Zeitgeist feels like it consists of almost every type of alternative rock music. You've got hard rocking songs, ballads, solos, electronica, and more.
It's got a little bit of everything, which is why it makes it so good. Adore and Machina had a certain...feel to them. Where all the songs sounded, not exactly the same, but from the same recording sessions. With Zeitgeist though, there's variety. Sometimes not having fluidity is a good thing. I like to be surprised, and this album delivers. I only have a few problems.
One, is that the vocals are a little too layered sometimes. There are sometimes too many different Billy's singing at once. Another, is that 3 other versions of the album have three different bonus songs. Now, if those 3 songs were on one album, making a 15 song cd, it would make Zeitgeist even better. Unfortunately this is not the case. You could always add the songs later on your computer though.
Besides that, I really like this cd. After a couple listens, I can honestly say that it ranks as my third favorite smashing pumpkins cd next to Siamese Dream and Melancholy. A great effort. I was worried, but I'm very happy with the end result.
The great songs-
Doomsday Clock
Bleeding the Orchid
That's the Way
Tarantula
United States
Bring the Light
For God and Country
The good songs-
7 Shades of Black
Starz
Neverlost
Come on Let's Go
Pomp and Circumstances
The bonus tracks, Death From Above, Stellar, and Zeitgeist are all great songs as well. They really should all be on the album.
Free Music Review: Finally - they're back.
Hit: 5 Stars
Wow - 40 years old right? Well, 40 years old and still rocking is an amazing feat no matter how you view the album. For me, this album has the characteristic early Pumpkins elements we've all come to know and love (and miss): airtight, harmonic guitar melodies, space-track solos and riffs, full walls of rich, distorted guitars, and rip-your-throat-out drum tracks.
BUT, Zeitgeist's sound is still different than anything before - definitely not cheesy electro-pop like Zwan. Definitely not an album of plain, filler songs like Machina. Not quiet like Adore.
No, on the contrary, Zeitgeist is an album that, thank god, will for the first time make you think back to Siamese Dream - and then realize this is 2007 - a time of tangible global destabilization. You won't find a high school anthem song like "Today" on Zeitgeist. Happy-go-lucky Pumpkins, this is not.
INSTEAD, we are treated to a sound that is a reflection of our times - a somewhat off but refined sound - solidifying a common awareness of the possibility of a darker future. Zeitgeist has darker-sounding chromatics, yes, but it is beautifully melodic without 1990's angst or any 2000's pop angry metal like Puddle of Mudd, etc.
Zeitgeist is the sound I've been waiting for without being a Siamese Dream II. Listen to the whole album, and bask in its with-the-times originality coupled with that nostalgic Pumpkins sound. In my opinion, Siamese Dream was landmark, and after Mellon Collie and Adore, everything else Corgan/Chamberlin was a turn off (sorry).
Which brings me to now. 2007. Zeitgeist is the first Corgan / Chamberline effort that is well worth making you (if you're like me) come back to listening to the Pumpkins. No disrepect to Corgan or anyone, I just like music that rocks. And among all their album releases, this album has a few tracks that do.
Free Music Review: What we always wanted from the Pumpkins
Hit: 5 Stars
The disclaimers, first off: When I was younger I was a HUGE SP fan, ever since Gish. I would still take Siamese Dream as my "desert island" album. That said, I knew Corgan's limitations. No one who has any musical talent actually likes his voice, but it somehow fit in over his sonic walls of guitar overdubs. This is why I was mezmerized at Lollapalooza. And this is also where I realized that Jimmy Chamberlain was the most under-rated part of the band.
Flash-forward to "Adore": What happened! Jimmy's been replaced by a drum machine (!) and the sonic walls of guitar are gone. All we are left with are Billy's over-reachingly pompous "poetic" lyrics and horrible voice overtop of some lame keyboards. Moreover, in concert these guys look so bored that I walk out halfway through their set.
So now Zeitgeist -- yes it's not Siamese Dream but no disc will ever be that again. But it IS very good. It contains everything that a rock fan ever wanted from the Pumpkins: Driving, thunderous drumming from Jimmy, and sonic walls of overdubbed guitar from Billy that actually somehow make his voice work. Backing off on the whiny "oh why is me" lyrics and letting us read a little bit more between the lines. All the pop music fans who liked the pumpkins will find this album much too rock'n'roll, but after seeing what happens to the Pumpkins without rock'n'roll, thank god this is the album they put out now! This is the album that should have followed Mellon Collie, and as to those who say that this is only "half" the pumpkins, were James Iha and D'Arcy ever really more than window dressing anyway?
Free Music Review: Guaranteed to Polarize Fans!
Hit: 5 Stars
There are many interesting reviews floating around the net, and I agree with others that it seems many reviewers seem to "want" Corgan, Chamberlain, and Co. to fail with their newest album, Zeitgeist.
If you aren't a believer, see them in concert. I saw the Pumpkins in Asheville a few months ago, and they put on an amazing 3 1/2 hour concert, during which Corgan didn't miss a beat. Face it, the guy can play a mean guitar. Nothing he does is by accident, everything (including the discord of the "United States" solo) is intentional.
Why are the Pumpkins back? Anybody who thinks this is just for money or publicity is sorely misinformed. Corgan could have easily coasted through life on royalties, appearances, and production stints. This is about rock. The Pumpkins are back to prove that they can still rock the hell out any arena, club, stadium, etc. This is what songs like "United States" are about. Corgan's lived long enough to see his peers the 1990's copied and twisted to the point of no return (ahem - Creed, Nickelback, etc.), and he's back to reclaim the throne as the king of alternative music.
In a genre (rock music) where image and marketability are valued over talent and innovation, The Pumpkins are back to put everything in perspective.
Any fan who compares this to Machina has no idea what he or she is talking about. Even the band acknowledged that as an album that was released more to meet fans' expectations. Love it or hate it, the Pumpkins are back. And I'm lovin' every minute of it.