The Smashing Pumpkins - The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits - Rotten Apples

"Just one man - still a boy, perhaps."

Whilst frequently grouped with their contemporaries from the Pacific Northwest, the Chicagoan Smashing Pumpkins - both aesthetically and stylistically - never quite integrated into nor aspired to be part of the prevailing Grunge scene of the early-mid 90s. Alluding to their incongruity with regard to the grunge power base and its fans, one commentator aptly noted, "Nirvana were cooler, Soundgarden were heavier and Pearl Jam were sexier."

Although compiling a collection of the best of the Smashing Pumpkins' vast catalogue would appear at first to be a daunting task, the `Greatest Hits' tag guarantees that there are no real shock inclusions or exclusions on Rotten Apples.

The Rotten Apples disc showcases above all else the versatility and ambition of the Smashing Pumpkins and their enigmatic frontman, Billy Corgan. From the psychedelic metal of `Siva', the shoegaze-leanings of `Rhinoceros' and the bastardised synth-pop of `1979' to the orchestral grandeur of `Tonight, Tonight' and the electro-goth of `Ava Adore' and `Eye', the collection runs the gamut of the Pumpkins repertoire, demonstrating an adaptability and unpredictability that dwarfed that of their alt-rock cohorts.

For most Pumpkins fans however, the Judas O disc will be the item of most interest, with 9 tracks previously unavailable and 3 more not commercially available (the tracks taken from the internet-only album MACHINA II [this original `Saturnine' varies from the MACHINA II version, as does `Here's to the Atom Bomb']). Anybody with any familiarity of the band's prodigious non-album output will be well aware of the high quality of their "outtakes" and will be unsurprised by the quality herein. That said however, there is still some great stuff out there that didn't make the cut here.

Seen as something of a companion piece to 1994's b-sides collection Pisces Iscariot - and to a lesser degree, the 1996 Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (1995) b-sides box set The Aeroplane Flies High - Judas O concentrates principally on tracks taken from both the Adore (1998) and MACHINA (2000) sessions. The beauty of the compilation however, is that it is patently obvious that the reason why most of these tracks are outtakes, demos or b-sides is not particularly because they lack quality but because they simply don't fit the ethos of the aforementioned albums.

"I'm jungle-drummed out man" pants drummer Jimmy Chamberlin at the close of the disc's first track, `Lucky 13' which features a brutal masterclass in percussion from Chamberlin and a ferocious guitar and vocal performance from Corgan. It is indicative of an indulgence and catharsis that the Pumpkins had perhaps not allowed themselves since the MCIS sessions, and there is almost a "shackles-off" feel to many of the tracks, with a face-melting cover of David Essex's `Rock On' being another prime example.

Tracks such as `My Mistake' and the captivating `Waiting' are quite easily identifiable as outtakes from the Adore sessions, as is the closer `Blissed & Gone', (the first verse melody of which is heard on Adore's last track [`17']), yet it is the tracks somewhat atypical to those heard on the albums which fascinate the most, notably the tender acoustic ballads `Sparrow' and `Winterlong' and the desolate dirge-like `Soot & Stars', sitting alongside old favourites like `Set the Ray to Jerry', `Marquis in Spades' and `The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)'.

The set is nicely presented with some characteristically impressive band photos (live, candid and studio) capturing the band at their oddly photogenic best in some weird, wonderful and nightmarish shots. The fact that - disappointingly - there is no prose contained within the set would seem to indicate that Rotten Apples is perhaps more the brainchild of Virgin than Corgan.

In summary, although Billy Corgan's nasal voice has always been a divisive concept (that probably prevented the band from reaching the stratospheric heights of Pearl Jam but helped maintain much of their alternative credibility) there can not be too many impartial listeners left feeling short-changed, with `Cherub Rock', `Today', `Bullet With Butterfly Wings', `1979', `Zero' and `Tonight, Tonight' all being epochal tracks from one of alternative rock's truly seminal bands. May 30, 2008

Good collection

If you like Pumpkins and don't already have all the CD's this will work, till you get them. April 2, 2008

A really good collection to get into the Pumpkins.

I wanted to listen to The Smashing Pumpkins so I picked this album up, and it succesfully got me RIGHT INT0 this band.
They are now my favourite band of all time and I credit this CD for helping me get to know them.
This album has all of their biggest songs, singles and definitive tracks from The Smashing Pumpkins so its really a good collection.
My favourites being Track #1 right through to #15.
My only real complaint with this collection is the exclusion of "Thirty-Three".
It is one of their best songs released as a single and has no inclusion here!
ITs probably because of the many tracks from their awesome 1995 album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" though..
So I reccomend this album to start off with if you want to get into this band, if not..its a near-perfect greatest hits collection that any Smashing Pumpkins fan should have! March 25, 2008

Great Best Of CD

Good CD for those like me who like the Pumpkins but don't love them enough to buy all their CDs. CD includes all the "hits" I wanted on disk for a decent price. March 10, 2008

"Through the pinhole stars into the shadow mind."

Whilst frequently grouped with their contemporaries from the Pacific Northwest, the Chicagoan Smashing Pumpkins - both aesthetically and stylistically - never quite integrated into nor aspired to be part of the prevailing Grunge scene of the early-mid 90s. Alluding to their incongruity with regard to the grunge power base and its fans, one commentator aptly noted, "Nirvana were cooler, Soundgarden were heavier and Pearl Jam were sexier."

Where the Pumpkins excelled however, was in their synthesis of `de rigueur' influences such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen with acts less associated with or embraced by the Seattle Sound, such as Cocteau Twins, Jesus & Mary Chain and Hüsker Dü. The quartet's sound therefore, was transcendent of their peers', whilst retaining the core elements which brought `alternative' into the mainstream during the early 90s.

Although compiling a collection of the best of the Smashing Pumpkins' vast catalogue would appear at first to be a daunting task, the `Greatest Hits' tag guarantees that there are no real shock inclusions or exclusions on Rotten Apples. That is not to suggest however, that the selection here is wrong. Indeed, some tracks herein actually WERE hits - and not just in some `alternative' reality - and many of the band's groundbreaking videos (most notably `Today', `1979' and `Tonight, Tonight') still enjoy comparative rotation on various music TV stations.

Rotten Apples showcases above all else the versatility and ambition of the Smashing Pumpkins and their enigmatic auteur, Billy Corgan. From the psychedelic metal of `Siva', the shoegaze-leanings of `Rhinoceros' and the new wavey-pop of `1979' to the orchestral grandeur of `Tonight, Tonight' and the electro-goth of `Ava Adore' and `Eye', the collection runs the gamut of the Pumpkins repertoire, demonstrating an adaptability and unpredictability that dwarfed that of their alt-rock cohorts.

The inclusion of tracks committed only to movie soundtrack recordings is a most welcome policy, with the classic - and dramatically shortened - `Drown' (`Singles', 1992, d. Cameron Crowe) and the haunting `Eye' (`Lost Highway', 1997, d. David Lynch) at home amongst the album staples.

The two unreleased bonus tracks are an odd selection, with `Untitled' (supposedly the last-ever Smashing Pumpkins recording [with second guitarist James Iha it most probably is]) a satisfying enough if ungainly rocker saturated by lead guitar and `Real Love' an epic wall-of-sound ballad featuring some of Corgan's finest lyrics, taken from the free internet-only album MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music.

The disc is nicely presented with some characteristically impressive band photos (live, candid and studio) capturing the band at their oddly photogenic best in some weird, wonderful and nightmarish shots. The fact that - disappointingly - there is no prose contained within the set would seem to indicate that Rotten Apples is perhaps more the brainchild of Virgin than Corgan.

One feature that would have enhanced the set (as other bands of the internet age have proved) would be the inclusion of a "fans' favourite" non-single. I am quite sure this would have resulted in the inclusion of Siamese Dream's (1993) `Mayonaise', although I may be mistaken. Also, I would suggest that the International version of Rotten Apples trumps the US version based on it's inclusion of MACHINA's (2000) `Try, Try, Try' ahead of Pisces Iscariot's (1994) rather nondescript cover of Stevie Nicks' `Landslide'.

In summary, although Billy Corgan's nasal voice has always been a divisive concept (that probably prevented the band from reaching the stratospheric heights of Pearl Jam but helped maintain much of their alternative credibility) there can not be too many impartial listeners left feeling short-changed by Rotten Apples with `Cherub Rock', `Today', `Bullet With Butterfly Wings', `1979', `Zero' and `Tonight, Tonight' all being epochal tracks from one of alternative rock's truly seminal bands.

My suggestion to anybody however, would be to fork out a coupla quid more for the expanded version of Rotten Apples, including the bonus disc Judas O, featuring a plethora of quality b-sides and previously unreleased tracks. February 20, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...