Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

* really enjoyed it, would listen again

Makes me feel like I'm lying on my hot bed in the summer w dusty air filtering through the window, kind of mad

Listened to a few songs. Wandered off to watch some paint dry.

I remember this one being released. Great double album. Corgan is an acquired vocal. Either you like him or your don't. Jimmy Chamberlain is the power behind the guitars that really fuels this train.

Before listening to this, I read that with "Mellon Collie...", Billy Corgan and co. set out to produce "The Wall" for the 90s post-grunge generation. How to feel about that... should it have made me wince with dread or buckle down for an all-time classic? Firstly, it isn't really accurate: "Mellon Collie" has no discernible narrative, it's just 28 tracks over two hours tied together by teenage angst and a loose day/night theme. And after a couple of listens and time to start digesting it all, I found myself really torn on it. First time round, I spent most of Part I with my head in my hands at its HEAVINESS, occasionally taking notice when a strong hook, pretty melody or anything else outside the heavy-rock formula broke through. Part II really took me by surprise towards the end, with a run of tracks totally different from the rest of the album. From "We Only Come Out At Night" onwards, things suddenly seem to take an indie/folky/art-rock direction with shades of Britpop. I was reminded of the likes of Super Furry Animals and Supergrass and loved every minute. The closer "Farewell and Goodnight", with every band member sharing lead vocals, is a nice touch and lovely low-key ending. I've always preferred tender ballads to heavy rock numbers, so it's no surprise that "Stumbleine", "Galapogos" and "Cupid de Locke" are some of my other favourites on offer here. I get the feeling that by liking these tracks more, I'm not really a fan of "Smashing Pumpkins doing Smashing Pumpkins". To me, the metal numbers don't feel particularly exciting, although a few of them stood out: "Jellybelly" has a strong hook, and "Muzzle" and "Here Is No Why" focus on being actual songs rather than fat riffs or strangled nasally rants. On the other hand, "Love", "Bodies", "Tales of a Scorched Earth" and "X.Y.U" are all a chore to get through. The guitars, tuned down a half-step on almost every track, lack definition, getting lost in murky low-end and raging distortion. Some more clarity in the mix might have helped, but I suppose it's not the vibe they were going for. While the really heavy tracks weren't to my taste, they do help the ballads to stand out and stop them dragging each other down. There are other songs worth singling out: two of the longest tracks triumph by placing tender melodic sections back to back with the band's heavier edge. "Porcelina..." and "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" are both excellent and earn their long running time. Finally, "1979" is the most popular of all for a reason. Simple, direct and tuneful, it radiates its wistful energy today with all the same impact it must have had in 1995. A review of this album wouldn't be complete without singling out some of the infamous "teenage angst" lyrics: "God is empty just like me"... boo-hoo; "Love is suicide" - repeated ad nauseam; and one of the most famous phrases on the album- "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage"... gimme a break. So while the lyrics were often cringeworthy and some of the songs weren't to my taste at all, in the end I have to celebrate the sheer scope of this album. Yes, 2 hours is problematic if the poor material starts to get in the way, but after a couple of listens I was able to get through "Mellon Collie" on the strength of its best cuts. It's incredibly impressive that the Pumpkins carved out this mass of music, a towering testament to the alternative rock movement in 1995 as it swung on a pendulum between grunge, metal and everything beyond. It's greater than the sum of its parts and its ambition helps to solidify its icon status. In the hope that I'll come back to it and start to appreciate this even more, bumping it up to a 4*.

Beautiful.

Best Song: Jellybelly. Tipped over into heavier territory, which I wished they would do more often. Worst Song: Bullet with Butterfly Wings. Despite all its plays, the nasal voice will still just annoy me for days. Overall: Something about this album, and Billy Corgan specifically, just annoys me. The egotism and lack of self-awareness it must have taken for Corgan to write such a wandering double album, forcing us to listen to him whine out "Love is Suicide" over and over and over.

Was something different

1979!

Siis eka olin että hitto miten kova!!! Mut kyl on pakko sanoo että ei nää tupla-albumit vaan oo hyviä. Siis tää kuulostaa vaan siltä että böndi ei osaa karsii. 1/3 levystä ihan tinanttista masennus ja kaahausrokkii.

Huh, olipa hyvä. Odotin jotain masistelua mutta sieltä tulikin just sopivasti hevikitarablästiä ja tarttuvia biisejä.

Siamese Dream on ollut joskus ihan suosikki-"grungea", mutta tää levy oli jäänyt odottamaan kuuntelulistalle. No onhan tääkin paikoin tosi hyvä, mutta vähän ehkä lähtenyt kunnianhimo lapasesta, kuten usein näin pitkien levyjen kanssa. Matskusta saisi loistavan 50 minuuttisen, mutta nyt on aika paljon perushyvää seassa, joten olkoon vain 3/5. Erityismaininta "1979":n nostalgiafiilikselle, hyvin osuttu maaliin ja toimii edelleen.

En ollut kuunnellu kyseistä bändiä aiemmin, mutta levyn alkupuoli mukavan monipuolinen Tonightin tunnelmoinnista siirrytään sulavasti Jellybeanin rouhisteluun. Loppupää tästä tuplasta taas vähemmän mielenkiintoinen, aika monta tylsempää biisiä (esim. Take me down). 3/5.

Very long, various music

Every double album automatically loses a star straight away. It's a shame as they were obviously very productive at the time and there's loads of great riffs and some very good songs. Just too long and a lot more whiny than Siamese Dream the shorter better album before this.

not as bad as i was expecting considering i don't like billys noncey voice but 2 hours. fucking hell have a word.

To me melancholy and infinite sadness are the times when I'm not getting completely and utterly drenched in the jizz of the entire Chelsea first team and backroom staff. It's been a tough 3 weeks now without being covered head to toe in the jizz of the entire Chelsea first team and backroom staff and I'm gasping for it. I can barely picture Glenn Hoddle cumming on my back. I need it right now!

😔

Mellon Collie and the Infinitely Long Album, am I right? Behave yourself Corgan, you're from the punk generation, you're not in Yes. I do really like most of this album but it just goes on far too long. Far, far too long. No one ever needs to make a double concept album, ever. It's a shame because the singles here are some of the best songs of the 90s. If they'd shaved about four and a half hours off the running time this could have been one of my all time favs.

melodious, also rocking

Yeah it's just really not my type of music. Saying that, there are some really nice backing instrumentals through out, and I did like a few songs, but when there's 28 songs that's not enough. It's really the vocal style that I have the biggest problem with but that comes with the territory. Not a bad album but really not for me.

The second album we've got that I'm familiar with! I'm going into this very biased as I had a big Smashing Pumpkins phase back in middle/high school, so nostalgia is definitely going to factor in to my score. Can confirm: Georgie still loves him some Smashing Pumpkins. Is this a perfect album? No, it definitely has its flaws and Corgan's vocal style is not for everyone. Is it an album I thoroughly enjoy despite imperfections? Absolutely! I like me some grunge and I always appreciate Corgan's use of other instruments such as the keyboard - I like the juxtaposition of jumping from slower, almost ballad-like tracks right into hard-hitting rock.

Got through disc one. Real range of styles but wasn't enjoying enough to continue. The vocals were grating. Didn't add.

Very of its time: pained grunge vocals with grand strings, melodramatic songs. I love they way they have all-out gone for it. Very good songwriting and production, this album absolutely deserves its place in rock history.

Really good album, just a bit long innit. gave it 4 but wish it was possible to give 3.5 in here.

literally wtf thought it was gonna be interesting but no... they give me this. what the hell

Struggled with this one. The music is pretty great, honestly. The lyrics and all that are fine, pretty standard "angry/depressed adolescent" fare. Some I really enjoyed. Others were just fine. Honestly, I really don't love Billy's vocal styling, and if anything was "just fine" it was likely because it featured vocals over music or just had a "meh" musicality.

Take me back to high school. Hated the mental space I was in as I listened to this then. It hits so different these 27 years later.

eh, this album was decent but just not really my thing. the vocals are definitely unique, it doesn't completely put me off because it kind of works but it is kinda weird. I don't have any attachment to it so it wasn't that special to me, but it was decent!

Ah - the good ol' days of 2 disc sets. I personally love the Pumpkins, but this wasn't my favorite album. It's definitely got all of the best bits of them, but it feels a bit like a 'throw everything at the wall and see what sticks' approach. Knowing the history, I know this isn't really the situation, it's more how it feels in modern music release schedules. Similar to Iggy Pop's album we listened to the other day, this is a clear passion project and didn't have much of a commercial influence. That makes it important - if not incredibly engaging. An artist being given the chance to create what they want to create is a special thing.

Great atmosphear, great cunchy sounds. Heavy and soft

Hit and miss, with some really great songs and a few that are over-indulgent. Very much of its time, shows great range in the band, but when it comes down to it I'd rather listen to Siamese Dream.

Wow, I thought a two-hour runtime was self-indulgent, until I discovered there’s a SIX hour edition. Girl, bye. Standouts here are: • Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (title track) • 1979 • Beautiful • Lily (My One and Only) • Farewell and Goodnight

I dig a few songs but as an album it seems to drag.

4/5, classic

Plenty of good songs but way way too long. Songs in the middle blur together. 6/10

What a slog. The Smashing Pumpkins barely have enough material for one song, let alone a 2-hour plus album.

Not as heavy as I expected.

I bought this album as a teenager and was actually very disappointed. I had heard 1979 on the radio and was hoping for more of that - but there is a significant range of sounds and styles on the record and none of the others contained the magic I felt from that song. I appreciate the album more now, decades later. That line in Bullet With Butterfly Wings is one for the ages, "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage." The emotional range on the album is impressive, as is the genre shifting from one song to the next. I still don't love it but I respect it.

This is the Smashing Pumpkins album I'm most familiar with. Not that I've ever owned it, but it was on the radio, MTV, etc. To be honest my friends and I used to mock this one a bit because of lines like "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" and Billy Corgan's melodramatic and whiny vocals. Only ever heard the singles before, but listening to it as an album it feels bloated and oddly paced. The first song on the album seems to be entirely ornamental and placed there in an effort to dress up this collection of songs with something that seems more serious and higher minded, posing as a concept album - which I absolutely do not think this is. The comparisons to "The Wall" are completely daft. It's not the size that counts. Not that I would enjoy it that much more but I wish they would have shown a little more discretion in their track selections. I couldn't make it all the way through. Honestly I'm sort of baffled that this was as big as it was.

In HS, like many others, I liked The Smashing Pumpkins. In retrospect it's just above-average for me. I waver between a 3.5 and a 3. I think Siamese Dream might be better but not sure, maybe it'll come up in the list.

Critically, a very good album. I just don't think I'll ever listen to it again.

Not that sad. Enjoyable.

Did not need to be a double album. Highlight tracks: 2, 6, 8, 5(D2)

Highly polished and sounds fantastic. A little edgy on the lyrics, but it's 1995, cut some slack. Despite being a double album, both halves were full of fantastic songs. The highlights were definitely on the first half. A piano ballad, then an orchestra, then a raw punk-like display that reminds me of In Utero, then a gothic song with great vocals and weird buzz synth sound, then an all-around fantastic track with my favorite bridge, then my favorite single that's dark with rhythmic drumming, then a slow solemn song, then a rapid drumming metal song, then an abrasive synth-heavy track, then a strange harp song that reflects the album cover, then two more great tracks and songwriting, then a psychedelic long masterpiece, ending with a somber dream-like track that puts this half to a close. There is ridiculous diversity in these track. No two sound even remotely the same, it's no wonder everyone has a different favorite with such a tremendous display in talent. Yet it's all glued together in a coherent mass. For half the songs on here, I could definitely see a divided opinion on being one of the best or one of the worst tracks on the album. I always need a break after the first half to really get into it due to the heavy sound. The second side feels a lot more surreal, with busy basslines, screeching, and sudden transitions from track to track, and repeated lines that make it perfect for doing drugs to I think. I think my main complaint is that all the songs are too long. I'm always like "Wow this is a cool song" and then 2 minutes later being like "Oh it's still going?" Nearly all the tracks are over 4 minutes, and some definitely don't need this space. I didn't hate any of the songs to wish they were shorter, but it could have benefitted, and I feel some of the tracks were panned just to fill up time. That being said, they weren't any awful tracks. There were a few forgettable tracks after "1979" that could have been cut. But otherwise, I loved the whole album, and I will frequently come back to it. I couldn't even decide whether I liked this better than Siamese Dream, that's how you know you got an album right.

Cool album! The hits are hits for good reason, and the deeper tracks are very well written. Some tracks go hard AF. Quite a rollercoaster of an album.

Some nice grunge, but 2 hours is a lot even if it is good. will revisit it again at some point.

As I've experienced it, this band (really, Billy Corgan) certainly generates strong opinions in all directions amongst those familiar with them. I happen to like a lot of their music. Sometimes the songs aren't at all to my liking, but a lot are. This album has quite a few tracks I genuinely love, like the title track, 'Tonight, Tonight,' '1979,' 'Stumbleine,' and a handful of others. I don't like it when I hear people criticize Corgan as a person because I admire how open he has been about his mental health challenges, and he's done a lot to support that community and causes. I do understand how he can sometimes stoke negative opinions, and I've wondered whether he might enjoy courting that because he's comfortable airing a lot publicly, but overall, I have compassion for him and what he's lived through and with. As a musician and writer, I think Billy Corgan is incredible. He is prolific, plays a number of instruments superbly well (one of the best guitar players of my generation -- he and I are only a few weeks apart in age), produces well, and although I understand his singing voice is not to everyone's liking, I happen to like his vocals and think they fit his songwriting spot on. The artwork on this double LP is great. This is a truly great album. Glad it came up on my rotation.

Very good album with lots of standout individual songs. I did take a break half way through. Though, I feel like a 2 hour album should flow better to prevent zoning out or getting bored.

Another album that I am familiar with but never really sat down to listen to. Decent but can't see myself listening to it often.

Interesting mix of mellow and screaming tracks. Rates a 4 because of the breadth of musicality across the double album

It's OK - some good riffs and tunes but I'll never listen to it or them again.

This album has a lot of nostalgia for me, which is interesting since I never owned it. Buying a double disc like this was like $33 in 1995! But despite never actually having the album, I know it well. It brought back a lot of surprisingly positive vibes from my 6th and 7th grade years. The thing is that I couldn’t make it through the album listening now. Just too long. The Spotify “Deluxe” version seemed to have 50 tracks. “Thirty Three” was the standout in what I listened to.

Classic 90’s

I remember not owning this as a kid and that I felt like I was the only person I knew that didn't have it. I remember thinking it was just okay outside of the hits and I still feel that way 25 years later. I really liked some of the songs and I kind of hated some of the songs. Overall I just don't love the way that Billy Corrigan sounds.

2.8 - a big blast of nostalgia here. Some great tunes like 33, Tonight Tonight and even a few others that didn’t make singles. Just a little too epic at times for my tastes. Enjoyed it more for the flashback than the music. It’s been years since I listened to this and likely will be a number more before I do again.

This album really spans the range of the Smashing Pumpkins. Here we see the band at their heaviest, softest, and most reflective. The two hour run time is a bit much, but this is such an essential album for this band and for the 90s that it doesn’t matter.

Good but way too long

As much as I can't stand Billy Corgan this is an incredible album.

I enjoyed most of this, but would have been fine with it being about half the length.

Didn't age as well as I thought it would have. Other than the song I remembered (Vampire), none of the others were familiar to me. Sounded...bad...on the car stereo. Maybe a listen in a better environment would be different; but the 90s quality stereo in the Rav4 should be just right for this given the era....

Listened and enjoyed

4/5

Despite liking the Pumpkins, despite my roommate playing this album a lot when it first came out, I never really liked it that much. Another listen didn't change my mind. I don't have the attention span for it. What a great single album it would have made, instead it's a double filled with many boring and uninteresting songs. The hits are great, I love Bullet with Butterfly Wings and 1979, but it's not worth a 2 hour listen. I'd rather listen to Siamese Dream.

Smashing pumpkins have never really been my thing.

Struggling with feelings is never fun. Does listening to a whole double album which reflects those feelings help or hinder? I respect Corgan's self expression and the ambition of this project but I kind of wish he would lighten up. Send some hope (maybe on a deeper dive I would find it but I couldn't devote that much time to a 2hr+ album!). On this album, the hits are terrific - the orchestration on Tonight, Tonight is simply stunning and keeps the track pulsing with energy and verve - and some album tracks stand out - Cupid de Locke, for instance - as charming highlights. Overall, though, this isn't a project which thrills me - sometimes the sentiment, sometimes the length, sometimes the cynicism in me seeing a band wrap up teenage angst for mass consumption (possibly unfair) - one to respect, rather than love.

Interesting album. If you took the best 10 songs or so and made an album out of it I'm pretty sure it would be a 5 star effort. As it is though, there are a few duds. Still overall a really good album.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is probably the best album of The Smashing Pumpkins, I just like Siamese Dream better. But my opinion is rather irrelevant as both albums are a fantastic and five star choice. This very lengthy albums is one of the exceptions that confirm the rule that albums should not be too long. This one is long, but not too long. The large number of songs make it possible to explore various styles and genres (while still maintaining a high quality). Highlights are of course "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "Tonight, Tonight" and "1979", though the greatness of this album is the fact that all of the songs are interesting at least and good most of the time. I know the voice of Billy Corgan is an acquired taste, but just learn to love it. It is worth the effort.

Pretty great

Some songs are certainly weaker on their own, but when listened to as a whole it all comes together.

I'm a SP fan, but even when this was released, I found it somewhat disappointing relative to Gish and Siamese Dream. Years on, I feel even less enthusiastic about it, as the lyrics come off as written for a much much younger and angsty person than I am. The sound and production are impressive though.

It was aight.

As great as I remembered it.

Huge anthems, skipping mush and fillers. The strings play a huge part

The Smashing Pumpkins were, without qualification, the worst band to defecate from the 90s US alternative scene. That is not hyperbole; if anything, it's diminishing how appalling they were regardless of time, location or genre. Of course, the blame piles onto one man: Billy Corgan, the worst frontman in rock, alive or dead or not even conceived. The vast majority of gametes nestling in your testes has a far stronger claim for musical significance. So why is Billy Corgan so bad? Let's get the purest, most straightforward reason out the way: he can't sing. Indeed, he sounds like someone deliberately attempting to sing bad. Specifically, he sounds like Cartman from South Park, who was meant to sound as cacophonous as possible. Do you want to hear Cartman sing one proto-emo dirge, let alone nearly thirty? When I say Corgan is a bad singer, I don't mean he's unpolished and inexact; I mean that he is painful to the ears. Our dogs refused to be in the same room when I played this. Coupled to Corgan's inability to sing is his inability to write lyrics that don't collapse into risibility. There is not one word on this album to take seriously. Take the lines (preferably out back to be shot): Emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness And cleanliness is godliness, and God is empty, just like me It would be polite not to guffaw, but not guffawing would be dishonest. Or how about the rubbish-yet-bizarrely-popular 1979? I bet you thought it was a wistful, bittersweet recollection of carefree youth. Nope. Here's the chorus: That we don't even care to shake these zipper blues And we don't know just where our bones will rest To dust I guess forgotten and absorbed Into the earth below Now children, do you think adding a bit about rotting corpses to a limp song automatically grants it gravitas? (By the by, Billy Corgan was 12 in 1979. He wasn't out partying and fingering girls, he was still throwing tantrums when his mum said it was bath night. The only song more ridiculous in this regard is Summer of 69, as Bryan Adams was 10 in 1969, and there's no way Bryan Adams was so cool that he started his first band and lost his virginity aged 10. And yes, I am directly calling Billy Corgan a pale imitation of Bryan Adams). Of course, Billy Corgan would say he means every word, that these words are his heart, his truth. Anyone with an iota of sense would retort that he was talking bollocks. (And let's not forget he's now into vaccine denial and 9/11 conspiracies, so I feel no compunction in calling his a massive wanker). The ingredients for the shit sandwich are assembled. We have a singularly uncharismatic and grating singer, screeching out the most lamentable high school doggerel, all backed by your standard substandard post-Nirvana alt-rock pop-punk-by-numbers that littered the US in 1995. So what's the next logical step? Why, it's to make a TWO HOUR concept album (a concept which is never clear and in any case gets jettisoned about three songs in). One song would be insufferable; 28 of the fuckers just bludgeon the listener into a depressed numbness. With some lengthy, challenging albums, such as Trout Mask Replica or Metal Machine Music, one feels satisfied with oneself for having listened all the way through. This album is twice as long as Metal Machine Music, but there's no sense of accomplishment in listening to this, because there's no reward. Even passing a particularly stubborn log brings relief, but this is only like being stranded in a rainstorm. You don't get inivgorated, you just get cold and wet. Also, the title is crap. Mellon Collie? Is that a pun? I really don't get it. You shouldn't get this either.

First things first: "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" is a 10/10 perfect title. As for the actual music: I'd heard this album quite some time ago and I remembered it being a bloated, grossly self-indulgent affair. Listening to it again, I still feel that way, but I was reminded how good some of the songs are. The highs are high and the lows are never worse than "pretty good", but it just drowns in its own length. Worth listening to once (if only to say you've listened to it), but I can't imagine listening to it over and over again.

Big commitment to listen to the full double album, I wasn't inspired by the songs I hadn't heard before to be honest, but still this is a solid 4. In general I like the Smashing Pumpkins (3.5/5), this is one of their better works

This album is way heavier than I remember it being (in parts). XYU almost feels like a Sabbath song. Overall, I feel like Siamese Dream had more of my favourites on it but this album was a solid listen with just a little bit of filler. That’s impressive for a double album Favourite tracks: “Zero” “Jellybelly” “X.Y.U.” “1979”

No matter how hard they try to rock I think the best they can do for me is a 2.8. Never have I reached for this album and I never will

2/5

Good tunes, but really, really long. I might love this album after a few more listens, but those listens probably won't come for a while.

Actually a lot of variety in this album. Some noisy mid-90s hard rock, but a ton of different moods and sounds.

No me explayaré mucho. Es un disco excelente, canciones emblemáticas, originales, bien escritas, a ratos se siente sencillo tras sencillo de una época en la que fueron de las más grandes bandas de su momento. La voz de Corgan a pesar de su chirrido siempre se me ha hecho correcta para su tipo de música y manera de componer. Letras bien escritas, música fuerte cuando debe serlo y suave cuando debe serlo... y tremendamente LAAAAAAAAAAARGO. No se que tiene este disco pero escuchar los dos de corrido siempre se me ha hecho muy difícil. Puedo escuchar uno y tiempo después el otro pero los dos completos como obra entera me es tedioso y no entiendo el por qué, la calidad está ahí, hay muchísimos discos dobles que escucho de corrido sin problema, he escuchado discos triples sin problema y Mellon Collie and the blabla simplemente nunca he podido. Canciones que me encantan en un paquete extraño que no puedo digerir de una. Ah por cierto sí también hay que mencionar, es de los títulos de disco más estúpidos que se me pueden ocurrir, su juego de palabras si siempre se me ha hecho bastante idiota y "the Infinite Sadness" solo me hace pelar los ojos.

Después de tantos años y por lo largo del disco me pasó que escuchar las que conocía fue súper bueno, las disfruté y fue muy bueno recordarlas. El resto continuamente perdió mi atención y no es que sean canciones malas pero se quedan en buenas y ya. Estuve debatiéndome entre subir o bajar el 3.5. Tiene canciones muy buenas, la banda no me desagrada, tiene su importancia histórica pero es demasiado largo y varias son relleno. Al final, decidí subirlo porque ninguna canción es terrible, es más lo que disfruto las canciones que conozco que lo que estorban las demás canciones y pese a lo largo tampoco es que corra a quitarlo. No afecta la calificación, sólo quiero mencionar que aunque está clasificado como grunge y tiene momentos muy pesados, en general el disco se me hace melódico, demasiado "lindo" para ser grunge. Songs: Zero, 1979, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight

Otro de esos discos que no sé por qué nunca escuché completo... tal vez porque era pobre y no podía comprarlo (?) Me sorprendieron varias cosas, empezando porque en mi mente Smashing Pumpkins era un grupo rock-indie casi tirándole a rock-pop, pero ahora veo que tienen cosas metalosas, aunque en mi mente está en un lugar similar a Babasónicos haciendo cosas metalosas. Otra cosa que me sorprendió fue que me gustaran más canciones aparte de 1979, como "Porcelina..." o "Take me down". Le daría a este disco una calificación mucho mejor si tuviera sólo como la mitad de las canciones.

Estuve muy tentado a ponerle 4 estrellas pero al final sí me supera lo pasado de intenso que es Billy Corgan. Incluso con todos los estilos y gama de sentimientos por los que intenta pasar el disco se va a lo muy muy largo y me fue imposible escucharlo de una sentada. Dejando eso de lado, tiene muchas canciones que son una chulada, pero en particular 'Tonight Tonight' tiene para ser con lo que gana todos los puntos. También me parece curioso que, con todo y lo odiosa que es la voz de Corgan, en algún punto se vuelve parte del todo y hasta dejé de notarla.

Billy Corgan is One of the 90s best songwriters, and a masterpiece like Tonight, Tonight really shows it. Atleast a third of this almost is some really quality songwriting that gets lost in a poorer harder rock songs that extend the album unnecessarily hiding what could be a masterpiece and perfect 5 star album. Had he ignored the heavier riffs for this album, focused on the softer tunes and ballads, it would have been more effective.

Overall not bad but too long and too much of a mix of styles without excelling at any of them and no song really sticking out

Though a tad overstuffed, this LP dodges any sort of datedness with a diverse set of influences to pull from. The scorching guitar tone still invokes the 90s, but purely in the best way possible as it floods the tire soundstage. A masterclass in production and arrangement all around

very solid sound, unique for that time period.

Awesome. Some bangers and lot of cerebral mong-out tunes. Dour 2013, missed them at Reading 2007.

But long

Es un d'aquells discos que representen una década, i totes les seves particularitats: en quant a so, en quant a actitud, imatge, missatge... No tots els temes (sí, hi ha massa) estan a l'alçada dels millors, però la gran majoria no queden lluny, i els que més destaquen ('1979', 'Tonight Tonight', 'Zero', 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings', 'We Only Come Out at Night') també es troben entre el millor de la década

I can't explain how much I dislike the vocals on this album. Not familiar with These guys, I also gave Siamese dream or w/e a 1. It's not for me at all. The most listened to song on this album was just okay to me. Writing sucks on it too.

MEGACLASSIC

2.7 Zaten goede dingen tussen maar te lang om men aandacht erbij te houden

Many great songs and many so-so songs. This album could have used an editor.

No Rain is very strong.

This is a banger for sure not sure why 1979 is such a big hit.

I had this on cassette at the time. I know it has about 5 of my favourite songs of all time on it. I remember skipping a lot of it as an 11 year old though, so I don't actually know if it is a good album. The joy is I love or really like the first 10 tracks, and it's only at Galapagos that it starts to lull at all - and even then, it's an okay song. If they had stopped at track 10, they would have made a classic album already. I'd add it's also an ambitious one. If they had stuck to their lane, Bullet With Butterfly Wings and Zero would make it a classic up there with Siamese Dream. But the gentle piano intro and Tonight Tonight show that they were trying to go bigger and more wide-screen here. However, at this middle point I can see the second half of an album looming with not much I know there, and I am unsure they can sustain the pace here - though with 1979 to look forward to, it may still be okay! Honestly, the second half lags a bit compared to the first, but still contains 33, 1979, and We Only Come Out at Night. If this had been a single album, or even a 20 track double album, it'd be revered. And frankly, I can't blame it for its ambition. Very few albums ever have this much quality on them, it's getting five stars in spite of its flaws, as I'd give Sign O The Times and the White Album the same courtesy.

goooodd. thought i’d get bored because it was long but it was good from start to finish. impressed xxx

It’s interesting experimental rock album both pop, punk, metal and classical colours.

One of the very best.

Smashing.

It’s fine, just too fucking long.

It goes on a bit…

I know this album! 1979 is a bop

Over long in parts but one i will return to

Still can’t forgive Billy Corgan his voice or lyrics, but a wondrous album all the same.

9,0/10

Was never really a fan.

7/10 pretty good

3.5

It had a lot of great songs, but it just is far too long for what it offers. The vocals, though good, can be a bit much for me after about an hour of listening. Definitely more good than bad though.

Awesome rock album, some parts I didn't care for but some 5 star songs

I rlly liked the concept of this album with the sections relating to time of day. I think I preferred the 1st half

I really liked it. Better than I remembered from the 90's. Harder and angrier than I remember.

A little too crunchy for some at times, but so great. They've never come close to this ever since. There are 28 full tracks, 2 hours and maybe 4-5 stinkers, so I'll give them a pass on those and call this the honor roll it is.

This is one of the more confusing choices for me. It came out right when I was forming musical perspective. The singles were all over the radio. The branding was fantastic. The double album. I remember going to the music shops in the mall where you could stand there and listen to the albums on the kiosks. It's very hard for me to listen to this without feeling all that nostalgia. What stands out to me today is how some of the best songs sound deeply heavy yet glimmery at the same time. And the vocals are objectively harsh but impressively versatile. I feel like there's some great songwriting on here. I'm giving it a nostalgia-driven 4

I admire bands that take on ambitious projects, and this is certainly ambitious. 2 hours of music with a good variety of styles. I'm not a fan of Billy Corgan's voice, and some of the harder stuff I can't stand, but overall this is pretty good. 3 stars.

I'd never listened to this whole album before. When I was younger, Corgan's voice got on my nerves so I never gave Smashing Pumpkins a fair chance. I have to say, I'm glad I gave this a listen. The music is dynamic and interesting. I will definitely listen again. It runs a little long... but none of the songs feel like "filler."

But bloated. But what’s good is great

Excesivo, megalómano, egoísta, en ocasiones genial, en otras repetitivo y de hueva. Es lo que es.

Sí me gustó bastante, aunque claro que no terminé de escucharlo, sí suena dark. Creo que necesito oir con más calma las canciones de los 2 primeros cds que se supone son las que cuentan (?)

Disco de largo aliento, sin embargo, creo que todo suena bien, con mucha cohesión y hay canciones que me gustaron particularmente. "Zero", "Here Is No Why", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "Love", "Muzzle", "Bodies", "1979" y "Stumbleine", esta última de las baladitas. No sé qué más decir, que es el primer disco de los Smashing que escucho completo y está bien, todo oc. 7.5/10

Rock

not my vibe and i'm not mad about it

some pleasant gems here but this double album overstays its welcome. Strong preference for the 1st disc here. some fun genre-bending fakeouts

Have always found this to be at the proggy end of rock for my tastes but I gave it a chance and found it interesting (and Rockier than i imagined) if a little bloated. not sure I'll rush back but a decent piece of work and can see why others may adore it. 3/5

I absolutely love this album and the pumpkins. There is definitely some filler though lol

Just fantastic. Part of my music education, although I didn't really take it into account at the time. Amazing songwriting. Amazing drumming! Just too long and dips in parts so not quite 5 stars Does drag in parts and is insanely long. hence 4 starts, not 5

dreamy, weird, obscure, like any pisces would dig. don't really like billy corgan's persona, can't help but love his music tho.

Here we go. I got into Pearl Jam, Nirvana and (thanks to this list) Pavement, but never took a real chance on the Pumpkins (other than their cover of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide). Wondering if it should be a double album or would play better pared down. But when I think of the best double albums (London Calling, The White Album, Tusk, Sign O' The Times) they all flow well despite the few rare songs I'd rather skip. The key is none of those four albums seem long, and I can play them all the way through without wanting to stop. This one surprisingly falls in that category. I'd have let James Iha sing a few more songs, but that's a personal preference as I lean towards Iha's musical tastes. But Corgan passes the ball around JUST enough (the brilliant instrumental title track, Iha sings lead on one of the songs he wrote, and all 4 members take turns on the album closer). Worth noting the "tender" tracks have aged the best. And "1979" is a perfect song. Even at 28 songs, the album as a whole remains something of a marvel.

I'm familiar with this album. All it reminds me of is horribly cringey moments in my teenage years. I think by today's standard's it's way too cliche but I have a weird appreciation for it where I can see past that because there was a time where this album had a much stronger effect on me. But I was never really a Pumpkins fan anyway. It's a genuine classic I don't deny the brilliance of it, but Billy Corgan is a chode that takes himself way too seriously and that's all hear in his music anymore

Instead of releasing an amazing album and a completely shitty album, The Smashing Pumpkins decided to release both of them together. There are some truly great tracks on this album like Muzzle, Porcelina, Thirty-Three and yes, 1979. But there are also some meh tracks like Cupid and Galapagos that would've been just fine to be B-sides. Then, there's the terrible, awful no good tracks like Butterfly Wings and Zero, Come Out @ Night, etc. Siamese Dream and Gish were so good, amazing even. But, this album seems to have targeted the LCD in music trends at the time and went for broke and it worked. They sold 11 million copies. But they also lost a fan with the release of Mellon Collie. Then, nearly 30 years later that feeling was solidified when I saw them tour with Janes Addiction (who were amazing) in '23. Corgan was pretty lame in his snuggie cape thing he was wearing. I really didn't think he was a freak until he tried to be one.

Its a good album but overly long as it seems to repeat itself the longer it goes. The high lights are very high... Tonight tonight is a great song. Ultimately I had difficulty digesting it all in one sitting

Very nice

It wasn't awful. However, after the first disk I got a bit tired of it. I'm not the biggest fan of this sound, and they put their best two songs in the front. However, I really liked the piano in the songs it was in. Favorite track: Tonight, Tonight

Really liked some of the songs and enjoyed the majority of them. However some songs I could live without hearing. I think it would’ve been better as a single album rather then double and so there wouldn’t be as much, or any filler songs. (3.5)

Some poor tracks, but some surprisingly good ones too.

A classic and a favourite from my youth, quite enjoyed the heavier tracks aswell

3 1/2

It was heavier than I thought it was going to be. Really wasn't in the mood for it.

While this album is more "experimental" than Siamese Dream, the experiments into other genres aren't really interesting. Most of the album feels like leftovers from Siamese Dream. There are several good tracks here, but there are a lot of rough patches. Mellon Collie has good slow songs, but I much prefer Siamese Dream. Highlights: 1, 2, 4, 6, 19, 22, 24, 26, and 28.

I just get annoyed by his voice

This album is great, but holy fuck is it long.

Overall interesting more instrumental than I expected.

Did you have the guys at your high school that put the biggest subwoofers in their trunk that they could afford and fit? Some of them also made sure they made the appropriate modifications to the trunk to reduce rattle from the booming bass. Some didn't, and it sounded dumb because their vibrating trunk was louder than the rest of the music. There's something wrong with the speaker on my driver's side door, and it rattles with too much bass. (It's broken, or something is loose, and has needed deeper investigation for a year.) But most of the stuff I listen to in the car, at the volume at which I listen to it, doesn't cause rattling or vibration. "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" rattled the crap out of my speaker. There is a shocking amount of deeply reverberating bass on that album. As for the actual music, there are numerous 5-star songs on the album. It's also a double album, so there are so many songs that not all rise to that level. Interestingly, a couple of the hits - "Zero" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" - I felt did not hold up 25 years later. Meanwhile, "Thirty-Three," "1979," "Muzzle," and many more still blow me away. There is some deep 90s angst on here, but also some really timeless stuff. Good mix of experimentation, and pairing of quieter, softer songs with some real rage. A few of the raging songs just don't quite do it for me, keeping the album from hitting 5 stars. You could definitely make a 50-star single album from the tracks on this one. Billy Corgan's is another voice that I feel like shouldn't work, but usually does. And I think that on "Mellon Collie" he found some really great ways to use his vocal instrument. By the way, in addition to various recent Pumpkins reunions, for the last 10 years Corgan has spent a lot of his time and money in professional wrestling, working in ownership and backstage creative roles. He is currently the owner of one of the oldest promotions, the National Wrestling Alliance. Clearly, Corgan has gone in a lot of different directions since the 90s. I didn't like the Pumpkins as much as their sound evolved in a more electronic direction on later albums. But "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie" remain absolute classics.

While this album is nearly the definition of a seminal 90s album, the contents are decidedly a mixed bag. Some of the songs are tunes that will live forever in the ears of those who first heard them then. Others are forgettable. Perhaps a double album wasn't the best way for the Pumpkins to cement their legacy. Billy Corgan's voice is certainly quirky and I'm sure there are many that don't like it at all. For me, when it works, it works incredibly well; but when it doesn't, it grates. The lush orchestrations are out of this world and fill some of the songs to the max. The more spare entries are perhaps the more powerful for it. As for the lyrics, it is quintessential 90s angst. What could be a more stereotypical pronouncement of the disaffected youth of the day than "emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness, and cleanliness is godliness, and god is empty just like me"? A full re-listen really brought back to me how solid parts of this album were. And yet it also showed me how much of its time it was. It's not really a surprise that the Pumpkins couldn't make a go of it in the new century. But still, we'll always have "tonight, tonight".

A bit more underwhelming than I remember it being originally when it came out, but still solidly good!

Smashing Pumpkins is a band from which I’ve heard their more popular songs quite a bit, but I can’t remember ever listening to an album all the way through. It’s albums like this that make me glad for this experience. Tonight, Tonight and Bullet With Butterfly Wings were singles off this album for good reason. They are both good examples of the varying styles. One is an accessible, positive song backed by an orchestra while the other has a more grungey, lamenting chorus. I mean who doesn’t feel like a rat in a cage from time to time. I enjoyed the piano based title track opener. Cupid de Locke is a wistful surprise with the harp music, or at least what sounds like a harp. Bodies works for me. I will forgive how slow and uninteresting it is hearing To Forgive because we pick right back up with An Ode To No One. The couple times where AOTNO builds and then the whole band rocks out is great. Seems like a great mosh pit moment…you know, for me to skirt around the edge of it to get further forward. A couple other tracks didn’t get my juices flowing, like: Through The Eyes Of Ruby, Stumbleine, and X.Y.U. Unfortunately they are all in a row on the second album. These are followed up by three solid songs, the last of which begins a bit country-ish interestingly. Porcelains Of The Vast Oceans is mostly a soft and intimate track. Then at about the 2:15, 4:00, and 6:30 marks the heavier guitars and drums come in for 30 seconds or so and elevate the song to another level. Great song! On Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, the Smashing Pumpkins lay bare a wide range of sounds from the subdued to inviting to grunge to hard rock to borderline screamo. All of which they pull off extremely well. Being a double album, naturally it’s just too difficult to carry the excellentness all the way through, which is why it’s not in the 5 star echelon. Bonus (for those that really love this album): there is a 92 track, 6 hour version with a bunch of demo versions of the songs.

One of those albums I just couldn't get in to.

So depending on which version of this "album" you choose to listen to, it will either be 2 discs or 5. This is completely unnecessary even at 2 discs. The music is not good enough to warrant such a tactic. There are some very good and memorable songs, but they are hidden amongst bad songs on the "album" that is over two hours long. I am not smiling politely....that's a Simpson's reference.

I have never understood the lore of this album. There's several great and even iconic songs, outnumbered only by a lot of unnecessary songs. It's a chore to get through the whole album in one listen.

Didn’t listen

Thoroughly enjoyable, but only as a whole album experience

This is one of the great albums of the 90's, which should stand the test of time.

Garbage

Okay album.

Awesome as I remember

The instrumental at the start is amazing! I loved it! But then it gets worse. There's a few good songs, but most of them were unlistenable for me. I'm only giving it a 3 because of that first song.

🎤🎸🥁

Billy Corgan's voice is unpleasant to my ears. I probably would have enjoyed this album a lot more with a different singer.

wow - I literally transcended. Some songs are a bit too hard rock but this album is incredibly beautiful

Jedan veoma kvalitetan dvostruki album. Velim ja da je uvijek rizično raditi dvostruki album ako nećeš biti konzistentan. Naravno daleko od toga da mi se svaka pjesma sviđa, ali toliko ima kvalitetnih pjesama na ovom albumu da jednostavno nije fer dati lošiju ocijenu za album od 28 pjesama, a gdje većina albuma valja. Album ima svoje neke padove, gdje nije toliko interesantno, ali to je samo u nekim sitnim dijelovima (čitaj pjesmama). Odlične pjesme poput: Tonight, Tonight, Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Bodies, 1979, Stumbleine, Cupid De Locke i tako dalje. Od ovih pjesama što sam nabrojao bar 3 pjesme su mi u njihovih top 10 - pametnome dosta. Hvale vrijedan album Smashing Pumpkinsa te po mom mišljenju je album ipak iza meni njihovog najdražeg Siamese Dreams. Ovaj album ima shift prema agresiji pa vraćanje na pasivu i vice versa. Neke predivne balade, lijepi instrumentali, ali isto tako i divlji vokali sa pojačanim gitarama.

The Smashing Pumpkins best album, including a few of their most popular songs! It's crazy to think that this album is certified diamond. This album is huge with 28 songs and they all fit the vibe of youthful problems. This album helped pass the time during my workday, but it could also be played during a night of partying.

There's nothing I can say. WOW.

Last great grunge album

A whiny discordant mess.

Not pretty much my music

It is quite a feat to have an album this long that somehow doesn't feel bloated. Excellent kickass songs, and even better ballads.

Too long. But pretty decent. Would I listen to it again? Not sure. His voice is quite annoying. I can't remember why I was so against this album. But reminded me of Jordan (?) in Virginia.

Yeah this is a good album

Still can't stand Billy's voice, however this is pretty solid stuff.

Liked their music

Could have been a five star album if they’d picked the right 12-14 songs. Just too much bloat here.

Brilliant in its scale and variety of themes. Loads of great songs interspersed with a full albums worth of filler. Nobody wants to listen to Billy Corgans shrill voice for 2+ hours.

There’s a five star album hidden in here once you cut through the filler

Infinite

Not a huge fan but I appreciate it

One of my faves

This one's kind of an odd choice although I understand the impulse (Siamese Dream is also on this list, deservedly). Any time a group at the height of their fame makes a double album, there's a temptation for critics to proclaim it a masterpiece, especially if it's massively popular. Frankly, if I had to include another Smashing Pumpkins album, any of the others would be preferable, even the odds and sods collection Pisces Iscariot. Why? Because roughly half of MC&TIS is wretched and half of it's good to great--it's uneven as hell. Plus, even on the better tunes, Billy Corgan's nihilism is beginning to sound forced. It's hard to maintain that high a level of angst and anger with any honesty when you've succeeded beyond your wildest dreams, a problem Smashing Pumpkins shares with Radiohead. Let's survey the damage. \"To Forgive\" is wan and bland in a way that Corgan's ballads had never been in the past. The band performance on \"An Ode To No One\" is as furious as ever (including a snarling guitar solo from Corgan), but there isn't much of a tune to support it--the melody and structure are unmemorable. \"Love\" is another tune that should have been left in the can--whatever happened to Corgan's ability to compose earworms? A one bar hook repeated ad infinitum doesn't cut it. It gets worse. Cupid de Locke is a total loss--a lazy bundle of twinkling musical cliches that goes nowhere. Galapagos isn't awful, merely weak, a pale echo of the songwriting strategies Corgan used on the much superior \"Today\" from Siamese Dream. Honestly, \"Take Me Down\" is a pretty ballad, but James Iha's amateurish vocal tanks it. Thirty-Three is another misfire. In the past, Corgan had shown a great talent for alternating brutal Black Sabbath influenced headbangers with pretty ballads, but it doesn't work when the ballads are as musically simpleminded as this. It's too bad because James Iha's atmospheric twanging guitar work on the track is wasted. I could go on, but you get the point, and I didn't even get to the outright doggerel of They Only Come Out At Night. Every time MC&TIS threatens to gather momentum and knock you on your ass, one or more subpar tunes stops the album in its tracks. And yet, there are any number of powerful songs like \"Tonight, Tonight,\" \"Jellybelly,\" or \"Zero.\" I'd especially single out drummer Jimmy Chamberlin for praise, but really the entire band functions as one powerhouse unit. And it's not only the Sabbath and dream pop influenced tracks that work. The opening track, \"Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness,\" a pretty piano driven ballad, is a perfect introduction to the three headbangers that follow it. And \"In the Eyes of Ruby\" is a majestic example of the loud/soft dream heavy metal/dream pop amalgam that Billy Corgan often excels at. Truly, there's nothing wrong with MC&TIS that a ruthless editor couldn't have fixed. My advice is to make a playlist, leaving out the clunkers, and you'll have a first rate album on your hands.

Want to like this album, and there's some great tracks, but also a lot of filler

Yes please

Cut about 10 tracks from this and you could make one very solid album

One of my favorite albums of all time. Spent countless hours listening to this when it came out and over the years.

Some great, some meh, too long overall

Its decent enough, but could make it a perfect single album rather than a double album to be fair.

Wasn’t into them at the time, don’t feel like I missed out. Some nice tracks tho.

It's a double album and clocking in at 2 hours, I found it difficult to digest in one sitting. To start, they make great fuckin' bangers with wild riffs, maxed distortion, and superb composition makes the heavier songs pack a serious punch. Contrast that to the more soft and tender songs like Tonight, Tonight that give the album breathing room and variation. This makes for a wholly strong album, giving great credence to the legendary status of this alt-rock treasure. Rarely did I feel like there was a low point, but the length of this titan makes it hard not to get at least a little burned out. Closer to a 4.5 than a 4.

Amazing

No comment.

Why is the album cover so familiar ? I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. ***

Blast from the past. Enjoyed it quite a lot.

Good but it drags on a tad.

It has 28 tracks and it's still 5/5. Well played Billy boy.

Good name shit band

El disco que me regalaron mis amigas el día que cumplí 18 años tiene demasiado significado como para poner ninguna otra cosa.

When the song composition is at its sparsest, both in sound and time, this album is engaging and lives up to its admittedly alluring title. However, the album is often too full and too long for its own good (and the good of its listener). This is probably best explained by the transition from “Tonight, Tonight” (a full, well-balanced power ballad) to “Jellybelly” (a confusing, thrashing, grating, nasally (oh so very, very nasally) song whose lyrics are drowned by the fuzzily mixed guitars and frantic drumming). This transition encapsulates my mixed feelings about this album; I love the “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” and “Tonight, Tonight”, I hate “Jellybelly” and “Zero”. If “Jellybelly” is too loud and grating, “Zero” is just quiet enough for me to hear Corgan’s truly awful lyrics (“Emptiness is loneliness/And loneliness is cleanliness/And cleanliness is godliness/And God is empty just like me” sounds like the scribblings of some teenager whose angst has driven him away from his childhood religion; it is genuinely painful to listen to). And that seems to be the story of this two hour long album. For the most part, the music is fuzzy, grating, and far too long (the songs average more than 5 minutes). When I can actually make out Corgan’s lyrics through the screaming guitars and the nasal inflection, I feel like I am listening to poetry he wrote when he was a teenager. However, the album is punctuated by truly beautiful compositions (“Tonight, Tonight”; “To Forgive”; “Cupid de Locke”; “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans”; “Take Me Down”; “1979”; “Thru the Eyes of Ruby”; “Beautiful”; “Lily (My One and Only)”). Unfortunately, for the most part these beautiful songs are exhausting to listen to because they are sandwiched between other exorbitantly long songs. “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans” sums this up perfectly. It is the longest song on the album, but when I listen to it without all the build up of the previous 12 tracks, I don’t feel its length in the least. However, put it back in the context of the album and it becomes laborious to get through. Further, not all of the softer ballads are winners. “By Starlight” stands out as a song of soft instrumentation punctuated by the infantile lyricism. This is an album that needed to be cut in half. It feels like Smashing Pumpkins included every song they finished in the recording studio because they couldn’t decide which they should cut. The connecting theme seems to be Corgan’s lyrics, which are often corny, superficial, and painful to anyone who has grown up beyond their teenage years. Frankly, it is a chore to listen to the whole thing. This is an album whose rare, far-reaching heights are overshadowed by the far more consistent lows of Corgan’s lyricism and voice, the grating instrumentals, and the exhausting length. 3/10.

Sorry, not my thing and not listening to 4 albums of it!

Awful

Thought this was going to be my first 5* but on listening back, not as perfect as I remember. Still a worthy 4!

Loved 1979 when it came out and love it all over again now. I could never hear the words before,but now with lyrics on apple, for the first time I saw them. Shows I am a rhythm, beat and music -more than lyrics girl. Another alternative rock I didn’t care for. The album cover is beautiful. A masterpiece of art traveling through space. Talent is there but I couldn’t find it. I am guessing it’s in the pumpkins they are smashing, in search of that talent.

Too much flannel. Was a chore.

Completely over indulgent. Few good tracks. Got bored as fuck.

really beautiful and moving album. the vocals got a little whiney for me at certain points. insane length but the variety in tempo and style helped to keep me interested. 8/10

A good one to get back into the albums with. Really not a bad song, excellent vibes. Emo without making me feel bad. 9

Some good hits, but too many songs

1/3 = 5* :) 2/3 = 2* at best :(

Love this album. Fantastic melodies. Hit after hit. Sweeping soundscapes. Nostalgia. So good. Favorite track: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Hit and miss. The good was very good though.

Tails off but four stars just for the first six or so songs on disk 1.

Good, but, like most double albums, if they'd taken their best songs and made a single album it would have been even better.

Got some good ones

8/10. It is good to see that if 2 hours is not infinite enough for you, the 6 hour deluxe version is available on Spotify. This is a good, angsty album, and like seemingly all angsty albums, it is very long. But I suppose if you only have 30 minutes worth of angst to sing about you might just release a cheerful album instead. But I digress. The point is, this album is very long for not having a stronger theme to tie it together. The wikipedia article says that the band wanted to make an album like The Wall, but they seemingly forgot that The Wall is both shorter and has a central theme/story to tie everything together. Still, the length is partly excused by how different individual songs are. I did not realize, and would never have expected that Bullet With Butterfly Wings and 1979 were on the same album. I don't really know where I'm going with this stream of consciousness review, but I figure if you had time to listen to this album you have time to listen to me ramble. Overall positive experience, probably won't listen all the way through again, at least not for quite a while.

This is more like my kind of sound. I still don't feel it completely. I can only remember Bullet With Butterfly Winds, which I really like. I should listen to them again: I think I can find interesting stuff from these guys.

Good but a bit shouty

More of a chore than I remembered

One of the new favorites

Mich holt das dicke Ding regelmäßig ein, lange immer wieder neues entdeckt, mittlerweile ist dieses Opus Magnum in Fleisch und Blut übergegangen. Dabei war der Beginn dieser Liebe kein leichter. Etwas verschreckt von den brachialen Noise Momenten (“Bodies“, „Tales of a scorched Earth“, „X.Y.U“) gab ich das Album im Plattenladen erst einmal wieder zurück, um es dann von innerer Resonanz des einmal gehörten angetrieben in gewisser Form besessen vom guttural-prügelndem (ebenjenes „Bodies“) zurückzuverlangen. Es hat sich gelohnt, diese Megatonne an Zitaten („love is suicide“, „despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a Cage“, „the world is a vampire“, „god is empty just like me“ etc.) zur Verarbeitung von teenage angst als tröstendes Pflaster für pubertären Weltschmerz zu nutzen und eine besondere biografische Verbundenheit (Geburtsjahr) durch die Song-gewordene Wehmut von „1979“ herbei zu fantasieren. Ohnehin muss in diesem Zusammenhang betont werden, wozu Corgan und Co. außerordentlich imstande sind: Pop! Zudem gelingt ihnen eine Doppel-LP ist wie eine Umarmung der Vergangenheit mit der Zukunft; „Siamese Dream“ mit „Adore“. Würde ich gefragt, wäre dies hier DAS Pumpkins Album schlechthin. Idiosynkratische 4.8

War mir zu lang und klang irgendwie weniger zwingend als damals.

Awesome album, if a bit erratic and superficially moody

Buen disco de rock, con voz muy característica. En ocasiones más guitarrero, juega con la variedad de estilos, aunque sin dejar de lado su parte más intensa y grunge. Unas cuantas canciones merecen bastante la pena. Aun así, no termino de engancharme a él.

Off the bat, I love the album title, the album art. Reminds me of Melancholia, I wonder if Lars took inspiration from this gals green dress and the name when he was doing his movie poster. I could see Lars Von Trier being a Smashing Pumpkins fan. Even beyond that, this is an even bolder album because it is two hours long over twenty eight songs and two CDs. Very impressive especially for that time period. You look at just a few years earlier when Nirvana came out with Nevermind and that album was very short compared to this. I loved the instrumental song to start and didn’t realize that “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage” was from Bullet with Butterfly Wings! I thought it was from a Doors song or something. That was a pleasant surprise. As the album goes on, many of the songs drifted into the background, not because they were bad but they play really well as background music. Most of the stand outs for me came from the beginning of the album but I liked this album much more than Siamese Dream. Standouts were the first track, Tonight, Tonight, Zero, and Bullet with Butterfly Wings.

I don't know where I was in the '90s, but I know that I like Smashing Pumpkins much more than I tough before this album. A great piece of art with a lot of different styles, but still connected, even the more "experimental" songs are great and in line with the rest of the album. Definitively worths it

Maracas

Sin dudarlo.

This album is like a perfect winter day. 10

Gooooood

I forgot this was a double disc! Or was this just for the remaster? Anyway, this was such a great album growing up. To me, this is SP's pinnacle, and my favorite of their. Too bad Billy is such a cuck.

perseverance

Good, solid 3.5

Their very best of their Emo-Rock Days. Epic!

First album on this list that I've heard and remember every song on. LOVED this album, even though Billy Corgan is a fucking douche now. (And probably was then).

A lot of good usage of distortion effects throughout and certainly a very distinctive voice that lends itself well to the music. Not quite what I was expecting going in but all around ok.

Love the sprawl of this album! XYU is fantastic!

1995, 2 Stunden, Alternative rock, grunge, alternative metal, art rock, geeht, mag diesen Metal Sound nicht und ist zu lang, paar weichere Songs gefallen mir, manche härtere auch ok

Eh. same review I had in highschool. It's a bit long and whiney. I'm more of a Siamese Dream fan :) I rediscovered Muzzle on this listen, which is my standout track <3

Bon album en generale, des fois tres bon, plus progressif rock, ou bien meme pop/rock. On passe par contre par toute les gammes d’emotions. Autant certaines tounes sont excellentes et bien construites, autant des fois c’est juste bof..... 1 disque ferait l’affaire car le 2h00 total d’ecoute est inegale 3.75

Good album, good band... The vocals never sounded good enough for me... But it's growing on me. I'll give Smashing pumpkins another try ☺️

Always disliked the Smashing Pumpkins, but after listening through this album I may need to reevaluate. There were songs that I didn’t care for (it’s a two hour album, how do you avoid that?), but on the whole I was really impressed by it. Some really great music in here.

It would’ve been a three had it not been 2 hours of music I didn’t really enjoy that much

Way too long. Take the best tracks and turn it into 45 minutes and it's easily a 4/5 album, even if his voice is a bit annoying.

I forgot how much I enjoy The Smashing Pumpkins. Great album!

reminds me of my old mp3

5

Several of those songs are on my playlists sooo...

Hopefully the longest album I'll ever listen to--I'll keep the review short. Plenty of good tracks on here, but I don't think the TWO HOUR length is justified. I like Smashing Pumpkins, the first album we reviewed from them was great, but when you stretch that out to TWO HOURS it starts to get boring fast. It's frustrating because I like the music, but I don't want to listen to it for TWO HOURS. Favorite tracks: Tonight Tonight, Muzzle, Bullet with Butterfly Wings (never knew this was their song, I thought it was Modest Mouse because mouse = rat). Album art: Pretty cool, I recognize this one. I really dig the font and art style. This cosmic woman is rolling her eyes in the same way that I did when I saw the TWO HOUR runtime of this album. 3.5/5

It was fine, but it was very long, and it kept getting more and more "heavy" towards the end.

1979 was OK, but not such a fan tb

love classic rock

Un par de canciones buenas, no es de lo mejor escuchado.

I forgot this was a double disc! Or was this just for the remaster? Anyway, this was such a great album growing up. To me, this is SP's pinnacle, and my favorite of their. Too bad Billy is such a cuck.

Classic, classic. Still rocks. I have a bias against double LPs though.

❤️

Homer Simpson. Smiling politely.

I don't even really know, just too god damn long. A 6 CD album shouldn't be on here. In the past I've liked 1-2 smashing pumps songs, but just found all of it a bit whiney american rock shiz

boah, wie lang kann ein album sein

Tonight, Tonight is great, the first song is really nice orchestral song.

The Smashing Pumpkins best album, hands down. I got to see this performed in its entirety live, and it is simply amazing.

well, that was a bit of a slog. nothing on this entire album really grabbed my attention, which is a bit of a surprise, considering i generally liked their earlier work.

1979😍

Great album all around. Brings back lots of memories.

Great album. A "classic" for me. So many hits.

Had notes....lost them...disappointed

There are some really amazing tracks on this album- I love zero, tonight tonight and 1979 but this album is long and it has a depressing feel to it which means I had to listen to it in 4 sittings. The tracks can go for 6-10 minutes sometimes so that took the score down a little

Solid album. Unique sound that's enjoyable, even for 28 songs.

Great songwriting, although I'm not sure it had to be as long as it was. As with most double albums, it could have been cut down. I also didn't like the guitar sound. The heavier moments didn't have that visceral punch that the best albums of the era had - Superunknown, Nevermind, Badmotorfinger etc. For this reason, the ballads worked better.

Excellent album. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It's fine but annoying at points

So good I listened to the whole thing twice. So much great content in this album, it's no wonder they wanted to do a double album instead of leaving any of this on the cutting room floor. Nostalgia definitely influenced my rating, but the breadth of styles/genres that comprise this collection of songs is very wide. Love how they can rage a real headbanger then follow it up with a beautifully composed mellow ballad. Highlights: -Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness -Tonight, Tonight -Here is No Why -Bullet with Butterfly Wings -To Forgive -Cupid De Locke -Galapagos -1979

Simply noise, and not very nice noise at that.

One of the grunge classics

Excellent

Too much filler in the first half billy

Really nice. I knew soem of them and I will definetly return.

Interesting, but too hard rock on the border of metal

despite all my rage

Not as bad as contemporary reviews made it out to be. It's a little bloated, but there are definitely more than one cd's worth of good tracks here. "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight" are worth the price of admission alone.

It is nit a bad album but it is not to my likings.

Seemed a little slow for my tastes.

Pretty good. Too american/thrashy rock for my taste.

Zero is a filthy banger.

7.1

I have this cd.

it was good. "Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage". That's the line that's most fun to sing.

Cool, versatile alt rock. Some of it's a little heavier than my taste, but good nonetheless.

This album is loooonggg. I ended up listening to the 2 hour version (Spotify kept telling me that was the only available version) but despite all that this album ruled!! There are intricately placed highs that really get you going and some slower songs mingled in there that have you rewinding to make sure you caught what you thought you heard. This album will make it into the normal rotation

1979

I quite liked this. A bit long and a little repetitive but I like that kind of music so that was okay.

Obviously a great album

Never really listened to smashing pumpkins, not sure why as definitely style of music I like. this is a great album if not a bit too long. His voice can also come across a little whiny

A great album, but a bit long for me. I'm not the biggest fan of Corgan's voice, but the mix of genres and styles is interesting. In my reading about the album, apparently he Corgan runs some wrestling company. Fun fact I guess.

I do enjoy the Smashing Pumpkins; just don't love this album as much as Gish or Siamese Dream.

Smashing Pumpkins are “cool guy” music in my brain, even if they haven’t really been relevant in a while. The big singles off this album were on the compilation record I had as a kid, and I’ve played them over and over again ever since.

Nice but kinda long.

One of my all time favourite albums, and definitely among the best albums released in the 90's. While I love 'Siamese Dream' as well, this is the Pumpkins' zenith, and they never managed to top this.

Liian pitkä albumi

Deluxe edition is 6 hours of straight angst and sadness =, with highlights of 90s bops

Lekker rocky, aparte lead vocal. Bij het nummer "An Ode to No One" begon het album pas echt lekker los te komen. De eerdere nummers vond ik allemaal een beetje monotoom. "Cupid De Locke" bracht een gelukkig wat afwisseling. Mastering was goed, prettig gebruik van stereo. Na vol 1 begon de vocal te irriteren en ben ik gestopt met luisteren.