Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

This brings me back to high school. I used to listen to this album on repeat. It is as surreal and magical and bizarre and lovely as I remember it.

Viime vuosina Smashing Pumpkinsista on tullut yksi lempiyhtyeistäni ja kävinkin heitä kuuntelemassa Helsingin jäähallissa viime kesänä. Tämä kyseinen levy on ehdoton suosikkini heidän tuotannostaan ja ollut kovassa soitossa viimeiset pari vuotta. Tämän massiivisen tupla-albumin hienous perustuu sen monipuolisuuteen. Kahden tunnin keston aikana kuullaan herkkiä balladeja orkesterin säestämänä, elektronisesta musiikista ammentavaa poppia, metalliriffejä ja kiukkuista grungea. Muutamia biisejä olisi voinut tiputtaa pois, mutta muuten kyseessä on yksi 1990-luvun parhaista albumeista.

Does it have a couple songs that I will,. listen to any time of day and in any mood? Yes. Will I go out of my way to listen to ANYTHING on the album? No. This is solid radio/mixtape music and nothing more. Tonight Tonight remains as one of the greatest songs of the 90's (and in a more different vein, Bullet with Butterfly Wings as one of the greatest and dumbest), but other than that I don't think there's a lot sticking to the wall off of this guy.

This is far too long. And I mean 1 hour over the top. But all their hits are here and there are a lot of other great songs on this. If they cut half of it out it would've been an easy 5. But it's too long and a good few songs don't add to it. It's a 4 but with the quality on this it could've been a 5

An excellent album overall. So many memorable songs. A few real clunkers, experimental type tracks, but on a double album that is to be expected.

Imagine being so self-important that you think the world nears to hear 2 hours of your uninterrupted whining. Whilst I do love some of the SP’s output, including some of the songs on this double album, there is just too much filler, too much Billy and not enough real ideas going into this opus. If he could’ve employed some self-restraint and culled this down to a solid 45-50minute album, it could be a classic. In the end, in spite of some great tracks, I can only give it a 3/5. Can’t really see myself sitting down to listen to the full 2 hours of this again in a hurry

First LP was really strong and instantly tapped into my nostalgia of borrowing the CD in first year at halls. The first song on the second LP had me thinking it was dragging a bit in grungy distortion. But then trying to do them both in one go is a slog! Mid way through the second it felt easier again.

Fantastic variation - 2 hours length stops this being a high 4. Great album though

Does well to maintain interest over two hours. Sure to get better with repeated listening. Awesome sound and surprisingly worded range of styles.

This record’s delightfully broad range is what stops its two hour running time from being an issue. It is not consistent enough in tone to become boring. The lazy thing to say about a 2 hour album is “if only they cut out X number of songs they could have had Y quality record,” but that would miss the point of Mellon Collie. The Smashing Pumpkins are, at this time, a band with an uncontrollable number of ideas in their heads who would have had to significantly tone down this LP to be able to settle on a concise view of what it should sound like. You could cut three or four totally different albums out of this record. The metal elements on a cut down version could be used as short moments of contrast to show how far the band could push things in another direction. Instead they really go there and counterbalance the big breezy indie rock hit singles with sections of complete madness. It’s an exceptionally brave release, just not one that you can listen to over your lunch break. It's impossible to get to know as a casual listener, so if you can break through that it could make you a fan.

so I think LP1 is a low 5 for me and LP2 is a high 3, making the full double somewhere between a solid and high 4, that being said this could easily rise with repeated listens, which I will be doing

Too long

Objectively good but too harsh for my general listening.

i don’t love his voice and it’s not my favorite genre. i know of smashing pumpkins for my dad. stand outs : 1979, here is no way, cupid de locke, beautiful 5/10

I liked the calm songs more than the weird rock songs

It's pretty good, but long. Didn't finish.

molinari

Dope

This is undoubtedly the Smashing Pumpkins’ magnum opus. It’s packed with track after track of familiar, iconic songs, and when you consider it came out in 1995, the scope of the album is even more impressive. Billy Corgan is a phenomenal lyricist and composer, but his voice does start to wear on me after a while—so I landed on a solid 4 stars.

Okayish - would have been my thing when I was a teenager but a bit whiny now.

It’s so long I didn’t finish but I’ve seen them live and it’s always so good!

Not really a fan of their music. I’ve heard their singles before of course but I’ve never heard the entire album and honestly, it’s just not for me.

Self-indulgent and bloated, nothing here justifies the two hour running time. It would be too long at half the length. There are moments of promise here, and songs like the album opener “Tonight, Tonight” hint at something more dramatic and theatrical than the post-grunge slog that makes up the brunt of this album. I’m not a fan of this band, obviously, but there are songs on Siamese Dream that still stand out after all the years; not so here. There are few memorable riffs, the quiet-loud thing doesn’t work because the guitar tones when it gets loud are so distorted that they don’t have any dynamics; the only thing that really stands out to me is how cringey Billy Corgan’s lyrics are. And that’s putting aside his whiny tone. It’s less angsty and more a parody of angst. Fucking awful honestly. If there’s an identifiable concept or theme running through this album to tie it together, I must have missed it. You’d think that because Billy Corgan is such an egotistical gasbag that he’d at least be able to back it up with something musically worthwhile, but you’re not going to find it here.

3 classic tunes among a lot of bloat.

Too long. Many skips. Absolute bangers.

Really good album. Just too long for me.

It's a monumentally ambitous album, but overstuffed with content and not always my flavor. The singles are classics, and it definitely deserves a listen at least once in your life.

This one is tough to rate. It has incredible songs, but it's overstuffed, including with scream rock. Keep 1979, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Tonight, and Zero, and round it out with the best remaining tracks to fill one CD, and it gets 4 or 5 stars. But I find it hard it get to higher than 3 with all that scream rock.

28 songs, Bullet with butterfly wings 1979 Tonight tonight

This was a big undertaking to get through. 2 hours for any project, even a double-album, is a lot in one go. Some solid sounds overall. My preference is the second album - a lot more songs in there caught my ears.

I loved their first 2 albums Gish and Siamese Dreams, this one is a bit to ambitious for me. It has some great songs and they show some range with different genres throughout this album. The album is just too long, and his vocal style gets a bit tiring. Their are some hits on this album and a few duds as well, when they try to go metal his voice his really straining. This is not an album I would go back to and listen to the whole thing, only a few songs that I would seek out to listen to again.

So much to see hear

Some good songs in there, but come on, 2hrs. Ain't nobody got time for that

Ok, it was 2 hours long but I really enjoyed it. I wasn't bored with the mix of genres.

Genre spanning, but did not need 2 hours of this

perfect encapsulation of the mid '90's

I simply don’t think this album was for me, I can musically see the appeal and it’s a very well done album but it’s just not my personal cup of tea in terms of vocals, genre, and the 2 hour runtime. If I really sat down and gave it another listen I think I could rate it higher but i honestly don’t have the push to even listen to the second half. I do really love the song from them I’ve grown up listening to like ‘Tonight, Tonight’, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’, and ‘1979’ Strong 2/5, leaning towards 3

No lo tengo claro

Wow that was surprising. I've always thought The Smashing Pumpkings were boring, but this album is great. The introduction leading to "Tonight Tonight" sets the album perfectly and it's great that they can rock and still keep the light and "melancholic" atmosphere. Also, the vocals do make a difference. Otbis quite refreshing to listen to a really good album like that- the only problem I have is that the album is too long, but it kinda pays of when "1979" comes up. 4/5

I expected to rate this higher, but there are a lot of songs on here that miss the mark for me. Still, an iconic album.

bloated

After roughly 100 albums rated on here, this one is one of the only I would say is quintessential listening based solely on its own merits of sound and discounting its context and temporality. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness represents the best of alternative music to come out of the 90s. Perhaps it is able to do this because of the scope of the record which presents an incredible and diverse track listing. Songs styles from the orchestral "Tonight Tonight" to the heavy rock of "Bodies" and "Here is Bo Why" to oddball jangle pop of "We Only Come Out At Night" and "Lily", to the pure angsty grunge of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" to electronic mashups in "Beautiful". The Pumpkins seem to capture the entire moment of the alternative music scene of decade prior to this album's release. Mixing together different styles, motifs, and sounds, they capstone a decade of music. The only place where the record perhaps fails os that it is uneven in places and Corgan sometimes puts forth too romantic as to be corny artistic overtures (I am looking at you "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"). But perhaps this is part of the package as well, and captures this moment in music as well. Regardless of those small stumblings, there are unforgettable tracks, and even more unforgettable imagery with may of it's songs. "1979", "Tonight Tonight", and "Bullet with Buttefly Wings" all had iconic music videos, and showcase a good encapsulation of the album itself. I wish I could be more critical, but where the album struggles it tends to innovate or explore, and where it absolutely excels it provides something provocative and different. I don't think the Pumpkins had prior reached this level of artistry, and I don't think they would again with subsequent releases. Absolutely a must listen.

Legitimately astounding just how big the Pumpkins were in the 90s. While this double album might seem bloated by today's standards, it remains an impressive eclectic group of sounds and styles and will forever be a 5-star album to me.

bomb

omot me jako napaljuje no sam album i ne baš. mislim, nije loše, al nije baš kvalitetno dosljedno, osim kvalitetnih ima i značajnijih stilskih skokova, svakako zanimljivo. iznenadila me žestina pojedinih pjesama (manje mi dragih). glazbeno mi je čak dosljedno dosta dobro, al vokal ne silazi sa skale kojom ustrajno skakuće: pristojan - blago nepodnošljiv - naprosto nesnosan. tekstovi bi isto mogli biti bolji... sve u svemu, ajde trojka, premda je dugo, nije mi uopće bilo naporno i ostavilo mi je bolji dojam od njihova prvijenca

A promising name. Unfortunately, the album falls short of my expectations.

Was quite negative going into this when I saw the runtime of the album. And it was off to a really, really bad start, with the three first songs being all over the place, feeling like they belonged to completely different genres and albums. But in the end it turned out better than expected. There were some low points in the more hardcore ones, like 'Bodies', for example. But there were some real recognizable and good songs in '1979', and 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' as well. And most songs in between were either tolereable or decent as well. One thing that icks me a bit about the record is that it changes character quite a lot - a bit too much for my taste. Many songs feel like they may even belong to different genres. And I am certainly no fan of super long albums. They're never as tight as shorter, more thought out ones, which means you just have to sit though a lot of mediocre tunes. In the end it wasn't that bad though. I much prefer this to '69 Love Songs' or whatever that slog album was called. Weak 3.

Grunge really isn’t my thing but I was curious about this since 1979 is a great track. Then I found coming from the back of the previous 1.5 hour album that this was even longer. No album should be 2 hours. Specially when you listen to one per day, it’s just too much to take in and do justice. Tops you can listen to each track once. Honestly, this was quite boring. 1979 is good as ever, the rest was meh. The vocals that work so well on 1979 just feel whiny on other tracks (Body). Probably a weak 3 star but due to the length a 2 star. I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Too long

Banger. Still hate double albums

i like it enough. 1979 and Tonight, Tonight are oviously popular and the only ones i really knew before. I didnt realize "bullet with butterfly wings" was the song but I knew it and it was nostalgic. 4/5 or 3/5

Bueno. mejor que el anterior de los pumpkins que había tocado

already loved several songs in this album, such a staple childhood classic

One of the first more modern albums that I can unequivocally agree needs to be on the list, meaning everyone should hear it before they die. A long album (maybe a bit too long) it spans an amazing amount of musical styles yet always with a SP flavor. I loved this album when I had it on double cd and while I would likely only play pieces of it nowadays I still think it is musically relevant.

4.5

I haven’t listened yet but I will

4.5/5

It was really wonderful revisiting this album!!it took me back to my high schools years!! This album will always have a special place in my heart!

Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan's voice is best when it gets scary, dark, and goes hard/heavy like a creepy outsider punk. So about half of this album is works (Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Where Boys Fear to Tread, XYU - and not in this album but I love their Batman and Robin music) but I don't care for the lighter songs, though the instrumentals can be nice and they have been so influential. 3.5 rounded up.

If you randomly select any 10 of these songs, we're looking at 3 stars. Handpick the best 10, we're looking at 4/5. But I absolutely cannot get through this entire thing again, I promised myself I wouldn't after my listen 2 years ago. Unabridged, this is 2 stars at best

2 hours?!? I like Bullet with Butterfly wings but we're about to find out whether this has earned such a run time Listening notes: -Nasal voice is fine for what Smashing pumpkins are after -Metal integration into other genres is always hit or miss for me but I think it's working here -Bullet with Butterfly Wings: Banger. 'nuff said. -This album is so long. So self-indulgent. Edit these tracks down! Review: All good music. A few awesome tracks. But not enough to justify an album half this long. 28 tracks is too many and half of them are twice as long as they should be. Overstays its welcome. Especially irritating because there's some good stuff here, but I'll never list to the album again probably. I'll round up to three because the highs are quite high. (Disclaimer. I normally give albums two listens for a rating, but that just won't work here)

This album is amazing from start to finish. Always been a huge fan of this album and the way it swings from big rock driven songs to slower ballads.

This is pretty good stuff. I feel like it's the kind of thing that could have ended up being quite important to me if i'd listened to it at 13. However, I'm not sure it justifies a double album.

Classic!

Great album.

Such a prolific album. It has such range. Heavy stuff, soft melodic stuff. Timeless songs like Tonight, Tonight. Run time is at 2 hours so it’s a long journey.

Long, unwieldy, at points great, at points a little angsty for me at this point in my life. Remains a solid listen.

“Billy Corgan stupid! Billy Corgan annoying voice!” Shut up. 5 stars.

A few brilliant songs there, but as an album it doesn't quite flow

I listened to this album quite a bit in that transitional period between middle school and high school. That was (reading notes) around 15 years ago, when I was definitely not listening to this album with good quality headphones/speakers. It's a very good audiophile album in that regard, plenty of detail to hear better than some shitty 2000s monitor that came with speakers (skull emoji). It's a great album with a notable thing going against it: it's two fucking hours long. I shouldn't bitch when I like jam band music and stuff like Swans always released albums that are already lengthy. Other than that, Mellon Collie is a cornucopia of the 90s music sound in America (probably the western world too but I'm avoiding getting ahead of myself). Lot of genres represented under the 'alternative rock' banner (not sure why this site calls it grunge, its in a similar scene but I wouldn't lump the Smashing Pumpkins sound with something like Mudhoney or Alice in Chains). There's something in this album for any music lover, just be patient. Also that one star review guy at the top of the reviews is too British, you can ignore his opinion.

Good album with some all-time bangers (Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 1979). Broad, ambitious. Does actually feel like two albums, so fair play. Probably is a bit long though.

Lots of good interest between the songs. Much longer than I was anticipating so it was hard to get through it quickly

Quelques titres sympa mais l'album reste pas incroyable et la voix du chanteur ça va 5min mais 2h ça fait long quand même

Nice

Listened Before? Y Used to have this one in the 90s. Pretty good but too long and overrated in my opinion. There are some scorchers on Disc 1, and it kinda putters out in places but overall decent. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Thirty-Three

Way too long. Some great songs, but a lot of meh as well.

Another legendary band that turned out to be disappointing just like Iron Maiden AND Judas Priest. Of all the songs, I quite enjoyed 1979 but I've known that song for ages. Everything else kind of grated my ears. Couldn't make it to disc 2. Yea, there are TWO discs.

There's an incredible album in this good album.

It's another Smashing Pumpkins album. This is the one I always hear people raving about. Will I join them? Probably not. Will I remind people that Manic Street Preachers should have been bigger in the US? Yes - Manic Street Preachers should have been bigger in the US. Far more interesting than these boys. On the plus side, this is much more musically interesting than the other SP album on the list. It has the bangers that I remember from the 90s, but it also has that Tonight song with the terrible video where Billy looks like he's doing an impression of The Laughing Cow. I never liked that song, but this time around I didn't mind it. They sound less like a generic Nirvana rip off here. On the down side, it's too long. We all know this, but I admire the attempt. The middle section takes the brunt of this, with too many songs lacking the impact of the early hits and the interest of some in the back half. Then again, if I had fawned over this at the time like many of the glowing five star, woe is me/I was a sad boy in the 90s reviewers here, I'd likely have more love for those songs too. Nothing bad about them - I've only heard them once and there's too damn many of them. As to be expected, Corgan's voice is not the most pleasing, but it's less cringe-inducing here than elsewhere, partly because it's more buried or complemented by the cacophony of noise surrounding it.

This is my generation's White Album

I've heard this album quite a few times and didn't feel like listening to it again for this just due to its sheer girth. I don't feel like there are any real duds on here, and although the great songs are outnumbered by good ones, the album is still engaging to me all the way through. It's not as focused as Siamese Dream in terms of sound, and it would be easier to justify its length if it told a coherent story, but I still think this is an essential album and I’m going to throw it a 5 just because it contains a large number of songs that I would consider great if not classic at this point.

Показался менее интересным, чем попавшийся прежде в списке - более причесанный и гладкий, хоть эклектичный. Но буду еще слушать, наверное.

5 full stars. I found myself skipping the songs I have already encoded in my DNA. Tonight, Tonight, Bullet, 1979 are engrained in my heart, either through constant radio play when they were new, or my own obsessive play when I couldn't find the will to change the cd in my car. I wore this out. I might wear it out again, for my kids sake of course.

A fantastic album. It’s hard to give it a 5 because I know Siamese Dream exists and there are a few clunkers that distract. Would give it. 4.5 if possible

Billy Corgan wanted to make The Wall for GenX? Unfuckingbelievable, the stones on this guy. First of all, The Wall was The Wall for GenX. Secondly, this album isn't any better than all the other albums in the mainstream that year. In fact, pretty sure The Bends came out that year. Get over yourself, bro. Ok, now that's out of the way... This is actually a decent album, but it definitely should have been two. I don't see why making it a double was necessary when there is no unifying theme or narrative. Two hours is a long time to listen to unrelated songs.

I can't believe I enjoyed a 2 hour long album this much, but it's really all killer, no filler. Certainty helps that this is one of 3 TSP albums I used to listen to on repeat years ago because it was the only music I had access to at the time.

awesome

I can't give this album more than a 3. Yes, it has some very good songs on it, and I'm not only talking about the hits. The problem is partly that it is way too long, but also that it becomes a bit samey for me and the last few songs are so tired.

Loved it. It's really long though.

I absolutely love SP and this is a great double album. The best? No, but still. I know others might think Corgan’s vocals get annoying or that the ideas lose steam at the end or that some of the lyrics are cringy, but I just can’t see that (well, maybe except that last point lol). It’s a rollercoaster that’s fun, punchy, and stupid. It’s also beautiful, raw, and captivating. That’s why I like it. I also think his vocals add to the album. He sounds weird, but I mean this whole thing is weird. A two-hour concept (but not really a concept?) album that goes from a song with beautiful stings to a song with heavy (almost metal?) drums/guitars back to a piano ballad is kind of weird. Maybe it’s because I grew up listening to them in my dad’s car, but I think this project goes by really fast and is great. When this album ends, I always feel a bit bittersweet. And that’s how I know an album is amazing, it makes me feel something beautiful. Standout songs: Bodies, Here Is No Why, and Jellybelly.

What a great album! I remember when it came out, listening to it continuously, burning a whole in disc one then moving on to disc two. So many great deep cuts that never made the radio. 4.5 stars!

Some interesting mix of genres. I like the ambition but won’t listen again

I can hear the talent and sincerity. Not a huge fan personally

I think this record has the same issue with it now as when I originally heard it back in the day, it’s just too long. There’s some real highlights but it gets bogged down

Some of these songs rip. But some are kind of boring piano? Also seems super long. And his voice is annoying.

Quite a long album at 2 hours, but a good listen! Funny how it goes from jangly guitars to screamo; love songs to existential rage. I already knew 1979. But this was a new standout: Bullet with Butterfly Wings - "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage!"

This was far better than I had been expecting. I'm familiar with most of their singles and have heard them so many times that I've become bored with them. However, I was surprised at how good this album is throughout. The last three tracks are a little weak, but I also had an interruption between those and the rest of the album so maybe I was taken out of the moment. Overall, a very pleasant surprise.

90s Grunge. Their most successful album. Pretty hard, Tonight is an outlier. Mixed bag, but some very beautiful songs.

This is my favorite album of the '90s. I was 18 when it came out during my first semester in college. I bought it on double tape. No other album matches the way I felt at that time. Like many great recordings of the past, it both captures and shapes the experience of the audience, usually young people. Some accuse this record of being bloated and self-indulgent. At the time Pitchfork said something along the lines of this record's lyrics being adolescent at it's arena-rocking worst. Like we didn't know! I saw the Pumpkins twice, in arenas, during the tour for Mellon Collie. I was very aware that while we were sneering at the outside world, the joke was on us. I was young and stupid, and I knew I was young and stupid. Self-awareness doesn't automatically convey wisdom, so I was just stuck waiting it out. Just because we knew the line "God is empty just like me" is corny doesn't mean it didn't represent us. At one of the shows I saw, the band brought out Jimmy Frog, who walked across the floor dressed as a frog and carrying balloons. At the other, Billy played a extended guitar solo after the lights came up, the whole time wearing a shit eating grin. The entire project was absurd. In 1995, many Gen Xers felt that our lives were absurd. We knew! And bloated? Self-indulgent? What double album isn't? You don't have to listen to every B-side or rejected track to know that Billy and the Pumpkins exercised restraint by releasing a double album instead of a triple. If I was in the throws of the creative burst that Corgan was experiencing during that time, I'd be full of myself too. Filler? There's not one song in this album I would cut. How would YOU trim this thing down to one disc or tape? OAD projects side, no one has to listen to this thing all at once. Guns and Roses named their album Use Your Illusion vols. 1 and 2. To me that always indicated that it was a double release of two albums, not the release of a double album. Mellon Collie's two albums even have different names! Look at the iconography around this album, at once overly sincere and romantic, joyous and depressing. A few years prior, we were all "Losers." In 1995, Zero was a label, not an accusation. What would you expect from a generation of kids who raised themselves? Except for criticisms of the length, every negative thing anyone says about this record is true. I'm not sure why I've chosen to express my love of this great record through finger-pointing. That doesn't give anyone a reason to listen to the thing. The music on Mellon Collie is as diverse as any other album in rock n roll. Arena rock, grunge, metal, new-wave, and electronic music all coexist here, often on the same song. Every human emotion is represented here, even the embarrassing ones. It is sweet and angry and beautiful and loud. It's a record for young people and those who connected to it when we were young. I could never listen to a mature Billy Corgan if he wrote them as a grown man who should know better. But Mellon Collie is a messy masterpiece, just like Gen X itself. Five stars.

This was incredible

It took a long time to get through all 28 songs on this double album, but it was worth it and it was to the bands credit that there were shifts in genre throughout. So some of the rockier, grungier songs didn't float my boat, but there was plenty for me to enjoy in the quieter moments of Galapogos, By Starlight and Farewell and Goodnight. And it's a pretty impressive feat to put together so many different tracks, and be consistently good. A first listen to the Smashing Pumpkins for me, and I doubt it will be the last.

One big sad blagh.... Truly, not my cup of tea. Some of the melodies were interesting, but overall it kinda sounded like some grunge reject album. I was never a fan, but after listening carefully to the album I can definitely say why this band isn't for me. And it's a double album?! Seriously, probably a blessing to fans, but a torture to others...

I hate the Smashing Pumpkins and Billie Corgen's irritating ass voice.

There are some great tracks but this album is just too long. There's a good mix of high energy songs and slower songs at least. Apart from the tracks I already knew (1979, Tonight Tonight, Bullet With Butterfly Wings), Zero and Jellybelly were the highlights. Maybe on another day this might have been a 4 but I was ready to move on after the first disc and my mood was a lot worse by the end of the second hour.

Such an iconic album. So many great and timeless songs. Perhaps a little bloated, but damn what a classic.

😍😍 this is my favorite album . Hard stop

It was pleasure to travel through Billy Corgan’s Universe. I don’t think it was necessary to include that many songs into album. However, those “low grade” songs create special vibe within the album. They perfectly fill silence between good songs. By the way, there are many good songs. I’d say 1h15m of good stuff out of 2+hrs.

Álbum incrível! Que obra sensacional. Alguns discos já nascem clássicos e esse é um deles. Truthear Zero: Red.

I just never liked them ot thought they were good. Time hasn’t been an improvement on my opinion.

Second time this band has come up in short succession. Where has variety gone. Load of American nonsense, as usual from America. 2 hours of this shit, you must be joking.

A few truly great songs on here. probably ten too many tunes on the album but that could be said of most double albums.

I was never a massive fan of Smashing Pumpkins. Listened to Siamese Dream when it came out and went back and checked out their first few record because of that. They def have some jams. But I remember feeling fatigued by them when Mellon Collie came and out and never bothered to listen it. The singles were played constantly and didn’t really appeal to me and Billy Corgan kinda annoyed me so I figured why bother. I think it’s too late for me to hear this album for the first time. There’s way worse music out there but it’s another case of my built-in impressions coming in colouring my reaction.

The singles bring me back to the days we listened to the radio

And I’m mad about it.

This is one of the most impressive albums ever written. It is over 2 hours of all-killer-no-filler bangers, but it feels like an hour mainly due to the phenomenal sequencing. I think this is probably the best sequenced album ever, every song just flows so perfectly into the next one, and there is a great balance of ballads and high energy rock songs. There are the obviously great songs on here like Zero and 1979, but I want to shout out, Here is No Why, Bodies, Muzzle, Thru the Eyes of Ruby and especially X.Y.U., no song gets my blood pumping like X.Y.U. (it is also really fun to drum along too). This is the best double album. High 5!!!!!

adoro

As someone who encountered Smashing Pumpkins upon the release of Gish, when they were quick to become indie darlings, I along with everyone else were amazed at the growth from that LP to Siamese Dream. Imagine the surprise when Melon Collie is released and the step up from Siamese Dream to Melon Collie is another massive leap in sound. The problem? Billy didn’t get lyrically and smarter. There is some effort to get the lyrics to have the same impact as the music, but at this point Billy had enough on his plate and friendly editing would have transformed several of these songs into something that may have a more cogent and coherent impact. However, the music is so good that you can largely ignore some of the lyrical miscues. See Exhibit 1: Tonight Tonight (We’re not the same we’re different) or Zero (God is Empty…Just Like Me). The other issue with the record is bloat - The record clocks in at 2 hrs and 1 minute. That’s a long time to focus without the record turning into background noise. Making it through Disc 1 was good until the 9:21 Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans. For Me, Muzzle is the quintessential SP tune. It encapsulates in a single song all of the SP musical elements and it’s under 4:00 minutes (3:43) so you can actually enjoy it as a song. Porcelina is the same only dragged out over 9:21. Is it 2x better? No. Does the 2:14 second soft intro fully work? I think of it as a pre-open as there is another 40 seconds before Billy’s vocal comes in. It is the excess that detracts from the tracks effectiveness. It is undeniably beautiful and would have been a terrific closer to the record. Except it is not. There is still an hour to go. Side 2 also has some terrific tracks. Even the most casual fan will recognize 1979 and perhaps Thirty-Three. But there are a couple of gems with Thru The Eyes of Ruby being the noticeable standout. Still lengthy at 7:38 but in my mind a better track than Porcelina. I would bet that initial reviewers would have been exhausted by Disc 1 and not fully appreciated Disc 2. And perhaps I fall in that category. Other excellent moments are We Only Come Out At Night, Where Boys Fear to Tread and Bodies. Overall, if you are a SP superfan, this is a 5 and arguably their second best record (Adore). If you are a rock fan and enjoy the SP excess this is a 4. Where does it stand on the list of 1001 albums you should hear before you die with 5 being abso-fucking-lutely and 1 being I’d rather spend time listening to myself take a shit than listen to this record? Then this is a 3.

Great album cover art. I love The Smashing Pumpkins, but two hours is a stretch. Almost no band can fill that much time without slipping into repetition. “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” and “Tonight, Tonight” are perfect openers that flow beautifully together. The guitars carry the album hard, while the lyrics sit in the background and don’t do much. His vocals start to wear thin after about an hour. If this thing was trimmed down to an hour with tracks like “Tonight, Tonight” and “1979,” it could’ve been a 9 out of 10 or higher. As it stands, solid 8 out of 10.

TL,DR. But congrats on 40 years. Once, I called Billy Corgan on Thanksgiving.

Glad to listen to all of this

I’m breeding a range of super dogs that are trained to sniff out cantaloupe rinds and this is how it gets exposed to the world. They’re not ready for prime time. Honeydew is up next, but Jesus Christ, I’m only one man. Do you know how many border collies I have fed cantaloupe to? Good, and you won’t know. I suppose after you find that breeding a range of super melon dogs, infinite depression is the result. I hate it here. Humble reviewer, smiling politely and anticipating an artistic romp through the dog tracks of the cosmos. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - YES! That weird instrument is here. All I know is that it features heavily in the weirder old jazz stuff. This be a fine intro, yarrrr. Tonight, Tonight - I know this song. Not in the biblical sense of course. I uhh don’t care for it. Sorry. I want more angst. Jellybelly - Oh my word I thought there was an accidental shuffle towards some of my harder stuff. No no, not my harder drugs, but my harder music. We settled back into Regular ol 90’s alt-rock, but I’m enjoying it. Zero - This is genuinely one of my favourite riffs ever. It is like if a wrestling theme song became artistically viable. It captures all the angst and coolness that my 14 year old self would appreciate and distills that energy into a song that can appeal to people who are capable of thinking about more than pro wrestling and their awkward pubescent stage. Here is No Why - This is going to be a long record. Not because it’s bad, but because I’m forcing myself to talk about a bunch of songs that will conceivably be like this. Good little rock tunes, with not much in the way of negativity to espouse. I yearn for the hatred. Bullet With Butterfly Wings - The world is a vampire. A cool one with the big pointy cape. Not the teen style. Old Transylvania style. Deserves every play it’s ever received. How the hell did this crack the mainstream. The 90’s were wild. To Forgive - Is human, to build a series of homemade bombs and make several anonymous threatening phone calls to government facilities, that’s divine. An Ode to No One - the loud tracks remain the best. This starts more meat and/or potatoes than some of the previous scorching tracks, but it gets weird enough. Love - Uhhh speaking of wrestling. This is probably what ECW ripped off for their theme. Then we’ve got 90’s megaphone voice in full force. This is alright. Cupid de Locke - Spacey. Not Kevin Spacey, Jesus come on. Galapagos - Hmm. This song kind of sucks. I was hoping for more tortoise based content. Muzzle - This feels very radio friendly for the time. Sometimes I use that as an insult, but I get more of a nostalgic comfort with this song rather than a corporate vibe. Porcelina Of the Vast Oceans - Porcelain based god who patrols oceans. Good topic. Mid song. Take Me Down - Different vocals?? I want my money back. This is kind of sweet, but guys? We’re an hour into this and we have more than an hour left. Ugh. Where Boys Fear to Tread - The cool riff store? I’m not mad about this record being this long if we keep up this kind of devastating (emotionally) riff style. Bodies - LET THE BODIES HIT THE floor. Oh. It’s not that song. Thirty-Three - The Jesus allegory for the evening. Or it’s not about that at all. Man this is a long album! I feel like we could’ve left this one in a notebook. In the Arms of Sleep - Me too. Being rocked gently into the sweet hereafter. Temporarily. 1979 - A classic for all the times. I’m more partial to the harder hits like “Zero” but this is a quintessential 90’s track. Also! If this song were made today it would be called “2009.” Prepare my mashed food, I’ve got one foot in the grave here. Tales of a Scorched Earth - Basically a Crowbar song title. Nice burst of energy, despite the megaphone cliché. Thru The Eyes of Ruby - Alright. Wrap it up. Time to go. Is that the time? Stumbleine - These guys like weird girl names. Keeping these in the baby name book. Stumbleine and Porcelina. The twins. X.Y.U - YEAH. I yearn for these tracks. Cut a bunch of the fat from this thing and you’ve got a hell of a record. Sludge and aggression is something that these guys really excel at. We Only Come Out at Night - C.H.U.D ANTHEM. Beautiful - GRISELDA. B-B-B-B BOOM. Oh it’s not a Westside Gunn beat. It should be. This turns into a motivational Christmas song. A true low. Lily (My One and Only) - Animal Crossing type beat. By Starlight - American Radiohead. Farewell and Goodnight - As you can tell, I have nothing left to say. If you’re still here, please help me get out of this format. I’ll never be a writer, why do I put myself through this? Got to keep the brain treading the water of short-form content and microplastics for a bit anyway. The feds are at my door. It turns out my collie breeding was not “ethical.” Whatever that means. I’m a “threat to the safety of animals.” Eat shit. You ever see a Collie that eats nothing but primo melon scraps? I have never seen a shinier coat. This thing GLOWS. As I lean my gargantuan frame against the door and await my impending arrest, I look back upon the past two years, err sorry hours of my life. No album should be this long and I’m irritated by the very notion that it was. There is so much filler here. Just put half of these tracks on a super-duper expando deluxe 23 year anniversary triple colour vinyl edition with recordings of the band members’ flatulence on Side F. One for the true freaks. Cut the extra out for normal listeners and we’ve got an excellent record. There are highs on this record that are rarely reached in modern rock music. Zero is one of the greatest mainstream songs of all time, but when you play Citizen Kane in amongst six other movies that are just Jean Claude Van Damme action flicks with audio sync issues, the whole experience loses some of its lustre. I was hoping for more Mellon collie and less infinite sadness. *OPEN UP YOU’RE SURROUNDED* it looks like I’m going to have to shoot my way out, so I leave you with this. Please do not make two hour albums. No matter how good some of your ideas may be. 2.5-3 HIGHLIGHTS: Jellybelly, Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 1979, Tales of a Scorched Earth, X.Y.U

It was fine, a good mix of classic and just absolute bloatness. The last quarter of the second disc felt like a marathon to go through.

I already know I love this one so I’m very exited to listen again today

So long.

Overall, I think it's just an OK album, but there are three or four really good tracks that I could happily play on a regular basis.

I live some of the smashing pumpkins songs but the lead singer’s voice gets on my nerves

I like the first couple of songs a lot, this is a band i’ve wanted to listen to for ages and they’re not disappointing me. Fav track - Galapagos Very good album overall

Great guitar tone and production. A few too many filler tunes but some great songs as well.

Some good, some meh.

I had heard of these guys but I had never listened to anything they recorded. I'm a 60s and 70s guy so I don't know much about the 90s. All I know is this album was a banger. I didn't look forward to listening to an album this long but every song was engaging. A lot of straight-out rockers on this album, even though they do a few other genres. I still like the sixties and seventies better but I've been finding out that they were still making good music in the 90s.

Disk 1 can go away, everyone's already heard most of those tracks either on the radio or movies. Risk 2 is phenomenal, no filler tracks just straight grunge with beautiful musicianship. Just wish 1979 was on Disk 1 and sub it out for Jellybelly, Cupid de Locke, Galapagos or Muzzle. Doesn't matter. Best tracks on Disk 2 are Bodies, Stumbleine and my personal favorite X.Y.U Also don't understand why Beautiful and Lily haven't been sampled yet on a hip hop track. Could totally are J.Dilla(R.I.P) or Alchemist pull it off. 4/5 stars

While I am not really a Smashing Pumpkins fan, even I have to admit this album is epic. The double album is too self indulgent. 30 to 45 minutes could and should have been cut, but it is an album that I have grown to appreciate more and more as I have aged from the young man I was when this album came out to the middle aged man I am now. Billy Corgan's cheese shredder grunts still irk, but the rest of the band's instrumental performances and song arrangements have grown on me over the years. The album is perfectly paced through the first 6-7 tracks on side one of this double album. The back half of the first side is a bit more spotty with in my opinion bright spots of "Love", "Cupid De Locke", and "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans" where the band breaks up their typical grunge with instrumental and songwriting choices that are a bit more exploratory. I enjoyed the fresh change of the Jame Iha sang, "Take Me Down". While, objectively James Iha is a weak vocal performer that occasionally drops in and out of key, he manages to convey a different kind of vulnerability than the kind that Corgan typically evokes.

Is it a little long? Sure, but I quite enjoyed it. I gravitated more towards the calmer moments, but found myself liking each heavier track more than the last. Iconic album for sure.

never really liked this one.

‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ has a great range to it: there are rockers and some beautifl lush melodies.  The only downside is the length and disc two drags a bit.  However, this is a very good album that starts out hot and with some radio staples of the 1990s. Top tracks: “1979,” “Cupid De Locke,” “Galapogos,” “Zero,” “Thirty-Three”

I remember when this box came out, and it was one of the pivotal, must haves of the 90s, one of those albums that you had to have in your Case Logic. Tonight Tonight bangs quite hard, but I'm a sucker for big, energetic, orchestral ballads, and this more than qualifies. Hits sprinkled throughout, special shoutout to "1979" which plays on a loop in my head when I think of mid-90s Emo Rock. Vivid memories of playing GTA IV and searching for this track on Liberty Radio. Something about driving thru Liberty City with the bridge to this song going hard is a core gaming memory. Good stuff. A for sure 4 but at 2+ hours it does drag. If you're good with picking and choosing, you can create a great LP that's a solid 4. As it is, it's a 3 for me.

DISC 1 --Title track...it's melancholy! --Tonight, Tonight...not as good as Silverchair's Emotion Sickness, amirite? I'm kidding (or am I?) --Jellybean...nice 'n' heavy --Zero...same as above. really digging the production. Lame angsty lyrics --Here is No Why...like the guitars --Bullet with Butterfly Wings...lyrics are lame but it rocks --To Forgive...we pull back a bit. Not a great song but a nice change of pace --An Ode to No One...drums and guitar are great at the start. odd middle section. we finish strong --Love...things are starting to blend together and we ain't close to done. I guess this one has a more industrial feel, which is different --Cupid de Locke...we drop the distortion for something more dreamlike. it's nice --Galapogos...Mello Dramma and the Infinite Album --Muzzle...generic rocker --Porcelina of the Vast Oceans...it's over 9 minutes long and the title is stupid. so how is it? not great --Take Me Down...Iha takes a stab at vocals. it starts pleasant then goes a little above his range DISC 2 --Where the Boys Fear To Tread...like the production but not special --Bodies...no thank you --Thirty-Three...song might be a little too sweet for Billy's acidic vocals --In the Arms of Sleep...interesting. sort of a country feel --1979...sounds like a song from a different band, or at least off a different album. whatever, it's a great pop song --Tales of a Scorched Earth...the bass finally arrives! --Thru the Eyes of Ruby...a lesser remix of earlier tracks. and it's almost 8 minutes long --Stumbleine...no thanks --XYU...I like the energy but a pretty boilerplate punk song --We Only Come Out at Night...is Billy a vampire or a cenobite? many are asking --Beautiful...it's interesting but both discs of this album are bloated and whimsical experiments like this don't help --Lily (My One and Only)...it's an attempt but it's a genre of song I don't need or want from Billy --By Starlight...another track Billy doesn't have the voice for --Farewell and Goodnight...yup

It's too long but there is a like a 10 song straight run that is unbelievable. Love it.

Really loved this album, came together as a whole. Was afraid there were too many whiny ballads, but the Smashing Pumpkins can rock hard! A good listen & would repeat.

Ended up having to split this into two days because I didn't have time yesterday to listen to the full album! It was fine, exactly what I expected from Smashing Pumpkins. The sound's not a bad one, but 2+ hours of it did feel like a drag. Some really solid songs on here mixed with some some really unmemorable ones.

it's been a while

This album goes kaboom, like the eyes of a jackal. If it doesn't coil your tongue around a bumblebee mouth, I don't know what will.

Inscrutable

The perfect album from start to finish (but only if you skip “Take Me Down”)

I bought this when it came out, but it's been a long time since I have listened to the whole double album. It is pretty great. Tonight, Tonight, Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979 are obviously the standout songs. I forgot how much I liked Zero. Even though it's a little over 2 hours long, I found it pretty easy to listen to the whole thing. However, it seems like they definitely could have cut this down and had an even better album. Excellent music by an interesting group.

Great album. One of Scott's very favorites. It feels a little long winded but otherwise is lovely.

There is a truly great album buried within the ridiculous 2 hour runtime of Infinite Sadness. I genuinely believe one of the best albums of the 90s is somewhere inside of Corgan's bloated magnum opus.

Standouts Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Tonight, Tonight Zero Bullet With Butterfly Wings Galapagos Muzzle Thirty-Three In the Arms of Sleep 1979

I promise I’ve been through the whole thing before and I swear I tried again. I just couldn’t make it. This is where Corgan and I parted ways. Tbh we’d only previously crossed paths vaguely anyway; I’d put up with Siamese Dream despite a lot of stuff I struggled with because at least there were a fair few proper tunes that kept me engaged. On this however the tunes seemed to have evaporated and everything that bothered me before became the driving force…Relentlessly…For 2 hours! The voice, the production, the tunelessness, the pretentiousness, the seemingly endless supply of self-importance. I refuse to listen to it all again. This review is my last word on the subject forever. And my last words of this review are “the dictionary definition of unchecked ego”

I missed out on this first time around due to my britpop focus, and the mtv overplay. I really enjoyed Siamese Dream and thought this would be different, it's not. But now it doesn't appeal in the way it would have. Still some great songs. 1979 remains a favourite. Glad I listened!

It’s a 3 star double album. It could have been a 4 star single album. Even a 5 star double A side single.

this Put me in Bad Humour

mm

love the start but kinda evolves into something pretty heavy and kinda emo lowkey, not bad by any means but not my fav 5/10

Favourite album

The Pumpkins are terrific musically. The songs are complex and interesting. They rock! Then Billy Corgan opens his mouth.

26/10/2025 I was surprisingly alright with this album. Spotify listeners: 14.2 million

Been a big pumpkins fan for a long time. This album is just a huge and great overall snapshot of them at their best. There is so much music but you never feel bored. Love it

Should be one good record instead of a double. Tonight, Tonight is a fav of mine.

Not sure if this ever needed to be two discs, but there are some bangers on here. "1979" remains one of the greatest songs of the 90s, as Billy Corgan remains one of the greatest douchebags of all-time—"God is empty... just like ME!" Sure. Also in like 2007 James Iha bought my girlfriend a drink at a bar in Chicago and before I could embarrass myself she told me he made a habit of buying everyone he recognized a drink every time he saw them. Joakim Noah was there too. Weird night.

I am screenprinter by trade, in being a screenprinter, I have alot of interesting shirts. One such shirt has a certain moon with certain rocket crashed in it's eye enblazed on the front. The moon is from an imfamous French silent film but that's not how I know of it. I and several others got that shirt because of the music video for Tonight, Tonight. I still wear this shirt, even though it's holey and fading. The Pumpkins really did do well for themselves with this album. I grew up with this band in the City by the Lake, I was the correct age when they were at their height with this album. Zero shirts adorned by many of my classmates. This is their masterpiece-eh Billy's masterpiece. Is it their best? Most definitely their peak.

Very good. Definitely put a lot of work and soul into it. But it is a lot of Billy Corgan

No.

Il y a des morceaux de dingue mais d’autres un peu trop grunge pour moi

It's been a long time since I listened to Mellon Collie all the way through. Listening to it today reminded me of why. It's mostly really good, but so damn long. I love both of their previous albums. This one has a lot of great songs, but in my opinion it could have been better overall if they had pared it down just a bit. I'm not saying make it a single album, just jettison some of the lesser tracks and make the double a bit shorter.

The only time I saw the Pumpkins live was on the Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness tour, that was almost 30 years ago, and I still talk about it as one of my favorite shows I ever attended. When they came out to do one of their three encores with XYU, it was pretty amazing. When they played Silverfuck in the third encore as a 30 minute jam session until the arena turned the floor lights on, it was epic! So yes, I have vivid memories of that show, but when hitting play on the album itself after 30 year of not hearing it, would I enjoy it again. I have followed the Pumpkins over the years, but their albums always seem to be hits and misses with me. I think today, I am more of a fan of Billy Corgan, and his podcast, than of any new Smashing Pumpkins music. Mellon Collie is pretty epic in scope, but is it too long. That always becomes my question when listening to a double album or in this case a triple LP, more recently a four LP set. I just dont want it to feel like you are listening to a long album, where you are checking running times or how many tracks left. Luckily just when this album is starting to drag, it pulls you back in with a gem of a song. So its still a really good album in my book. But today, in the age of collecting vinyl, would I go out and buy the $99 box set of this, or would I even pull this album up on YT Music to listen to it again, not likely. It was fun to revisit, and recall the memories of the one time I saw the full band in their heyday. But I will go back to watching Billy Corgan interview interesting people, and wait for another Pumpkins album to pop up on the list before revisiting their music again.

I wish this album wasn't so goddamn long. This has to be the longest album besides Ella Fitzgerald and 69 love songs. Despite that it's a good album though. Some songs feel a bit pointless and some drag on for too long, but there are a lot of good and great tracks here. The variety is astounding and the some go from quick and grungy to lush and slow seemlessly. There are a lot of stand outs here, too many to mention.

Two hours is a bit long for a feature length film, but with time I enjoyed this beyond the obvious two incredible tracks.

Expected a 2 hour chore. Got a 2 hour work of art

Wow, I did not give this a fair shake the first time I listened years ago. Incredible, 2 hours of just a wide range of rock.

These guys can make some good music, and I will listen to it... for maybe 30-40 minutes. But 2 hours? Come on you're taking the piss. 3.1

Loud!

Lager av gitarrer; what’s not to like

awesome but never ending

"Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins," and Homer responds, "Homer Simpson, smiling politely"

Probably the most nostalgic album of all time for me and one I have been a fan of for 30 years.

Alright yeah, but grungy but some solid songs there

Can't really get behind the singer, and this overstays its welcome by roughly a whole album.

Great

I thought it was pretty good — the variety kept it interesting, and the overall sound really worked for me. It was a little long though.

This album has some great songs. I wish it wasn’t so long.

What a great album. Amazing with fall weather. I could only imagine how it felt to have this much creativity explode from the songwriting process all at once. So many great songs. The only knock I have on this is the length. Two hours long is wild. I'm not even sure if I can say there are specific songs that don't belong on this, but it's just difficult to listen to two hours of the same band in this capacity. Siamese Dream has always been my preferred album by them for this reason.

REAL pity about his ridiculous voice throughout as the whole thing would be vastly improved by something less affected. I liked Zero a lot but cannot cope with the lyrics "intoxicated with the madness, I'm in love with my sadness" and simply have to hope that was tongue-in-cheek. I liked the sweetness of Galapogos, Thirty-Three and Beautiful.

Wow obsessed with the album art. Ah, I see on Spotify I’ve already listened to the extended remastered whatever version and liked a few songs. Let’s see. -- It's fine. I think Smashing Pumpkins are enough of a household name that I think, "Yeah! Lemme check em out!" Then I do but ultimately never revisit their work until I once again wonder why I’ve never given them a shot.

Good album! Lots of classic tracks. And only a bit pretentious (2 hours is a long run time, LOL).

Siamese Dream was a juggernaut, but many critics criticised it as being one-note. Because of that this record is double the length, double the genres, double the ambition. So... double the fun? If all you ever heard were the singles, you could safely say 'Yes'. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" is the culmination of their previous adventures with fuzz, dynamics, and angst - just with the perspective of being the one of the biggest bands in the world. "Tonight, Tonight" is a symphonic gothic love song with possibly the best snare work in all rock music. "1979" is the rare acoustic nostalgia-bait that works - possibly because for all of its longing it doesn't sound a bit like 1979. However, the rest of the album is full of underdeveloped and under-realised ideas. "Zero" and "X.Y.U" sound like Siamese Dream demos, while the lighter sounds found elsewhere on tracks like "We Only Come Out at Night" only really takes off when they fully embrace electronica in their following album Adore. So, maybe not 2x the fun. More like 0.66x.

I flip-flopped on this album because I heard so many tracks off it in the 90s it felt dated. Listen to deep cut tracks felt fresh and still feel relevant. I was never a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan because I thought Billy Corgen’s the voice sounded kind of whiny. The constant radio exposure didn’t help that perception. This album actually is pretty masterfully produced with a mix of rock and ballads. Tonight, Tonight was always overplayed. But then you get songs like an Ode to No One is kicked ass. Cupid De Locke was weird cool. Where Boys and Bodies felt very garage-band. I liked it. 1979 was always a good song, and still is. Favorite surprise track, though, was Thru Eyes of Ruby. Despite my original bias, I suppose we can officially include this album in the pantheon of great ones. 18 year old me may have been wrong after all….

Random thoughts: * If Nirvana’s Nevermind was the grunge shot heard round the world, is Mellon Collie grunge’s magnum opus? * I’m not sure we really needed a double album but you do what the muse tells you to. * would Billy Corgan be revered like Kurt Cobain if he died when he was 27? Maybe. * this album has one of the best 90s rock songs in Zero”. * I listened to this twice passively * lots of solid rocking throughout. The hits stand out: Tonight Tonight, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979, and Zero * someday I’ll revisit and give this a proper listen with headphones and read the lyrics too. I’ll then find out if this album is just about depression or has something deeper to say.

This is a long album. But, there are way too many songs in here that are 4s and 5s. So this album is a 5 for me. Definitely a must listen.

Very nice.

This is Alex Pechlivanos music. The Smashing Pumpkins, Cage the Elephant, and Rage Against the Machine. I liked it! I think “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “Zero” were the highlights. Didn’t realize there was a second disc. Holy moly. But I can officially say I have heard The Smashing Pumpkins and they were, as Wallace says, smashing. The Dad Rock of my generation.

Classic 90s rick

Musically and sonically this album is close to a masterpiece, a demonstration of mastery of various styles that is might impressive. Lyrically however it sometimes soars but too often falls short of the poetry that would make it totally indispensable. Would’ve liked 4.5 option ;-)

I have long ago stopped listening to these songs as singles and only listen to this as a whole album, usually the second one, but I realized while the songs are great, the truly magical thing about this album is how they are arranged. Like he wrote a greatest hits just for a single album and this is the perfect live set list. The high points and low points all seem so expertly interwoven. I could listen to the end of Where boys fear to tread and the beginning of bodies forever just for that anticipation. He really hit a high point with this, and if it makes the people that hate him feel any better I'm pretty sure he resents this album as much as you do. He can't out do this for a million different reasons, and I think there is a part of him that is destroyed by that.

Really enjoyed the album, good mix of songs. Have heard it before but just a classic.

2.75/5

Rating: 4.8 Radio hits are here, deep cuts that are very listenable and addable to playlists are here, the album is long as FUCK but nothing is boring. Wonderful masterpiece of an album from a band who was still throwing a 104 MPH fastball.

Always wanted to give the Smashing Pumpkins a try, you hear their name around and their music places. I wasn’t wowed, but it was good! there was a mix of softer and harder songs, interesting album

Nice but I feel there's a lot of filler

Never been a great fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, in particular due to Billy Corgan's voice, that does it for some songs, but certainly not for two hours long. I quite liked some songs on Siamese Dream, but when this album came out, and I obtained a copy, I could not bear to listen to it all at once. 30 years later, it's all the same and actually, I found it even more tedious. What a pretentious BS. Yes, there are some classics on this album, ('"Tonight, Tonight", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", and "1979") but what of the other 25 songs? In the end I can't tell the difference between one song or the other, with a few exceptions ("Galapogos" or "Stumbleine") but my ears hurt because of Billy Corgan's whining, teenage angst and self importance, meh. 2/5

carino. alcune canzoni bangers, altre non sono molto il mio stile

On the upside, this has ambition and mood. It also made me significantly less insecure about singing because I can't do Billy Corgan's voice. On the downside, the mixing feels off (voice way down mby because it sucks). Doesn’t hit like genres it draws on, punk, mid-west, grunge- no thanks. Feels derivative

Brilliant.

A long and ambitious album but full of rockers and ballads. An icon of alternative music.

This settles Smashing Pumpkins as a singles only band for me.

Just wow

I'm surprised music this bad exists

I mean I already knew I liked Smashing Pumpkins, this is a good album.

I love the slower songs by TSP, Tonight Tonight, 1979, In The Arms Of Sleep. Then, in the same album, they also have songs that sound like a teenagers rebellious phase.

Chiaaaaant

Rule #1: No album ever needs to be over two hours long. Rule #2: If you're a group as talented as Smashing Pumpkins, you're going to have some decent songs on any album you make. Rule #3: NO album EVER needs to be over two hours long!

Definitely my most enjoyable listen of this album, but man I’ve always hated Zero. Sounds so rancid and expired, but a lot of tracks I see myself coming back to. Definitely don’t love it, but it nails the teenage angst that Billy Corgan seems to bask in.

Grunge is not my jam. But it was fine.

One of the greatest double albums of all time

I think that shitty reality show Whale Wars did irreperable damage to Smashing Pumpkins because I cant help but laugh whenever I hear Bullet With Butterfly Wings, it was used for the intro and elicited chuckles from me every time. I appreciate how grand they sound, they've always had that larger than life feeling to their music. There are some gems in here but you have to wade through a ton of garbage inbetween the hits. Why two discs? You just spread yourself thin.

All double albums are 3 stars with a 5 star album buried inside. This one is no different. 2 fucking hours of Corgans nasally whine is too damn much. Someone in the studio needed to tell them No every once in a while.

Ok 2/5

Classic

1 - Beautiful combination of violins and piano 8/10 2 - Classic! Epic yet emotional -9/10 3 - Big contrast WAY heavier - 6.5/10 4 - Built on a amazing riff and the Drive goes crazy with some inspiration of metal - 8/10 5 - Melodic yet energetic - 7/10 6 - Classic, with an epic build up and a generational choras - 8.5/10 7 - Slow approach to the album, dreamy song with an amazing instrumental and good vocals - 8.5/10

1979 and XYU are stand outs. We only come out at night is a fun piece.

Lots of nostalgia. Liked the orchestral elements. Got a bit old after about 5 or 6 songs.

Some bangers. Dude has a very special voice but it works for this type of music. Whiney and emotional and dramatic in the best ways. But when they say 'infinite sadness' they really mean it, way too damn long of an album.

4.5/5

Holy moly. Gotta be up there as one of the best double albums ever. Twists turns riffs and also 1979. 5.0/5.0 Best Song: Tonight Tonight//1979

What can you say really, what a world class album. The man is a genius. I’ve forgotten how good this album is, there is so much emotion in this album. What a 90s this band had. I don’t think I can pick a favourite song, but Zero might be as close to a perfect song as it’s possible to get.

Occupies a weird space in the zeitgeist. They were obviously at the peak of their success at the time but it's hard to trace their handprints beyond this era. Bullet With Butterfly Wings is the only single that demonstrates their penchant for aggression but the album's actually got a surprising heaviness to it. The ballads are interwoven fairly nicely with the harder-rocking tracks. I'm not even dinging the record it for its length, but I don't find much interesting beyond what I list below. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans doesn't have enough going on to justify the 9-minute length, however. Tales of a Scorched Earth wouldn't be out of place on a Deftones record (their debut came out the same year as this.) Highlights: Bodies, An Ode to No One, Muzzle (some cool drumming by Chamberlin at the end), all the singles

If this had been cut from 2hrs to 1 hr it could have been 5 stars. On the first disc you have a 9min song that in no way justifies the length or a place on the album. The self-indulgence really let's this down along with some melodramatic lyrics. It's a shame but you also have a bunch of timeless pieces on this album. I like The Smashing Pumpkins and have seen them live. Originally had this as a 4 but 2hrs is just too much and the 2nd disc is a slog at times. 3/5.

I dodnt get through all of disk 1. Not a big SP fan. Dont hate them, just dont listen to them. And so with this, not a terrible album but not a great one for me. There are aspects i like - thw drummer is great, and aspect i think meh - the sound they have seems quite formulaic in some way. I probably ahould finiah this at some point though. Two stars for a good album, not a terrible album but not a great album.

Sounds like a concept album, but boring.

1 star is harsh but this has zero redeeming qualities. Annoying singers are the worst - Two hours... oh boy - Instrumentals are nice but one of the singers is annoying. - Random metal song. Eclectic I guess - Next song is weird whiny rock - Paused on "Here is No Why" - just couldn't listen anymore - Resumed: It's only worse than I thought! Please take me out of my misery. 1 star is harsh but this has zero redeeming qualities

it was ok. There were some cool guitar bits. does that justify the 2 hour length in my opinion? Not really. Did the lyrics blow me away? Not really. I would listen to some songs again and maybe say 'huh this is cool' in a grocery store. It is worth mentioning that I took a few days break in-between the first disc and second disc, which might have altered my opinion. '1979' was the best track.

Did remind me of Nirvana but much less screaming. I also think 2 hours is too much.

The Smashing Pumpkins sound like Nirvana if Nirvana made interesting, good music. Bonus points for unique song names. 2 hours was way to long, I really struggled to make it through. 2.4 outta 5

1995 Billy's whiny vocals have alway put me off indulging in this band. I can report that it's better than I suspected. The album, not Billy's vocals. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ Quite possibly Anthemic ★★★☆☆ (6.5/10)

I really like the album art. However, I think there’s a reason why most albums aren’t two hours long. It would’ve been grating anyways, but I dropped a star due to the runtime

Better than I was expecting, as I'm not a fan of his Billie's vocal

It's good - I worry the songs in the middle get lost but I can't see a way to repackage it three normal sized albums, I respect the artist's choice to make a big statement. The grunge/ alt rock labels from the time obscures it, I think the harder songs are more like Prog Metal. It's cool!

Love

Banger af, mais Siamese Dream est meilleur pis un album de 2h+ c’est un peu too much

Des bons hits mais quand même plusieurs longueurs selon moi

Not for me

Long

This is way better than I remember it. I LOVED Siamese Dream but could never get into this album. Kind of dug it now. But still think it would have been better as a single album rather than a double.

Overblown and pretentious as hell. Yeah, a couple of quite stunning moments, amid a couple of hours of dross.

No muy interesado

It’s a masterpiece, but it’s also too long. Not necessarily in terms of the number of songs, but in terms of their length. The average tune is like 4:30 something, which seems to me like Billy wasn’t having it with any editing advice. Several of these tunes didn’t need to be so long, but dammit if a vast majority aren’t still really god damn good…

Classic but not really my thing

Generally great, but didn’t need to be 2 hours. Main issue was only knowing 1979 was that every song sounded like 1979. That’s said I will come back to it.

Great weekend listen, would go back. Also cracking album cover

Good listen.

4.5 - Great

Ein episches Doppelalbum voller Emotion und Vielfalt. Von zarten Balladen bis zu aggressivem Grunge – die Smashing Pumpkins zeigen hier ihre ganze Bandbreite. Einige Songs wirken überflüssig, aber das Gesamtwerk bleibt ein Meilenstein der 90er.

Overall a good album. Some real standouts like 1979.

this is quintessential 90s album with some amazing singles. I love tonight tonight, 1979, bullet with butterfly wings and many others. That said, I didnt need a double album, I think this could have been a 5 but was too long

fire

Good

Fairly entertaining though not my favorite style. Best song on here “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”

The gang is rockin’ hard, can’t say I actually liked it but I do appreciate the effort.

Hard to rate this one. It's too long, even though much of it is pretty good. It's weird to say "too much good stuff," but intrinsically that's how it hit me. There are some all time great songs on here, a few that I actively disliked, and a bunch of decent stuff. Maybe the average for the entire 2 hours should pull this down to a 3...but ultimately the good outweighs the bad. I bet the first disc got played about twice as much as the second disc in reality. You know, back when CDs were a thing. 3.7

Мне больше нравится Ava adore. Здесь либо слишком меланхолично, либо трешово, хотя есть оркестр, и звук очень хорош, но не мое

Hot take: as good as the loud rock songs are, i like the slow songs more

It was pretty solid but not my type of rock. I don’t really know why actually. It was maybe a bit too deep tones for me or something?

It's not a bad album but I just can't cause the mix quality is painful, it sounds muddy and dull with lack of depth. feels like my ears are blocked. listened to remastered 2012 but it didn't help. it was probably done deliberately but i can't agree with this decision

Jesus, that was long. I liked the first part of the second album the most but even that dragged with the last few tracks. Bullet With Butterfly Wings and 1979 were great tracks but don't really make up for the other 26 which, although not bad, were pretty whiny and grading to listen to. Usually 3/5s for me are albums I wouldn't mind listening to again but I don't think that's the case with this one. Solid songs, meh album.

Не плохой альбом . Но я воспитан на роке 70-80 . Но все же имеет место быть!

Fantastic album, just wish Billy Corgan could sing

I really like Galapogos, guitar tones used, and of course: 1979 The voice and some lyrics I do find annoying

Feels like a quite maximalist emo-style rock album. It feels ambitious in scope, but the instrumentation manages to deliver the promise. Billy Corgan's voice is weirdly annoying but fits perfectly for (what seems to me like) a self-hating depressing vibe

Good album, enjoyed the listen! 6.8/10

My brother played this album into the GROUND! It feels very nostalgic, reminds me of flipping through his CD book. This album has a great variety. I adore the mix of gritty grunge rock and melodic orchestra. I hadn't listened to this as an adult, so I paid more attention to the lyrics. Will be visiting this one again.

I would like this album better if it were about 45 minutes of its best material.

I can hear that it is a great album but I think I don’t like grunge music that much. I only enjoyed the 1979 song, thats a banger. The rest I could not really get in to. 4/10

I listened to this very early on a Sunday morning while getting ready for a 100 mile bike race - so admittedly, I could have missed some nuance. Overall, a lot of this felt pretty similar with the only notable variation being whether the song had orchestral support or it was just a straight heavy grunge arrangement. Especially on side one. Side two felt a little more dynamic, but not by much. Billy Corgan's voice isn't especially good and, in my experience, it doesn't grow on you over time. Someone will need to explain the underlying concept to me and justify why this needed to be a double album. On the surface, it doesn't make sense to me. As much as I appreciated Siamese Dream when I reviewed that record, I’m leaning the other way on this one. I appreciate artists taking big swings but this didn’t quite make it out of the park.

Look, they're a great band. There are so many hits on here. It feels unnecessarily long, though. Did this really need to be a double album? I feel it would have been a stronger offering overall if they'd cut half of the REM-esque filler tracks. I prefer The Smashing Pumpkins when they go hard and experimental with their guitar work, it offsets Corgan's vocals better. Here, they're often kind of annoying.

Lots of hits but some lower quality stuff as well

Very good, and certainly 5-star pedigree, but it’s just too long, particularly first time round. My attention waned and it became increasingly hard to remember what had happened previously and how much I liked it.

Way too angsty. The lyrics are pure aimed at teenage boys. Which is a bit gay.

2nd best pumpkins album. Could've still been 5 without the double album gayness

Definitely a 5 star album in here. Put 1979 on disc one and you're not far off

Amazing piece of work

Some good stuff but a lot that was unenjoyable to listen to

Grew up with this album. I know many hate Billy Corrigan’s voice but I’m not one of those people. It’s probably 15 minutes too long. Disc 1 has the majority of the great songs. But overall I’m here for the ride and loving it. 4.5/5

5/5 - THIS ALBUM IS JUST BANGER AFTER BANGER!!! quite a few songs were already in playlists but reminded me just HOW good this album is!!! I love love love it!!! Such a good album!!!AAAAHHHH!!!! I would give it more than 5/5 if I could. Just such a flipping good album! Everyone should listen to it.

A musical masterpiece. Did not think Siamese Dream could be topped but here you are. The mix of genres is impressive, and keeps the 2h playing time very interesting. Listened to this on a flight from Paris to Lisbon, which was much longer than I had thought - hadn't brought a book or anything and it was in the early evening so not the best time to sleep. Stuck this on and kept me more than captivated. The first CD was so solid in its own right, I could not imagine where it would go next or how it would keep the same quality up - but somehow the second CD was even more special. Despite its lofty length, I felt the need to listen to it again - at first, I relistened to the last four songs a few times (beautiful ending), and then a couple of days later, while walking around Lisbon, I played the album through at different moments. Was assuming the album would be on this list, and I'd revisit it in a year or so, but it came up about a week later. Didn't want to get back into it straight away, but finally listened again and can undoubtedly confirm it's brilliance. More than 10m copies sold, no.1 album in the US, not bad for the longest album I've listened to. Definitely up there with the best double-albums of all time!

I am choosing to not penalize Billy for releasing a bloated double album instead of an excellent follow up to his masterpiece. I made a 15-song version of this 💿 that I still prefer. Jellybelly, Muzzle, Here Is No Why, Love, Porcelina, Ruby, Where Boys, Bodies, 33, 1979, Tales, beautiful, Lily… kinda insane when you think of the run he was on at this time.

A melhor fase da minha adolescência (1995/1996) junto com as melhores bandas do grunge/hard rock. Esse disco não cansou de tocar em casa!

4/5

X.Y.U gives grungy QOTSA vibes, and great rhythm on a handful of tracks from disc 1. The remaining are forgettable, and even the singles don't deserve the acclaim they receive. Would listen again only if forced.

This will be interesting. I always found high pitched male vocals difficult (there have been few exceptions). Especially if they were also a bit nasal. Billy Corgan was simply not my cup of coffee, even though I liked some of the songs. But in recent years I’ve been challenging myself and those voices aren’t as repulsive anymore. Seeing that the album clocks in at over 2 hours scares me a little bit, but let’s dig in! Ok. There’s a lot to like here. Songwriting is varied. Production is great. But I can’t help feeling it’s a little too long. Apparently dozens of songs that were recorded didn’t make it onto the album. If another few had been excluded, it could’ve been a truly exceptional record. As it is, it’s still good. Funny thing it took me 30 years to realise. 😂 4/5

The only Smashing Pumpkins songs I'd heard prior to today were the hit singles. I never really cared for them, mainly due to Billy Corgan's voice. Musically they seemed fine, but his vocals just got on my nerves. I was not excited to see this album pop up today. I was aware it was a double record, and then saw the run time of 2 hours and just figured I was in for a slog. The first song was pleasant, and then the first of the hit songs that I'd heard and immediately didn't care for. But then came some harder rock songs, and I really got into it. His voice was way more fitting for them than the slow songs, but even then I didn't mind it as much as the album was going along. I was shocked at how much I actually enjoyed all of the different styles. It didn't feel too long and I can say this is one of the more pleasant surprises of the project so far.

I was disappointed when I went to see them a year or so ago (although they co-headlined with Weezer so the toughest of acts to follow) but re-listening to this made me realise why I was excited in the first place. Fucking class album. Homer Simpson, smiling politely.

One of the biggest highlights of this album is the crazy amount of variety present within it. Every song has a distinct “sound” to it, with some close to others. Some songs had my jaw dropping like that one family guy bird listening to free bird, others were soft and tender and made you really think. It’s an album that anyone can listen to and point at a song and say “I really like this one.” This huge amount of variety does come at the cost of bloat. I personally prefer shorter more focused records, and with this LP spanning almost 2 hours, it’s a real commitment for a listener to sit down and go through and digest the whole thing. At least with shorter albums, you can spare to listen a few times to try and understand. Nevertheless, there’s a reason this album is regarded as a classic. Everyone’s heard 1979 at some point in their lives, but other songs have the same or even more emotional impact to them. It’s a real work of art. But art cannot exist without an audience, and this one really demands a lot from its audience with its two hour length. TLDR: Great album with lots of great different sounding songs, but wish it was shorter so i could listen through more often. 4/5

Album is my teenage years loved this album

Zero slap vraiment i don’t like all the screaming la plupart du temps je trouvais ça pas pire, mais le criage… je trippais pas trop là-dessus. et 2h c’est vraiment long quand les chansons se ressemblent pas mal toutes

Admittedly jumped around through this because sorry but I wasn’t going to spend over 2 hours on one album that all kind of sounds the same to me and that sound being the 90s alt thing I never enjoy. And his voice is whiny to me. There is some nice melodic stuff at points though. (1.5 stars)

Musically, this felt a little bit too much like a wall of sound. Although, when I played it on a proper speaker rather than my phone, I did get a better sense of the musicality of it all. But I can really imagine in the right place and time this music would just hit. 'We'll crucify the insincere tonight' is one of many banger lines on the album. 4 stars for making me feel something.

I knew (and loved) the singles. I gave the whole thing a listen for the first time. Bonkers. That's A LOT of music. Weird that I sat this one out. I'll probably go back to it at some point.

This was a real rough. It’s pretty ballsy to start a double album with a meandering piano instrumental that goes nowhere. The singer seems unable to convey emotion or even slightly change, tone or rhythm in a song. It’s very well produced, but ultimately it feels like music without any emotion connected to it. Rough stuff

Little heavy metal in parts but overall good album

Certainly consistent, but I just don't want to listen to two hours of the same thing