Smashing Pumpkins Albums Ranked From Worst To Best: our ranking of Billy Corgan and co’s greatest discs, biggest misses and the challenging work that straddles in-between.
Things have been busy in Pumpkinland. Billy Corgan has been fast at work on two new Smashing Pumpkins albums. Monuments for an Elegy is due for release this Tuesday, followed by the album Day for Night which is due in 2015.
The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most prolific and successful bands of the 90’s, even with the mercurial frontman stirring up hornets nest within his own band , the rock press, and with other artists that he felt (or still feels) in competition against.
Their sound was unapologetically grandiose, standing in stark contrast to the minimalist grunge aesthetic which had permeated pop culture. The Pumpkins embraced their rockstar status, creating multi-layered albums of staggering production and expense.
This paid off handsomely at first, but after the 1995 multi-platinum double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band changed tactics and alienated many casual fans. But the diehards remained, even with the band’s reconstituted lineup, where Corgan is the sole original member.
With that in mind, here’s my ranking of the group’s albums from worst to best. Not in terms of popularity, but how they sound in the 21st century upon reappraisal. Given many of the band’s B-sides are equal to other bands A-list material, we’re including the compilation album Pisces Iscariot, and the The Aeroplane Flies High box-set in the mix. And while the band’s Teargarden for Kaleidyscope project is ongoing, we’re taking the first 2.5 volumes into account.
If you’d like to own any of these on Amazon or iTunes, simply click the album title to preview/buy in the latter, or click the order now button for Amazon. I’ve included deluxe editions where available.
So let’s see where Monuments For An Elegy fits into the band’s greater discography. Wanna go for a ride?
12. Zeitgeist (2007)
The music press and many Pumpkins fans were dubious that the band’s reunion only included Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, even though the duo did record the bulk of the group’s biggest albums. Corgan’s assertion of this fact early in their career, created a growing fissure between guitarist James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky that would eventually crack and lead up to the original breakup.
While the debate of how much Iha and Wretzky musically contributed continues, their absence on Zeitgeist is palpable, with Corgan and Chamberlin recalibrating their approach and trying to find their footing in the sonic landscape of the 21st century. The result is an album with a hermetically sealed production, a shellacked sheen that loses the dynamics and sonic shifts that hallmark their best material.
But it’s not a total loss, Tarantula almost succeeds in conjuring past glories, 7 Shades of Black has an anthemic chorus, and Starz has a killer riff and interplay between the duo. But tracks like United States, Bleeding The Orchid and Pomp and Circumstance never achieve liftoff.
11. Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Volumes I and II + Standalone Songs (2009-2011)
Corgan faced even more criticism for clinging to the name Smashing Pumpkins after sacking Chamberlin. But he soldiered on with a teenage drummer named Mike Byrne and touring guitarist Jeff Schroeder and Nicole Fiorentino. Thus began the Teargarden project; a multi-song Tarot card themed collection of songs that is still ongoing.
The first two volumes show Corgan indulging his psychedelic influences to varying effect. But along the way he realized that his fan base still like a full album to absorb, and much of Teargarden feels disposable by default. Effervescent numbers like Owata and the meandering Astral Plane never quite gel. That said, there are strong moments; the lyrical guitar solo in Song for A Son, the glam crunch of Freak, and the groovy A Stitch In Time are all noticeable standouts.
10. Oceania (2012)
Corgan dived back into the proper album format with Oceania, mostly to winning results. Quasar, Panoptican, and The Chimera were unabashed old-school rockers, while Violet Rays’ electronic languor recalls their Adore era. But there is a meandering quality on lesser tracks like My Love is Winter and Glissandara, preventing the album from total liftoff. But it served its purpose: it felt (or at least sounded) like a group effort, and not a glorified solo album.
9. Monuments to an Elegy (2014)
Monuments is the best thing Corgan has done post-0riginal lineup. While it lacks a grand vision and sonic trickery, it delivers solid concise songs, all of which are catchy, and none of which feel like filler. Even songs that arrive light on their feet, like Being Beige or Anaise! become ear worms eventually. Tracks like Tiberius and One and All satisfy those craving the Pumpkins angst-ridden riffing, while Dorian and Run2Me blend electronics and guitar with new wave charm. The choice of Tommy Lee on drums proves to be salient, as he gives the material a no-frills sense of urgency.
Click here for my full Monuments of an Elegy Review
8. Machina – The Machines of God (2000)
The Everlasting Gaze was somewhat of a trojan horse for Machina: The Machines of God. The heavy song suggested the band were re-embracing guitar rock after the electronic textures of Adore. But in truth, Machina is very much cut from the same cloth. Electronica hangs heavy over the loose concept album about the trappings of fame.
More often than not it works: take in the glorious shoegzaze quality of This Time, the atmospheric Blue Skies Bring Tears, or the gauzy, industrial Heavy Metal Machine. And Stand Inside Your Love still packs an emotional punch. But it turned off many who didn’t enjoy its alienated quality, and decided not to stick around, knowing the band’s breakup was imminent.
7. Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
The sister album to Machina I suffered a stillborn delivery. Virgin Records weren’t willing to indulge Corgan’s double album vision after the commercial failure of Machina I and Adore, thus the album was only pressed into a handful of copies. But it spread to the faithful through internet downloads. Machina II has a sloppy, metallic harshness to it, but it’s filled with notable diamonds in the rough. Let me Give The World To You is a transcendant anthem, Real Love has a diffuse grandeur while Lucky 13, Car Crash Star and White Spyder rock like crazy.
6. The Aeroplane Flies High (1996)
Curating the singles and copious B-sides of Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High became one of the best selling box-sets of the 90’s. The 1979 disc is the best of the bunch: Ugly is an epic Corgan pity-party dirge, and Set The Ray To Jerry is one of their most transcendental moments. Iha’s vocals have a chance to shine on the joyous The Boy and acoustic standout Believe.
The collection of 80’s covers are fun but non-essential (Alice Cooper’s Clones being the exception. Skip James Iha’s butchering of The Cure’s A Night Like This at all costs.) The title track is nihilistic furor incarnate, while The Last Song is a bittersweet triumph featuring a guitar solo by Corgan’s estranged father.
5. Pisces Iscariot (1994)
One of the greatest collection of B-sides ever assembled, Pisces Iscariot features leftovers from Gish and Siamese Dream recording sessions that proved too good to throw away; Soothe lives up to its tittle, Hello Kitty Kat is a glam-shoegaze hybrid, while the dreamy Obscured is a hypnotic beauty. Iha steps up the mic for the country rocker Blew Away, and the band set the controls for the sun on Starla, an ever ascending projectile of sonic bliss that still feels too short even when clocking in at over eleven minutes. And there’s the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide too.
Click here to see where Starla ranks on my list of the 50 Best Alternative B-Sides of All Time
4. Adore (1998)
Ah, Adore. An ironic title given its troubled release. Suffering through the firing of his drummer due to his drug problems, and the loss of his mother, Corgan’s morose naval gazing birthed a collection that straddled the line between goth, electronica and folk. Given no one could match Chamberlin’s muscular performance, the drum machine beats felt appropriate.
Fans largely jumped ship at an album lacking anything close to Bullet for Butterflies Wings or Cherub Rock. Their loss: the Soft Cell dance bite of Pug and Ava Adore showed the band could compete with the rise of trip-hop. The album excels when Corgan indulges his sorrow, such as For Martha, a touching tribute to his mom, and the haunting Shame (written for the late Michael Hutchence). Time has been kind to Adore however, and its recent deluxe reissue makes for a perfect excuse for fans to give it a much-needed reëxamination and appraisal.
3. Gish (1991)
Gish remains one of the highest selling indie albums ever, and gave fans on the ground floor a glimpse into what a glorious noise the band was capable of. Corgan has distanced himself from the album, saying that it was more atmosphere and muscle than song-craft, but its admirers would disagree.
The band utilized dynamics masterfully; songs like Rhinoceros and Siva sound like 5 songs in one, veering from savage riffing and screaming solos to clean passages and a lulled narcotic haze. Window Paine is a sonic orgasm, where dream-pop fuzz gives way to Stranglehold stop-starts. And the hidden track, where Corgan espouses that he’s going crazy, is almost a sly joke on his mad perfectionism. One wonders how much he slaved over a track that was intended as a throwaway.
A key part of the album’s success owes to producer Butch Vig, who had a hand in producing the two biggest bands of the 90’s. Gish and Nirvana’s Nevermind were equally loved by alternative kids everywhere, even if the masterminds behind both had radically different agendas. Vig knew how to cater to (and strengthen) both.
Click here to see where Adore and Gish ranks on my list of underrated Alternative Albums
2. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Making a double album sounds like a mighty endeavor, but given CD’s hold more tracks than vinyl, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness is actually a TRIPLE album. Given that, it’s staggering how consistent its quality remains.
It featured some of the band’s biggest hits, but the smaller moments are worth noting too; the lumbering Jellybelly, the grand Porcelina, the barbwire valentine Love, the hissy-fit x.y.u. and the broken home epic To Forgive, all adds up to one epic sonic tapestry. Working with producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode), allowed the band to indulge all of their whims: Corgan laid his 80’s synth-pop influences bare on 1979, explored their heaviest terrain with Tales of a Scorched Earth, and dozens of sub-genres and terrain in-between. It also features his best lyrical work, something that ebbs and flows in quality much more so with other releases.
Given its length however, there is certainly some filler; it seems doubtful tracks like We Only Come Out At Night, Into The Arms of Sleep, and For Lily (My One and Only) would have made the cut on a single disc. No matter, it’s one of the most notable generational touchstones of the 1990’s.
1. Siamese Dream (1993)
Siamese Dream remains the ultimate crystallization of all the band’s best facets. Producer Butch Vig helped the band capitalize on their work with Gish, with a quantum leap in song craft, guitar tones and sonic wizardy. Cherub Rock is as euphoric a rock song as ever recorded, and Disarm has a sense of heartache that still remains palpably touching 20 years later.
Click here for Siamese Dream Turns 20
The album also explored those song-within-song dynamics that made Gish so powerful, yet added more hooks and melody. Take Soma, which transitions from genteel E-bow to brutal power chord wallops, while Geek USA is a tour de force, with Jimmy Chamberlin’s drum performance egging on the buzz saw guitar frenzy, only stopping for a tranquil bridge before detonating into an atom bomb breakdown.
Vig also perfected the best way to record Corgan’s vocals, beefing them up to such a strong degree, that the nasal yelp that emerged on Mellon Collie was jarring. The singer felt Vig buried his vocals too deep, so one understands why he wanted it more of a focal point in later releases, but it was revealed as a more limited instrument in its naked form.
The ultimate compliment one can give Siamese Dream, is that its bereft of filler. Every tack serves a purpose, and even the near 9 minute rager Silverfuck feels the perfect length. And it’s not just their best effort, but it’s one of the best album of the 90’s and rock music period.
So that’s my ranking of the Smashing Pumpkins discography from worst to best! I invite all Pumpkins fans to comment away with your favorite ranking, and the reason for your choices.
