The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
This album is the best-selling album to date of the Smashing Pumpkins, and is widely considered their best work. Many considered that releasing a double album so early in their career was self-indulgent, and the overall quality of the record would suffer. However, Corgan and the band proved the critics wrong, by creating quite possibly the most vital album of the 90s, moving equally well between the angst-filled sound so beloved of Generation X and more sombre, introspective songs. Q magazine readers voted it 29th greatest album of all time, and it stands as a testament to the genius of Corgan and co.
Dawn to Dusk
1. "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" – 2:52
2. "Tonight, Tonight" – 4:14
3. "Jellybelly" – 3:01
4. "Zero" – 2:41
5. "Here Is No Why" – 3:45
6. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" – 4:18
7. "To Forgive" – 4:17
8. "**** You (An Ode To No One)" – 4:51
9. "Love" – 4:21
10. "Cupid de Locke" – 2:50
11. "Galapagos" – 4:47
12. "Muzzle" – 3:44
13. "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" – 9:21
14. "Take Me Down" – 2:52
Seeing as how reviewing the album is a mammoth task, I'll begin with the first disk, Dawn to Dusk. Aptly named, for it contains the lighter songs, although the likes of Zero and An Ode to No One are exceptions.
1. Mellon Collie - An instrumental piece that sums up the Pumpkin's sound, a compulsive, multi-layered yet elegantly simple tune that sets the scene for the rest of the album.
2. Tonight Tonight - The album progresses with quite possibly the best Pumpkin's song ever written; a grandiose and dream-like spectacle both inspiring and triumphant. The complex, multi-faceted chorus contrasts perfectly with Corgan's raspy but compelling vocals.
3. Jellybelly - A more mainstream rock song, downbeat and pessimistic, in contrast to the previous tracks. Simplistic and mundane, it talks about loss and the directionless feeling that you get from change.
4. Zero - Hard, angry and nihilistic, the compulsive and repetitive guitar tells a bleak story of bitter atheism, and feeling far from the divine. Another stand-out track.
5. Here is no Why - A dreamy track with a hard guitar edge, with Corgan's harsh vocals representing perfectly teenage isolation, alienation and boredom. The dry, rasping yet emotional vocals make this track another fantastic one.
6. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - If Zero was an angry nihilistic rant, this track is a raging scream of frustration and powerlessness. Contrasting the darker, subtler verse with the angry, headbanging chorus ("Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage") Bullet is also one of the many Pumpkins songs to draw heavily on religious symbolism.
7. To Forgive - A positively melancholy, depressing tune, quiet and resigned compared to the previous track. The lethargic, regretful melody brings the idea of wasted youth, and covering up the emptiness and regret you feel by putting on a happy face.
8. **** You - An appropriate title, this is one of the more defiant, angry, vitriolic tracks on the album. Hard guitar riffs accompany brilliant drum work, and obscure, psychadelic and forceful lyrics. One of the best tracks on the album.
9. Love - Slightly obscure, not one of the better tracks of the album. Dark and moody, but without any real purpose. Not awful, but mediocre compared to the other tracks.
10. Cupid de Locke - A sweet, sentimental song completely at odds with the usual mood of doom and gloom. It feels as soft and gentle as anything, but Corgan's vocals still manage to sound genuine when it could have seemed fake and artificial. A nice, romantic track and a good change of pace.
11. Galapagos - Cupid signalled an end to the angry Pumpkins tracks, now the album starts to wind down as it nears the end. Galapagos is another masterpiece, a sweeping, wistful epic, both complex and blissfully simple at the same time. Some of the most poingnant lyrics ever penned, the emotional, heart-felt lyrics lend some purpose to the soft but sweet tune.
12. Muzzle - Strikingly similar in many ways to the previous track, except with a more urgent tune. A great track, about fear of mediocrity, but feels overshadowed by the epics Galapagos and Porcelina. The highlight is towards the end, where Corgan's lyrics and vocals match perfectly with the softer guitar at the end.
13. Porcelina - At almost ten minutes long, you might be forgiven for thinking you may lose interest. However, from the initial quiet build up to a hard rock crescendo, to the joyous, floating lyrics, it feels like this track actually does take you far away, to some magical, carefree island. Utterly perfect escapism, and just superb.
14. Take Me Down - The CD finishes with a simple but well-placed finale, with James Iha showing his versatility by delivering a quiet but touching vocal performance, in a sweet-natured, evocative track that is the perfect come-down after the brilliance of Porcelina. Again, it manages to sound sweet without being insincere, which I feel most romantic songs sound like.
Overall, even without the second CD, this would stand as one of the greatest albums ever in my opinion, and I would consider it weaker than Twilight to Starlight. The tracks are varied in sound and well placed, and almost flawless. anybody serious about music should listen and appreciate the musical talent behind this album, whatever music you listen to. It gets an easy 10/10 from me.
Ok, that took a while, so I'll get round to the second CD when I can, as well as some tracks that never made it onto the CD version if I can locate them. Hope you enjoyed reading this.
Originally Posted by Spiff
OR I could to the Aeroplane Flies High. 
