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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Audio CD

A fair review of the Smashing Pumpkins "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Smashing Pumpkins reviews here, or go back to the Smashing Pumpkins tabs.

Band: Smashing Pumpkins
Title: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Rating:

Release Date: 1995-10-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 2: Tonight, Tonight 3: Jellybelly 4: Zero 5: Here Is No Why 6: Bullet with Butterfly Wings 7: To Forgive 8: Fuck You (An Ode to No One) 9: Love 10: Cupid de Locke 11: Galapogos 12: Muzzle 13: Porcelina of the Vast Oceans 14: Take Me Down 15: Where the Boys Fear to Tread 16: Bodies 17: Thirty-Three 18: In the Arms of Sleep 19: 1979 20: Tales of a Scorched Earth 21: Thru the Eyes of Ruby 22: Stumbleine 23: X.Y.U. 24: We Only Come out at Night 25: Beautiful 26: Lily (My One and Only) 27: By Starlight 28: Farewell and Goodnight

Unintentionally Humorous
Wait til the valium kicks in. One reviewer here sums up this confusing musical presentation by describing it as an "opus" in one sentence and "unfocused" immediately thereafter. Thank God Amazon has the preview feature. .

A staple of my teenage years
I never listened to Siamese Dream and don't care for it even now, but this was a great album and still sounds better than most junk on the radio today. When I first got into music in the mid 90s this was of my first albums.

Mellon Collie opens with the soft title track and then goes right into the best song on the album, Tonight, Tonight. Other stand outs for me were Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979, Bodies, and the closing song.

There's really a little of everything on this album. Hard rockers, acoustics, different singers, all kinds of sounds and great lyrics that fit the music perfectly.

Brilliant album and the best thing Billy Corgan ever did. If he never made another album after this one, it would have been perfect. .

Good memories
It brings back happy memories of the two of us together about 20 years ago. My 28 year old daughter asked me to buy this CD again and listen.

One of the most overrated of all time
I cannot understand how such a weak album can be sold as a masterpiece! This sound could besatisfying for a teen-ager but a developed listener and music lover should save his money! .

Feeling "Mellon Collie" has never felt so glorious...

"Mellon Collie" is the Smashing Pumpkins' 2-disc opus, a combination of all different types of music that can please almost any palette. Any Smashing Pumpkins fan worth their salt has heard of 1995's "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". Ranging from blistering guitar rock to electronica that verges on techno to soft, sweet piano ballads, this masterpiece features it all. Genius frontman Billy Corgan has an edgy enough voice that lets him sing the poetic, emotional lyrics that he wants you to hear without feeling like you're listening to a mopey, woe-is-me type of record.

Released a year after Kurt Cobain of Nirvana's death, people were relieved and refreshed to hear a new take on the grunge movement without it sounding like a Nirvana copycat. Nirvana's revolutionary grunge sound was one in which many bands coming out around that time were taking on in an effort to either ride the waves of Nirvana's success, or as a tribute to the late Cobain. An unfortunate result of that was some pretty lackluster music and an appearance of straight-out paraphrase. The Smashing Pumpkins had a bit more of that sound in their earlier albums, such as "Siamese Dream" and particularly on "Gish", but "Mellon Collie" broke that mold with a sledgehammer.

Below is a brief description and numerical rating of the tracks on "Mellon Collie". Even the booklets are entertaining. One booklet contains some nice photographs of the band and the other booklet has lots of traditional artwork and the lyrics, which is always a helpful plus, especially since sometimes it is hard to understand what Corgan is singing.

Disc 1: Dawn to Dusk

Track 1: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness--(6)--a hauntingly beautiful instrumental track to start the album out. Don't think this is setting the tone for the whole album, though, because you're about to listen to an electic mixture of musical sound.

Track 2: Tonight, Tonight--(10)--one of their most stunning songs, (and music videos), to date. From the music video, bassist D'arcy actually took home some of the set design, she loved it so much. The song, though, is about hope. Time has changed you, as it changes all of us, but if you just believe, you can make a difference tonight. All is possible tonight.

Track 3: Jellybelly--(6)--one of the harder, more thrashy songs on the album, this is a complete 360 degree turn from "Tonight, Tonight". A song of despair, Corgan is so sick of living that he'd rather just die.

Track 4: Zero--(9)--a fantastic rock song with a great guitar riff. Despite feeling like a complete loser, she makes him feel like he has meaning. Here we get a sense of Corgan's bitterness towards God and the fakes who lord their materialism over everyone.

Track 5: Here is No Why--(7)--a slower tempo of a rock song, Corgan explains the dangers of living in the past, romanticizing the notions of teen dreams. Don't give in to the temptation or you'll be stuck in dreams.

Track 6: Bullet With Butterfly Wings--(9)--You know this great rocker of a song as the "world is a vampire/rat in a cage" song. No matter how angry he gets, nothing will change, his hands are tied, he's stuck in a cage. He's angry at God and he believes that he is not special, not the chosen one, and he cannot be saved.

Track 7: To Forgive--(7)--the slowest song on the record thus far, Corgan recounts how he always felt like there was something missing in his life and managed to push it aside, even as a child, but is now recognizing that he has always been apathetic.

Track 8: F**k You (An Ode to No One)--another thrashy song but less so than "Jellybelly", the song basically lives up to its title. Corgan pushes off any and all love that can be offered to him, and insists on only doing damage to the world around him as it damages him right back.

Track 9: Love--(8)--pulsing guitar feedback and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain's steady beats assist Corgan as he sings about how madness and love go hand in hand. He's going crazy over her but hey, that's love. It's what you thought you wanted, it's what you thought you needed, so deal with the consequences.

Track 10: Cupid de Locke--(6)--angelic-sounding complete with harp chords, Corgan sings about how your world will change upside down with one arrow from Cupid's bow and that we seek out the unseekable and speak the unspeakable in the name of love, faith and compassion.

Track 11: Galapagos--(6)--a tender, soft ballad where Corgan sings about giving himself completely over to another person and hopes that if he accepts the pain and change but still somehow falls from grace, that they won't leave him in the end.

Track 12: Muzzle--(7)--a more mild rock song where Corgan waxes poetic about the girl who got away. He is appreciative of the blessings he has received in his life but he's still broken over the girl from long ago who he dreamed of a world with and now knows the silence of that world.

Track 13: Porcelina of the Vast Oceans--(7)--this song starts off quiet and mild, kicks in with some heavy guitar, and becomes mild again, alternating on and off throughout the song. This resembles the ocean waves that Corgan is describing in this song as being therapeutic for his soul. Strong lyric: "The steam of my misfortunes has given me the power to be afraid. "

Track 14: Take Me Down--(6)--guitarist James Iha takes over for this track in both songwriting and singing this light and tender ballad in praise of his loved one.

Disc 2: Twilight to Starlight

Track 1: Where Boys Fear to Tread--(8)--strong guitar riffs kick off the initial track to the second disc where Corgan sings about two lovers living life on the edge, going far from home, promising each other that they'll never die and living life, just the two of them.

Track 2: Bodies--(8)--another heavily guitar-laden track where love is proven to be suicide and we all feel alone in our pain and hurt from loves gone by but the truth is, we're surrounded by people in just as much pain as we are.

Track 3: Thirty Three--(9)--rumored to be about many different things, from suicide to Jesus Christ, this song is a light piano-driven ballad about a man trying to get home and pondering life and love on his walk. You can make it last forever if you really want to, tomorrow's just an excuse we use.

Track 4: In the Arms of Sleep--(8)--a song you can definitely put on if you need to fall asleep, this is a downtempo track and a touching love song. He'll do anything to keep her here tonight because he needs her a lot more than she needs him. He understands how hard it is to find a someone and he'll do whatever he can to hang on to her.

Track 5: 1979--(10)--a masterpiece in and of itself, this is the quintessential Pumpkins track. It has been used in many films, from "On the Edge" to "Clerks II" and it stands out for its electronic backing track. Corgan gets nostalgic on this track, remembering events from his past and realizing that as important as these events were in the shaping of his person, we'll all just be dust someday anyway and the memories that are so important to us will die right along with us.

Track 6: Tales of a Scorched Earth--(5)--as always, Corgan has some excellent lyrics here but they tend to get lost in the feedback and screaming in this track. Another song about despair and frustration, this would have possibly done better as a ballad.

Track 7: Thru the Eyes of Ruby--(7)--a softer rock song which preaches that love is not always what you see it to be. Despite knowing the truth of how love is lost and gone, he will still see her as forever and beautiful because he still deeply loves her.

Track 8: Stumbleine--(9)--a beautiful ballad complete with disturbing imagery, Corgan references Ruby once again at the end of the song which is about faking it so things and people won't get to you. No one else in the world matters but the two of them.

Track 9: X. Y. U. --(9)--heavy, driving and gritty, Corgan once again paints a picture of a dark world where only he and his love can survive despite the horrors going on around them.

Track 10: We Only Come Out at Night--(8)--invoking the harp once again, this vampiric-in-nature track expresses how Corgan and co. can better reach us through the darkness and pain windows into in our own lives.

Track 11: Beautiful--(8)--a sweeping slow rock track where Corgan expresses his worship and desire for his love.

Track 12: Lily (My One and Only)--(7)--a fun little ditty where Corgan is spying on the object of his affection through her window and singing her praises until the officers take him away. But at least she waved goodbye, (possibly?).

Track 13: By Starlight--(6)--a light fade-in to the song leads to a soft track about Corgan's love for a woman whose eyes he cannot read. Does she feel the same as him? Is she just like him? Will she ever feel and return the love he feels deep within for her?

Track 14: Farewell and Goodnight--(7)--a wonderful title for a closing track, Corgan, Iha and D'arcy all take turns singing over a final peaceful track that could very well be directed to the fans. Thanks for sticking it out with them and for letting them help you through your pain because after all, "it's hard luck when no one understands your love. " Sleep tight now, be at peace and be comforted. The Pumpkins will be there to see you through when no one else understands.

You can see a complete list of all Smashing Pumpkins discography, or go back to the Smashing Pumpkins tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.