The Smashing Pumpkins-The end of an era (Smashing Pumpkins in general)

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Product:	Smashing Pumpkins in general
Date:	10/06/01 (119 review reads)
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Advantages: They are one of the most influential bands ever, they have reached peoplle in a profound way, their music will never be outdated

Disadvantages: Not for easy listening

As you all should know, this great band disbanded in 2001 after finishing their Machina/the machines of god support tour, "the sacred and profane tour". The band had a 14 year journey alltold, from the day they formed in 1987 to the day the band died (not literally of course). Lets take a look at their life span and the ups and downs they experienced throughout...

Before Billy Corgan formed the Smashing Pumpkins he had been using his musical talents elsewhere in another band know as "The Marked", the name describing the disfigurating scars that Billy and their drummer had. Billy himself admitted that the band was far from good with regads to the singing, playing and image but that the idea that the Smashing Pumpkins was hatched on was there, the heart and pain. They released a demo tape, but where quickly forgotten with time...

Billy returned to his Father's Chicago home and subsequently met James Iha, who was to be the Smashing Pumpkins lead guitarist. They played their first gig, as a two peice with a drum-machine, under the name Smashing Pumpkins in a Polish bar in Chicago. The owner of the bar suggested getting a real drummer, and later the band were blessed with the drumming skills of Jimmy Chamberline, who is now regarded as one of the best.

How the band met D'arcy is strange to say the least! Billy was walking down the street in his town and bumped into D'arcy, billy used a few choice words with her and moved on. Then, she decided to join his band!

Now, the band had a full line-up. Singer/rhythm guitarist, bassist, lead guitarist and a drummer. They where ready to get noticed.

When the time came, and they finally got their record deal, the band released their first album "Gish", which was named after the silent movie star, "Lillien Gish". The art work on the album cover was produced by D'arcy and the Sacred Heart picture on the back of the album i
s remeniscent of the time Billy spent away from the world and how he met a woman who changed his life. She gave Billy the sacred heart necklace you see him wear on the inside of the album cover.

The album itself won the best debut album of the year award. A great honour for bands starting out, they got recognition for their efforts.

Billy was experimenting with drugs at this point, and it is rumoured that he was doing it even during the writing of "Gish". This did not help the bands image. James and D'arcy were an item at this point, which was causeing difficulties in the band. Strangly enough, Jimmy was the only member pulling his weight and behaving himself!

The time came for the writing of their second album, "Siamese Dream". This was set to be the worst experience that the band had ever suffured.

Billy was fed up with the bands deterioration and decided to write the album himself, if it came to that. He told James and D'arcy to get it together and to stop letting their personal lives interfere with the band. At this time, Jimmy had begun to develope his own taste for drugs, which was taking its toll.

Billy played most of the album himself, as he feared may happen, and his suicidal tendacies where getting the better of him. The band pulled together to help him, and eventually, after a long haul, they were back on track.

The completion of the album had been a breakthrough for that band as a whole and as individuals. They all had demons to fight at that time.

The album done incredibly well all over the world and the bands fame was more than anyone would ever have imagined. The new look of the band, compared to their first album, was un-believable. Billy's short cropped hair, a smile on his face and now free from drugs state inspired most of the new bands at that time to follow suit.

With the completion of the album "Mellon Collie and the Infini
te Sadness", the band had three tragic losses. The first was when the band were on tour to support their new album, Jimmy and the bands keyboardist, Johnny Melvoin, had both overdosed. Luckily, Jimmy survived, but things did not seem so lucky for Johnny. He died in hospital that night. This led to the inevitable sacking of Jimmy from the band. Two losses were then topped by the death of an Irish girl, Bernadatte, after being crushed to death at the bands Dublin concert. The band cancled the rest of the tour. The album, however, went triple platinum.

Two years passed and the band finally emerged again to rebuild their destroyed reputation. Billy did not do a very good job though: "Rock is dead". This proclaimation from the bands frontman threw fans into a frenzy of disbeliefe and anger. Then, to make things worse, the band relaesed their heavily under-rated album, "Adore". Synth drenched and with very little guitar playing, this album was definatly unique and would never be outdated or categorized, but the fans did not appreciate this at all.

During the tour of "Adore", the band returned to Dublin, with mixed feelings. In one hand, it was an insult not to return to where the tragic death of Bernadette occured, it would be as if the band wanted to forget about it. However, the band's return may have stirred some unwanted memories...it didn't, the band where respected for their return and this gave them the motivation to continue. Billy sacked his own record bosses and went back to his independant roots.

"Machina/the machines of God" seemed to contradict what Billy said about how rock was dead. The album had some really heavy songs to whet the appitites of the most die-hard fan. It was, sadly, the Smashing Pumpkins last studio album.

Finally, in order to take one last stand against the record companies, Billy released "Machina2/the friends and enemies of mod
ern music" on the internet, to be downloaded free of charge! Very generous! It contained out-takes from machina and various other, previously unreleased, songs. And to say one last farewell to the Smashing Pumpkin's loyal fans, they released "Untitled" on the internet for free which contained an interview about the song and why the band have separated...

Well, thats the basic history of the Smashing Pumpkins. Now I can talk about their music as a whole.

Smashing Pumpkins music is without a doubt the most origional and heart filled music of the ninties. I love all of their albums, they have helped me through some tough times. Their songs are all inter-twined in some way, a way that has been explained in the internet based stories, which all come under the title: "Glass and the machines of God". These stories explain the bands life and music and how they have had one main purpose from day one. The stories are written in ryhme and riddle, as they like to do, but they do shed a lot of light on their music.

Most of their heavier songs have been inspired by Black Sabbath, or in the case of "Zero", Metallica. The band resemble Radiohead in their more mellow moments, but take a completly differnt approach when it comes to lyrics and arrangments. Its not unusual for the Smashing Pumpkins to cover another bands songs, but its really the lyrics that they appreciate, not just a cool tune.

The Smashing Pumpkins have been categorized as alternative rock. Along with the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Janes Addiction etc. Most of which origionated around the same time period. There has also been an Indie lable stuck to their music, which just means that they didn't have a commercial record deal.

My favourite Smashing Pumpkins album is Siamese Dream, their second record. Most people would say that Mellon Collie was their best, it did sell better! Although the band have never been r
egarded as "the best", they certainly win that description in my book. They have the most heart in their music, the don't fear rejection from the public. The embrace that. They use that as a basis to make their music better.

The band would not appeal to heavy metal fans who just want to head-bang! If you are a person who enjoys music you can dance to, this band is not for you. If you are finding life hard, and just want to relax a little, this may be the band for you. It is an escape.

Try not to put this band down because of one or two songs you have heard that you thought were awful, the band has some really good chart-toppers, but thats not what the Smashing Pumpkins are about. They aren't here to sell, sell, sell. Thay are trying to give a message, a message that you may not understand from the bands point of view but try to see it through your own life experiences. They reach a depth that no other band has ever reached.

Now, they are split up. It's sad to see that happen to a great band, it's almost like your best friend has moved to the other side of the world and you know you will never see them again. But, their albums are still here, their music lives on, and always will.

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