Revenge of Pumpkinhead (Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins)

Member Name: Pulsebeat

Product:	Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
Date:	30/11/01 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good despite the numerous indicators that it should be rubbish

Disadvantages: artwork, album title, the clothes the band are wearing on the inlay card, , a little bit of filler

Somehow this album manages to be good. Great even. All of its component parts point towards the fact that it should be cack....I mean, let's start with the title 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadeness'....what the hell does that mean? Surely one of the most pompous, non-ironic, terrible album titles of all time. Next there is the artwork. Absolutely perfect for an album entitled 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadeness'. Pseudo-Victorian, opium induced, psychedelic visions. How amazingly intelligent and arty Billy, well done. Last, but not least, there's the fact that it's a double album and everyone knows that bar a few exceptions, that double-albums are not very good at all. It all screams 'PROG ROCK!!!!!!' at you very loudly, and everyone knows, bar no exceptions, that prog-rock isn't very good. However, against all the odds, the Smashing Pumpkins came up with a true gem, something to savour, a work of near-genius.

When 'Mellon Collie' was released in 1995, grunge's star was falling. Kurt Cobain was dead, there were numerous bands hopping on the grunge bandwaggon, and American rock smelt stale. Britain was enjoying a musical renaissance, with Britpop....the kids were wearing Adiddas, pretending to be barra-boys and the music pedalled by the likes of Blur, Pulp and Supergrass was upbeat and firmly, rooted in the English tradition of the Kinks, Beatles, Madness and the like. Yet out of America comes Billy Corgan with his overblown prog/metal/grunge and everyone falls head over heels for it, including the critics. How? It can only come down to the quality of the songs.

'Mellon Collie...' was purported to be a two disc set, one of which was acoustic and the other of which would be much heavier. It transpired that this wasn't the case, but the songs inevitably can be split into these two camps. The albums kicks off somewhat curiously, with a melodic, lush piano instrumental, but it set
s the baroque tone for the album. Next comes the hugely popular 'Tonight, Tonight' an immensely orchestrated anthem in every respect...it is a great song, and has become one of the Smashing Pumpkins' most famous (perhaps due to its flamboyant video that reflects the art-work) yet it is by no means the best track on the album, and it is also one of the few songs that it neither a ballad, nor an all-out metal assault.

Brilliant songs fill this album up to the brim. The furious 'Zero', with its great harmonised guitar solo; the wistful acoustic beauty of 'Stumbeline'; the riffing juggernaut of 'Where Boys Fear to Tread'; the very, very, very heavy 'XYU'....there are, too many to mention. Obvious songs (and singles) that cannot be ignored are 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' that sticks most closely to grunge's quiet/loud formula. It is a great song, filled with angst typical of the period shown in lines such as 'Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage'. Its a bit cliched sixth form poetry, but it's a great deal more articulate than the commercialised emotional scars being pedalled by the nu-metal brigade.

The two highlights of this album are '1979' and 'Bodies'. '1979' is an amazingly good-feeling, summery pop-song. It sound a little like the Cure in a good mood. A simple yet classic guitar hook, makes you hark back to all those summers you spent with your friends outside, getting drunk, chatting, having fun through idyllic psychedelic shades that surely must be like the ones that John Lennon used to wear (forget about the reality of arguing over the last can of Hoffmeister lager in a freezing cold park....those times were perfect, not like now, oh no, not like now...not like...). It is a stone-cold classic and easily one of the best American-rock singles of the 1990s.

'Bodies', on the other hand is a 'chugger'. Based around ab
out three chords, but pulling every last drop of melody out of them, Billy Corgan manages to make the song anthemic, uplifting and yet somewhat depressing at the same time. 'Love is suicide' sounds like something that a Manics-loving student would write on their rucksack, but in the context of the song, it seems to transcend this and it turns into something much more.

One of the best, and most obvious aspects of 'Mellon Collie...' is its production. This may be the best sounding record that I own. Its amazing, that after spending so much time on basic song writing and recrding, that these songs have then been raised to the next level by the production. Put it on a good stereo and you will be blown away. It is clean, yet dirty, shiny and amour-plated, yet not with a commercial sheen. All credit due to Flood and Brian Eno who contributed.

Ultimately, 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadeness' falls a little short of being a stone cold classic up there with 'Nevermind', and 'It'll Take a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back', 'OK Computer' etc. because not only is a demanding listen, but it also lacks a little in the 'soul' department. Billy Corgan, seems more concerned with his arty image than anything else and lacks the true vitriol of the greats. Its by no means a shallow, empty album, but it is nowhere near as deep and profound as it thinks it is. The fact that Billy played most of the instruments on the album himself (except for the drums, played amazingly by Jimmy Chamberlin) shows that it acts as a bit of an ego-vehicle for him. You also cannot forget that this still is a double album and any album featuring over twenty songs is bound to have a bit of superflous fluff on it as well, such as the overblown 'Porcelina' etc. 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadeness' was the band's last great stand. Subsequent albums 'Adore' and 'Machina/ Machines of God' ha
d their moments but were also unbearably pretentious and veered too near Sleepy Hollow meets Pink Floyd bombast. They couls have gone out with a bang, but they didn't. Still, this serves as a timely reminder of how good a power-crazed, rock band at the height of their creativity can be.

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