Review: SMASHING PUMPKINS DELUXE REISSUE OF "MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS"

“We only come out at night, we only come out at night, the days are much too bright. I walk alone to find the way…home.” The bumpity bump bump beat in the background reassures you that anything is possible in the world of The Smashing Pumpkins as you listen to the digitally remastered, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” that just released in time for holiday gift giving. As part of EMI’s extensive reissue campaign, you can now enjoy a deluxe reissue of the band’s career-defining 1995 double album. It entered the “The Billboard” Top 200 Albums Chart at #4 and earned the #1 spot on the Independent Albums Chart.

For me, it takes me back to more youthful days that I can hardly remember the exact details but that provide a hazy comfort. That was in the mid-90s during my year or so in Spokane. I had decided that I was going to try something different which led to many long nights out in a strangely and wonderfully desolate urban rural landscape full of decay and hope. The hipster crowd would gather at this 24 hour cafe in a huge loft space. The ceilings were exceptionally high. The couches gave way to more couches and nooks and crannies housed all manner of secret chambers for chess playing marathons and feverish reading and writing of novels. And this cafe had a ridiculously long list of espresso drinks, stuff like “Peppermint Patty’s Revenge,” “The Mad Hatter’s Surprise,” “Peanut Butter and Jelly Epiphany.” Something like that. The list went on and on so you could always have a different drink every time you visited. And music always played, of course. The Cranberries, Belly, Toad The Wet Sproket. And, particularly fitting, The Smashing Pumpkins. A cafe could chug along very nicely with only a Smashing Pumpkins music menu.

People, with no business doing so back then, wore flannel. Others did so out of practicality. Spokane got cold, much colder than Seattle. And, back then, even before grunge took off, my hair was already very long. Birkenstocks and Doc Martens have managed to hang on as part of my wardrobe to this day. I had always planned on getting more piercings and at least one tattoo. Maybe I will. Anything is possible, as I listen to this box set, and its relentlessly offbeat journey, from dreamy soft (“1979”) to crunchy and guttural (“Zero”), and always with Billy Corgan’s, and the whole band’s, distinctive sound. If you want to let your mind fly and get into the mood to do everything or nothing at all, then you need to own this box set and let it play, day or night, at home or on the road, all the way through. “I guess you’d say take the whole day. Do what you please, strumming with the leaves,” as the song, “Autumn Nocturne” suggests.

A question that used to be asked quite a lot was, “Why aren’t there any other bands like The Beatles?” The answer, in fact, is that there have been numerous bands that have followed a similar arc of success. You can switch it around to, “Why are there so many bands that have tried to emulate The Beatles?” And, again, a very long list of wannabes, some more successful than others. It’s nice to know that, with The Smashing Pumpkins, you have a band that clearly follows in the former list with a sound very much their own. Oh yeah, another question that will always be asked, “What kind of music do you like?” The short answer might be, The Smiths. Well, another mainstay you can’t go wrong with, The Smashing Pumpkins, especially since they’re still very much an active band. Check out the new album, “Oceania.”

“Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” is a package of ambient, rocky, hippy dippy, poppy, crunchy goodness, full of hits and dubs and mixes, all arranged to transport you to another world. Get yours here.

Press release follows:

Hollywood, California – October 2, 2012 – THE SMASHING PUMPKINS’ career-defining 1995 double album MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS has earned Diamond certification by the RIAA for sales of 10,000,000 discs and digital equivalent per disc (5 million copies of the double album). This news comes in the midst of EMI Music’s extensive reissue campaign honoring the legacy of the iconic alternative band. It continues December 4 in North America and December 3 internationally with the PUMPKINS’ fourth album MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS receiving the fully remastered treatment for the first time. This follows last year’s acclaimed reissues (*see quotes below) of the band’s groundbreaking first two albums, Gish (1991)and Siamese Dream (1993), as well as this past summer’s Pisces Iscariot (1994), the band’s third album.

Originally released October 24, 1995, MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS would debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 9x platinum by the RIAA. It yielded major hits like “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”–the band’s unlikely first Top 40 hit–the exquisite “1979” and epic “Tonight, Tonight” as well as a thoroughly inspired series of videos. Produced by BILLY CORGAN, Flood and Alan Moulder,the album would also earn a Grammy Award (1996 Best Hard Rock Performance for “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”) as well as seven nominations. Beyond the more obvious hits, though, MELLON COLLIE is a song cycle of unusual depth and considerable range. It is a collection of stunningly beautiful moments when everything lined up–a moment in time that’s still here to be treasured.

MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS is being released in multiple physical and digital configurations, including an expanded 5CD+DVD Deluxe Box Set (also available digitally) and the remastered original album in 4LP Vinyl, 2CD, and digital formats. The Deluxe Box Set’s 5 CDs include 64 bonus tracks of previously unreleased material or alternate versions of MELLON COLLIE era songs, and its DVD features a live show filmed at the Brixton Academy, London (1996) and bonus performances from the German music television show Rockpalast (1996). It all comes housed in a 12 x 12 lift-top box with magnetic closure, reimagined cover art and velvet-lined disc holder. The package includes 2 books containing personal notes, lyrics, new collage artwork, plus a Decoupage kit for creating your own scenes from the MELLON COLLIE universe. The bonus content and special features were curated from the band’s archives by CORGAN, and have been painstakingly remastered for the first time from the original master tapes by Bob Ludwig. *See all track listings below.

“What strikes me now about Mellon Collie is that we were coming off of making Siamese Dream with Butch Vig–which was a very idealized statement,” CORGAN tells writer David Wild in the liner notes. “Siamese Dream was very successful and very much at the forefront of how records are made now with a strong perfectionist streak. Yet coming off of that success, we went completely in the opposite direction working with Flood and Alan Moulder. We headed into a much darker, funkier and more visceral terrain. Revisiting Mellon Collie for this edition, that’s what struck me–that we made this kind of dramatic ‘about face”’ at a time when most people would have made an even more expensive idealized statement. We went deep, and we went for something expansive sounding–not just expensive sounding.”

The decision to work with the respected British producer and audio engineer Flood—AKA Mark Ellis–and his longtime collaborator Alan Moulder–was a significant one for THE PUMPKINS. The group had admired Flood’s work with artists from U2 to Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode. “I loved Butch Vig very much then, and I still do,” CORGAN explains. “The decision to switch things up was based on the sense that there was some whole other thing that could be gotten to by us, but that a more radical approach was going to be necessary to get to it. We knew we wanted to continue our evolving consciousness, but we were not quite sure how to do it.”

With the full support and guidance from THE SMASHING PUMPKINS–who’ve created one of the most acclaimed bodies of work in musical history, selling over 30 million albums–EMI’s global catalog reissue campaign will last through 2013; it will encompass all the band’s albums and B-sides from 1991-2000, with other release dates to be announced. The pivotal group’s many hits defined the alternative music era and continue to resonate on modern rock radio, influencing a whole new generation.

As THE SMASHING PUMPKINS get the fully remastered treatment via these reissues, the band is excited to be moving forward by creating new music. Released June 19, 2012, the acclaimed album OCEANIA (Martha’s Music/EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution) was created by the band—singer/guitarist BILLY CORGAN, guitarist JEFF SCHROEDER, drummer MIKE BYRNE andbassist NICOLE FIORENTINO–at Corgan’s private studio in Chicago as a true album experience for listeners to fully immerse themselves in. The powerful 13-song collection was produced by Corgan and Bjorn Thorsrud and mixed by David Bottrill. Itentered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at #4 and earned the #1 spot on the Independent Albums Chart. Marking THE SMASHING PUMPKINS’ 7^thstudio record, it is “an album within an album,” part of their 44-song work-in-progress TEARGARDEN BY KALEIDYSCOPE. The band is touring worldwide in 2012, with a North American arena tour this fall.

MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS

DELUXE BOX SET:

– 5CD +DVD

– Physical Tracks: 106, Digital Tracks: 92

– Original album remastered for the first time

– 64 bonus tracks of previously unreleased material or alternate versions of Mellon Collie era songs

– DVD featuring live show filmed at the Brixton Academy, London (1996) and bonus performances from Rockpalast (1996)

– Housed in a 12 x 12 lift-top box with magnetic closure, reimagined cover art and velvet-lined disc holder

– 2 books containing personal notes, lyrics, new collage artwork plus a Decoupage kit for creating your own scenes from the Mellon Collie universe.

VINYL

– 4LP (180gram), Original album remastered for first time, 28 tracks

– Remastered vinyl features the original record spread out over 8 sides (4 LPS) for the first time to ensure the optimum sound

– MCIS never before released on vinyl in the US (original vinyl previously released in the UK)

– Housed in 12×12 rigid slipcase with 2 books containing personal notes, new collage artwork, lyrics and more.

2CD

– Original double album remastered for the first time

– Physical and Digital Tracks: 28

TRACKLISTS

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Dawn To Dusk (CD1)

Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
Tonight, Tonight
Jellybelly
Zero
Here Is No Why
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
To Forgive
An Ode To No One
Love
Cupid De Locke
Galapogos
Muzzle
Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans
Take Me Down

Twilight To Starlight (CD2)

Where Boys Fear To Tread
Bodies
Thirty-Three
In The Arms Of Sleep
1979
Tales Of A Scorched Earth
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby
Stumbleine
X.Y.U.
We Only Come Out At Night
Beautiful
Lily (My One And Only)
By Starlight
Farewell And Goodnight

Morning Tea (CD3)

Tonight, Tonight (Strings Alone mix)
Methusela (Sadlands demo)
X.Y.U. (Take 11)
Zero (Synth mix)
Feelium (Sadlands demo)
Autumn Nocturne (Sadlands demo)
Beautiful (Loop version)
Ugly (Sadlands demo)
Ascending Guitars (Sadlands demo)
By Starlight (Flood rough)
Medellia Of The Gray Skies (Take 1)
Lover (Arrangement 1 demo)
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby (Take 7)
In The Arms Of Sleep (Early Live demo)
Lily (My One And Only) (Sadlands demo)
1979 (Sadlands demo)
Glamey Glamey (Sadlands demo)
Meladori Magpie
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (Home Piano version)
Galapagos (Instrumental/Sadlands demo)
To Forgive (Sadlands demo)

High Tea (CD4)

Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Sadlands demo)
Set The Ray To Jerry (Vocal Rough)
Thirty-Three (Sadlands demo)
Cupid De Locke (BT 2012 mix)
Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans (Live Studio rough)
Jellybelly (Instrumental/Pit mix 3)
The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)
Jupiter’s Lament (Barbershop version)
Bagpipes Drone (Sadlands demo)
Tonight, Tonight (Band Version Only, No Strings)
Knuckles (Studio outtake)
Pennies
Here Is No Why (Pumpkinland demo)
Blast (Fuzz version)
Towers Of Rabble (Live)
Rotten Apples
Fun Time (Sadlands demo)
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby (Acoustic version)
Chinoise (Sadlands demo)
Speed

Special Tea (CD 5)

Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (Nighttime version 1)
Galapagos (Sadlands demo)
Cherry (BT 2012 mix)
Love (Flood rough)
New Waver (Sadlands demo)
Fuck You (an ode to no one) (Production Master rough)
Isolation (BT 2012 mix)
Transformer (Early mix)
Dizzle (Sadlands demo)
Goodnight (Basic Vocal rough)
Eye (Soundworks demo)
Blank (Sadlands demo)
Beautiful (Instrumental-Middle 8)
My Blue Heaven (BT 2012 mix)
One And Two
Zoom (7 ips)
Pastichio Medley (Reversed extras)
Marquis In Spades (BT 2012 mix)
Tales Of A Scorched Earth (Guitar Overdub mix)
Tonite Reprise (Version 1)
Wishing You Were Real (Home demo)
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby (Pit mix 3)
Phang (Sadlands demo)

DVD

Live at Brixton academy, London, 5/15/96

1. Tonight, Tonight

2. 1979

3. Zero

4. Here Is No Why

5. Thru the Eyes of Ruby

6. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans

7. Jellybelly

8. Silverfuck

9. Disarm

10. Bullet with Butterfly Wings

Live at Rockpalast, 4/7/96

11. Fuck You (An Ode To No One)

12. Muzzle

13. Cherub Rock

14. X.Y.U.

SELECT CRITICAL QUOTES ABOUT THE SMASHING PUMPKINS REISSUES:

“Billy Corgan brought an auteur’s sensibility to Nineties alternative rock: he didn’t smash guitars, he stroked them into ecstatic swells of heaviosity as he cooed composition-book poetry. With 1993’s Siamese Dream–which, like the band’s debut, Gish, had been beautifully remastered and loaded with extras, including a hometown show on DVD–Corgan built a monument to art rock and OCD. His dizzy, acid-softened side lent songs like ‘Hummer’ their poignancy–and animates the best bonus material (12/8/11).”

— Nick Catucci, ROLLING STONE, December 8, 2011 (re Gish and Siamese Dream)
“The remastered albums still sound potent – a testament to the rigorous attention to detail that Corgan and producer Butch Vig brought to the original sessions…Gish remains among the more sensual hard-rock albums of the decade…His voice rides the curve of the guitars, the arrangements swerving rather than stomping in typical hard-rock fashion, yielding surprises with each turn. For all its sensitivity to flow, the group could crush your skull when you least expected it, going from near-silence to a thunderclap. The ebb-and-surge dynamics in a track such as “Siva” still impress, as if Corgan were trying to compress a side-long suite by his beloved Rush into four minutes.”

— Greg Kot, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, November 27, 2011 (re Gish and Siamese Dream)

“If Corgan felt any constraints to make an accessible product with his orphaned tracks fifteen years ago, those shackles are clearly gone now. We’re deep in it now. A dyed-in-wool fan of any band will always tell you that the quality of their band’s unreleased material rivals that of their released material. This is something Smashing Pumpkins fans have been boasting all along. Pisces Iscariot (Deluxe Edition) does not change this argument for them, it just reaffirms it. With two CDs. And a DVD. And a cassette. Don’t worry old school Pumpkins fans, you will have a lifetime of listening material. And your favorite band still has an impressive display of unreleased shit. Now go have fun. Get lost in it.”

— John Garratt, POPMATTERS.COM, August 1, 2012 (re Pisces Iscariot)

About THE SMASHING PUMPKINS:

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS have created one of the most acclaimed bodies of work in musical history having sold more than 30 million albums, and won multiple Grammy Awards in the process. Formed in Chicago in 1988, they released Gish, their influential and platinum debut in 1991, which was followed by albums including the nine-time platinum Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and the four-time platinum Siamese Dream, as well as the platinum certified 1998 album Adore. The pivotal group’s many hits defined the alternative music era and continue to resonate on modern rock radio, influencing a whole new generation. The PUMPKINS returned in 2007 with their acclaimed sixth album Zeitgeist. They have since remained on the cutting edge of music and technology with various online releases. In June 2012, the band released the album OCEANIA, via Martha’s Music/EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution. Marking THE SMASHING PUMPKINS’ 7^thstudio record, it is “an album within an album,” part of their 44-song work-in-progress TEARGARDEN BY KALEIDYSCOPE.