Smashing Pumpkins
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness—Deluxe Box Set
Virgin Records
With
Mellon Collie and the Infinite
Sadness, the Smashing Pumpkins
pushed the already loose boundaries
of the alt-rock scene and created
the most grandiose album of the
’90s. Coming off the mainstream
success of
Siamese Dream, the band
had built up some artistic capital
and then proceeded to spend every
last ounce of it with a sprawling,
well-orchestrated opus that served
as the Gen Xers’
The Wall. Now,
17 years later, the high point of the
Pumpkin’s career gets the reissue
treatment along with a huge trove of
demos, alternate versions, and even
rare video that paints a crystal-clear
picture of the pinnacle of alt-rock’s
most enigmatic group.
If you expect your fans to buy a box set that does include some previously released
material, the devil is in the details and Corgan delivers. Along with the remastered
original album, there are three full discs of demos, unreleased tracks, and sketches
of tunes. And that’s in addition to a DVD of two classic Pumpkins shows from ’96.
That’s plenty of new material for even the most die-hard Pumpkinhead. For a collection
like this, it almost makes more sense to listen to the albums with the songs
grouped together in alphabetical order, comparing and contrasting different versions
of tunes in an effort to understand and track the band’s musical direction.
The solo acoustic take on “Thru the Eyes of Ruby” is especially beautiful, and when
you compare it to the seven-minute-plus final studio version, the two editions give you
a pretty good glimpse into Corgan’s more prog tendencies. There’s no mistaking that
even though this was a product of the band in name, Corgan was really the one pushing
the group’s creative direction. Creating lush soundscapes with underpinnings of
fuzzed-out guitars and skin-tight grooves was the mantra for the Mellon Collie sessions,
and this collection serves it up for a new generation to lose themselves in.
—Jason Shadrick
Must-hear tracks: “1979 (Sadlands Demo)” and “Jellybelly (Instrumental/Pit Mix 3)