[DarkAngel]

My respect for Corgan & Co continues to grow after listening to entire catalog. Like most people I had the big two:
-siamese dream
-melon collie
I also had Gish but was not too impressed and sold it. There was a quantum jump in artistic development from gish to the masterpiece that is "siamese dream" and it still remains their pinnacle, it is a great CD.

After the sprawling "melon collie" I gave up on SP and saw that critics hated next two CDs "adore + machina" so I never pursued them further. Thanks to low prices at half.com I picked them up and also "pisces" collection, I struck gold! There are two great CDs here:
-machina (machines of the gods)
-pisces iscariot
Adore is OK but not as good, will appeal to those who like the slower/darker tracks of "melon" with a touch of electronica. Machina is another beast and reminds me somewhat of NIN "fragile" or Stabbing Westward in style, more muscular and bold. I like industrial music so this appealed to me right away,
I really like this latest CD. This is different style vs "siamese" but nearly as good overall, keep an open mind and try it.

"Pisces" is a great collection of "siamese" era b sides and non album material, Corgan is in great form here and I prefer this to either Gish or Adore. Generous 14 tracks including 10 minute shred fest "starla" this is the lost twin of "siamese dream" and shows Pumkins at their most daring creative selves......forget what those idiot critics say, this is great stuff

 

[aeberbach]

the Pumpkins only got better with time but like Radiohead it was never just more of the same. The later albums took a few listens until I loved them, but now "For Martha" (from Adore) is my favorite song on any of their albums. It's strange that Billy doesn't get more recognition for his guitar.

 

[gloco]

Cool, thanks for this thread DA. I'm a huge fan of SP and i love Adore. It's a great album, Daphne Descends and Blank Page are two of the best songs ever released by the band. I dunno, maybe its because i've heard so many live variations of their songs that i've grown to appreciate them even more.

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco Cool, thanks for this thread DA. I'm a huge fan of SP and i love Adore. It's a great album, Daphne Descends and Blank Page are two of the best songs ever released by the band. I dunno, maybe its because i've heard so many live variations of their songs that i've grown to appreciate them even more.

Do you really like "adore" better than "machina" , if you like low key melancholy "adore" is just the ticket I guess.

I was really impressed with "pisces" collection, anyone who likes
"siamese" must get this.

 

[MacDEF]

DA, do you have their Greatest Hits CD? It's worth buying for the 2nd CD of B-sides. There are some killer tracks on it

 

[markl]

You know they broke up (of course "breaking up" is never very permanent in rock 'n roll, is it?).

Ironically, Corgan's new band, I think it's "Swan" or "Zwan" maintains the drummer (and what a drummer he is) from the Pumpkins-- the same guy he once fired for drugs. So really, he only broke up with the second guitarist and the bassist.

I only have the greatest hits CD which is outstanding, but way too scanty for such a good band. Too bad the second disc is all left-overs and not more good album tracks. When the others are re-mastered or come out in hi-rez, I'll definitely be checking those out.

Mark

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel Do you really like "adore" better than "machina" , if you like low key melancholy "adore" is just the ticket I guess. I was really impressed with "pisces" collection, anyone who likes "siamese" must get this.

I definitely enjoyed Adore far more than Machina. Machina starts off good, but by the end it seems to be wandering around aimlessly. Heavy Metal Machine is a great track and a live favorite of mine as well as raindrops+sunshowers. I think you need to hear some live material from their Adore tour to understand why i fell hard for "Adore" immediately after. I know we had a thread about this a while back with Flasken and i suggested that Mellon Collie is the best album they released. Drop me an email if interested in obtaining some live material via blanks & postage (or just click on my www button). I also have some Zwan shows i grabbed a while back (nothing is mp3 sourced).

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF DA, do you have their Greatest Hits CD? It's worth buying for the 2nd CD of B-sides. There are some killer tracks on it

OMG
I didn't realize there was a limited edition greatest hits with 16 track bonus CD! I do want this now although I haven't heard it,
my experience with "pisces" collection leads me to believe there are some great tracks on bonus CD.

 

[MacDEF]

I like the 2nd CD; a couple songs there are among my favorite SP songs

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I, too, prefer Machina... to Adore, but I don't really think that's a fair comparison, they aren't really comparable. I just didn't "get" Adore.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk I, too, prefer Machina... to Adore, but I don't really think that's a fair comparison, they aren't really comparable. I just didn't "get" Adore.

That's a damn shame (no pun intended!), although i do agree that their not really comparable. I still like Adore much more

 

[grinch]

congratulations! you just found out what everybody found out five years ago!

yes, i agree their albums are awesome. and i second macdef's recommendation of the greatest hits album with the b-sides collection. a few songs on there blow me away everytime i think of them.. "soot and stars" and "the aeroplane flies high" are two of my most favorite songs by them. nothing beats "soma" though.

 

[taoster]

so everyone is recommending their greatest hits? even if i have all their previous albums?

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster so everyone is recommending their greatest hits? even if i have all their previous albums?

We are talking about "limited edition" greatest hits with bonus CD, not the regular single CD version. I am going to local Best Buy at lunch to search for this mythical beast, I was unaware it existed until Mac mentioned it..........I WANT IT!

OOOPPPPS! Check of Best Buy website shows they don't carry limited edition version, time for plan B.

Dusty
Good to see there are others who rightly recognize the greatness of "machina" CD, heh heh

 

[taoster]

i see... hmmm ill have to have a look for it too than.
SP kicks ass!