The Smashing Pumpkins - "Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun"

The Smashing Pumpkins are the legendary Alternative Rock/Grunge band fronted by the great Billy Corgan.  And if you know me, you'll know that the Pumpkins mean a LOT to me.  In 1991 they made their debut with their cult classic "Gish" album.  This was a very moody, Psychedelic at times Alternative Rock album that showed just how talented The Smashing Pumpkins were.  The gloomy lyrics, the lovesick bars, Billy Corgan's hypnotic performances, its all on display.  Between big hits like "Rhinoceros" and "I Am One", as well as true deep cuts like "Suffer" and "Crush", this is a fantastic intro.  But with 1994's legendary "Siamese Dream", Smashing Pumpkins became legend.  This album is one of the most important, wonderfully written, impressive Alternative Rock albums of the 90's.  Billy's lyrics throughout are timeless, and the band's playing from start to finish is incredible.  And like, how many #1 singles were even on this album?  "Cherub Rock"?  "Disarm"?  "Today"?  It's ridiculous and just as timeless as ever.  1995, however, showed a huge switch up for the Pumpkins, as their next venture was a colossal double album.  Billy's once thoughtful lyrics about youth and all of its different layers were almost completely replaced with a series of colorful, epic lyrics in a gigantic narrative.  And honestly, it's still a mixed bag after all these years. The singles here are certainly timeless, with tracks like "1979" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" being some of the band's most successful singles of all time.  Not to mention, some of the deep cuts here, from the stunning "Sumbleine" to the gritty "Jellybelly" this album has endless gems.  But at the same time, there is just so much material here, including countless tracks that are well over 7-minutes.  To quote my high school English teacher, "there's enough good material here for one album, not two".  For me, I actually am so much more into 1998's "Adore".  This album is a misunderstood one, with Billy coming off much more emotional and hurt throughout.  There are also some obvious Gothic Rock and Electronic elements throughout, and it's an absolute departure from the sound of Smashing Pumpkins.  But between singles like "Ava Adore" and "Perfect", and brilliant deep cuts like "Appels + Oranjes" and "Tear" are some of the best in the Pumpkins discography.  But this was the real finale of a seriously great string of albums.  Oh boy.  But with 2000's "Machina / The Machines Of God" things get really REALLY bad.  I mean, I actually love tracks like "The Everlasting Gaze"  and "Stand Inside Your Love".  But halfway through the album, the production gets unbearable and Billy's lyrics are absolutely hilariously bad.  And "Machina II" is actually, not really that bad of an album, it actually gets a really bad reputation.  But then, things get really sloppy for The Pumpkins.  We all know what happened next.  The Pumpkins split up very messily.  Billy goes off and does all sorts of weird solo work and average at best side projects, and there's the whole 2007 "reunion" that I still haven't gotten over.  But that's not all 2007 had to offer up for the disappointing side of the Smashing Pumpkins.  No, around this time we got "Zeigeist", the first Pumpkins album in years.  And boys and girls, it's bad.  Not just bad, but probably one of the worst albums I've ever heard.  The mix on this album is laughably bad, and if you thought Billy's lyrics had been getting bad, just wait til you hear him going off on politics and religion for nearly an hour.  It's just not a good album, even if after all these years I still like "Tarantula" and "USA".  Billy took some time off and returned in 2012 with "Oceania", a MUCH better album.  This may not be perfect, but it shows Billy going for a newer, more electronic sound.  The tracks are breezy and emotional, and this entire album just seems so much less full of itself.  It's not perfect, but there's plenty to dig here.  Even 2014's "Monuments To An Elegy" is an intriguing listen.  Sure, this is far from the guitar-driven teen anthems that got them famous.  But Billy seemed to regain some tasteful mysticism here, and the electronic elements in tracks like "Monuments" and "Dorian" made for some actually great tracks.  Well, this is certainly a shocker folks.  Billy, Jimmy Chamberlain, and James Iha are back for the first time in like, 18 years together for what may be the closest thing we get to a "real" Smashing Pumpkins album these days.  And what do you know, the singles leading up this have been really likable. Let's chat!

( A personal favorite of mine!)

This album starts off with “Knights of Malta”, and this is an oddly graceful and genuinely cinematic intro.  Now, honestly, this is a far cry from the anthemic guitar jams of the 90’s.  But this is a very heartfelt, epic ballad that actually comes off really nicely.  The strings are a nice touch, the backing Gospel vocals are shockingly really tasteful, and Billy’s guitar solos are soulful.  Now like I said, this isn’t The Smashing Pumpkinsyou’ve been waiting to hear from for 18 years.  This is a little more mature and all, and actually has Billy sound a little less out of his mind.  I actually think this is a really epic and cinematic intro.  On the other hand, “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)” is much more upbeat, and honestly comes off a little more along the lines of what I expected to hear.  It’s smooth, guitar driven, and has even a little bit of a throwback flair.  It’s moments like this where I wouldn’t be completely shocked to hear if some of these tracks were written around the “Adore” era.  It’s got a nice bass groove, and once again Billy at the very least sounds coherent.  It’s catchy, straightforward, I’m good with this.  Now, “Travels” turns things down a little bit with a much more pensive performance.  And now, this isn’t really a misstep, but it’s times like this where I feel like Billy’s songwriting is catching up to him.  This isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not nearly as decent as some of his early tunes.  Thankfully, some solid production and some really decent backing instrumentals at the very least make this one listenable.  But this doesn’t have that same sort of refreshed feeling.  Now, “Solara” has lessened on me a little bit.  Like, the first time I heard this I was ready to pump some serious iron, hit the treadmill and ready to GO.  And I actually do seriously love the grittiness of this and just how heavy the guitars are.  But I do have to say, these are some of Billy’s cheesiest lyrics of the bunch.  But just how groovy and heavy this track is at times, does help this out a lot.  Plus, it’s just so great to hear Billy and company freak out.

Then we get “Alienation”, and yet another (yes, ANOTHER) slow tune.  I’ll be honest, I was hoping for maybe a few more guitar jams.  Ugh, but this one is certainly a little hard to swallow.  It’s not completely bad, I do like the very cinematic feel to this once again.  But Billy’s lyrics here once again are just so bloated.  Listening to this you can literally hear Billy typing away on his keyboard thinking he’s the deepest dude around.  There’s a good track here somewhere, I even like just how passionate Billy sounds and that guitar solo is fine.  On the contrary, “Marchin’ On” in every single way is where I want to hear Smashing Pumpkins right now.  This is a wild, intense, sonically impressive track that I just wasn’t ready for.  It’s off the rails, it’s upbeat, it’s aggressive, and Billy sounds legitimately angry and for a purpose.  It’s wildly short too, almost too short. But it’s easily the most excited I’ve been here by a long-shot.  Those wailing guitars, breakneck riff, this is heavy man. Now, hearing Billy go for some of these ballads in his older age, like “With Sympathy’, it’s a little hit and miss.  Mostly because he just can’t hit some of these notes like he used to.  But there are some interesting choices here like that flute in the background, and for a slower tune, this isn’t as corny.  Yea, I wish we got more guitar jams like the last track.  But if this is what we’re getting in 2018 from these guys, is this really that bad?  And thankfully, with “Seek and You Shall Destroy” Billy and company actually end this album off in a big and meaty way.  This track has an absolutely heavy riff and an oddly catchy hook.  And yes, it’s cheesy and preachy, and even a little goofy, but sue me it’s catchy.  I would have even liked to hear this one even more off the rails and wild.  But this one is a confident Alt-Metal throwback track with some teeth to it that I really enjoy.  That alone right there is more than I thought I would enjoy on here. 

Rating: 7.6/10

Give A Listen To: “Knights of Malta”, “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”, “Marchin’ On”, "Seek and You Shall Destroy"

Least Favorite Track: “Alienation”

Genre: Alternative Rock

Overall Thoughts:  The Smashing Pumpkins return with 3/4 of their original lineup for the first time since 2000.  This is an album that has so much drama behind it, years of breakups and egos and God knows what else, really.  And the result, isn’t perfect, as a matter of fact, it’s probably just about as rocky as the road TO this album.  But outside of that, this isn’t terrible.  Billy’s lyrics while still misguided and bloated are at least being sung by him passionately, and with James and Jimmy back in the mix, he seems to be a little bit more down to earth.  The instrumentals are often pretty epic as well, even though I personally wouldn’t have minded maybe another Guitar-jam or 2.  But outside of that, hey man, this isn’t bad, I wasn’t expecting to make it through this alive.