Issue #82: The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Released: July 27th, 1993
Recorded: December 1992 – March 1993
Genre: Alternative
Record Label: Virgin
Duration: 62:17
Producers: Butch Vig, Billy Corgan
[expand title=”Personnel” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″](Regular band members in bold.)
- Billy Corgan – lead vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, Mellotron (track 10), string arrangements, production, mixing
- James Iha – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- D’arcy Wretzky – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
- Mike Mills – piano (track 7)
- Eric Remschneider – string arrangements and cello (tracks 6 and 13)
- David Ragsdale – string arrangements and cello (tracks 6 and 13)
- Butch Vig – production, engineering, mixing, string arrangements
- Jeff Tomei – engineering
- Tim Holbrook – special technical engineering
- Alan Moulder – mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Len Peltier – sleeve art direction
- Steve J. Gerdes – sleeve design
- Melodie McDaniel – sleeve photography [/expand]
[expand title=”Track Listing” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″](Original 1993 Release)
- Cherub Rock
- Quiet
- Today
- Hummer
- Rocket
- Disarm
- Soma
- Geek U.S.A.
- Mayonaise
- Spaceboy
- Silverfuck
- Sweet Sweet
- Luna [/expand]
[expand title=”Singles” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″]
- Cherub Rock – July 13th, 1993
- Today – September 30th, 1993
- Disarm – March 22nd, 1994
- Rocket – 1994 [/expand]
Why Siamese Dream is One of My Favorites
The Smashing Pumpkins were never quite the band that I went crazy on and gathered up all their material in a few months, instead, they were a band that I discovered in chunks and bits over the years. I regret overlooking Siamese Dream for so long, though Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness will always be the Smashing Pumpkins album to me. Mellon Collie was among my first hard rock albums; I actually owned it back when I was in the fifth grade! But it wasn’t until much, much later that I ever paid much attention to Siamese Dream. During the couple of years in college where I was firmly entrenched in rap music, the Pumpkins were one of the few rock bands I revisited during the period, and more than 10 years after its release, I saw a less experimental yet more cohesive vision of the band on their sophomore release.
Like a lot of great albums, Siamese Dream was created amid a period of misery and despair for the band members. Corgan wrestled with depression, Iha and Wretsky struggled with their recent breakup, and Chamberlain battled his long-time heroin addiction. Although Corgan moved the band away from familiar territory to record the album, in order to get away from these problems, it seemed only to intensify them, and it was from these sessions that Corgan gained notoriety for his tyrannical attitude towards the music and other band members. Siamese Dream is a sad, sometimes angry album, but it also contains a lot of beauty, mainly due to Corgan’s ear for detail and his tireless work with producer Butch Vig to perfect each and every sound.
Fans critics alike tend to regard the album as not only the Pumpkins’ most accomplished works but also as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I prefer the grandeur and eccentricity of Mellon Collie, but Siamese Dream certain captures much of what is (was?) amazing about the Smashing Pumpkins. Though it may boil down to “alternative rock,” it’s really a fusion of several types of music set inside of an approachable and familiar alt rock framework. Quiet and languid vocal passages with airy and melodic instrumentation creates a dreamy atmosphere (“Soma,” “Luna,” “Sweet Sweet,” “Disarm”), drawing heavily on shoegaze, likely influenced by Vig’s participation. There’s also a number of straightforward rockers on here too (“Quiet,” “Today”), some with elements of prog-rock like the drone-like buzz in “Rocket” and the sprawling “Silverfuck.”
What I really like about this record is that, depending on my mood, I can turn it into a demanding, thought-provoking listen (Corgan’s ambiguous lyrics help), or I can get lost in the sheer sound of the music and appreciate it on a purely aural level. The album is a little lopsided with the “harder” songs thrown to the front and more emotional and atmospheric tracks dominating the second half (especially with “Silverfuck,” “Sweet Sweet,” and “Luna” all right there in a row) but it’s still a decent listen, and even at about an hour in length, rarely do I feel that anything unnecessary was included.
“Cherub Rock” is a great opener with a killer riff. (Am I the only one who thinks the first few seconds sound almost exactly like the intro of “Can’t Stop” from the Red Hot Chili Peppers?) “Today” is perhaps the most conventional alternative song on the album, and I spent years thinking it was a “happy song” before stumbling across the fact that it’s one big sarcastic, borderline suicidal message. The beautiful guitar part in “Soma” perfectly indicative of the Pumpkins’ dreamy side and the entire song is one of the highlights of their career. “Mayonaise” takes on a grungy slant but moves into more melodic and musically complex territory. The dissonant guitar notes are instantly memorable. “Silverfuck” is easily the climax of the album, with several distinct parts. It starts and ends as one of the Pumpkins’ heavier and angrier tracks yet hits a range of volumes and tempos in between. “Luna” closes Siamese Dream quietly and sweetly, in the manner of a lullaby much like Mellon Collie’s “Farewell and Goodnight.”
Subject matter seems to bounce between the band’s new found status as successful musicians and the current state of popular music, and Corgan’s more personal matters such as a breakup or two. Either way, most of the lyrics are poetic enough to appeal to speak to different people in different ways. Corgan may have had a certain meaning in mind, but they lend themselves well to interpretation. His voice strikes a nice balance between his ability to deliver his signature “grating whine” and his calmer croons. Some of the band’s best melodies are packed away here on Siamese Dreams, and Chamerlain, despite his addiction issues, delivers some amazing drum work. (Not that I think the Smashing Pumpkins don’t have decent drum parts, but I really wish they would’ve utilized Chamberlain’s skills more often and pumped out more complex rhythm sections.)
I can definitely understand why Siamese Dream ranks as many people’s favorite Pumpkins album; maybe I would feel differently had I heard it before Mellon Collie. But whichever may be your favorite, this is still a fantastic body of work and certainly represents the Smashing Pumpkins at the top of their game.
Written by The Cubist
Other albums from The Smashing Pumpkins in this series:
Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums
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