Alternative Press
Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness Review
Thanks to Eve Stahlberger for the article
In many interviews promoting Siamese Dream, Smashing Pump King Billy Corgan waved his open palms by his ears, stuck his tongue out and taunted all the rock critics, vowing that if hated that record, they were going to have a hemmorage over the next one.
Indeed there are all sorts of clues to the bombastic nature of this record; the sub-60's mystical bullshit title, the disks divided Dawn to Dusk and Twilight to Starlight themes (probably because Use Your Illusion parts one and two were taken) and the fact that its a double disk set alone, in this day of economic turmoil (are you going to buy groceries or drop for some sadness?) All of this stuff has nothing to do with what the disk sounds like but it is a damn fine set up for the point fall.
Mellon Collie borrows all sorts of dusty prog rock cliches from keyboard overtures, 70's rock references, indie-rock noise making, and oh so heartfelt lyrical balladry. The success of the meal depends on what you come to the table for. I think the Pumpkins insurance against total dismissal is drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. On those moments when Corgan and guitarist James Iha are traipsing through their old ELO records, it's always been up to drummer Chamberlain and bassist D'arcy to keep an edge. (Silverfuck is the only reason I still own a copy of dream.)
Yet there are also moments reserved for arena anthems, closed door bedroom ambiance , modern rock guitar fodder and some aural fire bombing. Grab a plate and pick around. "FUck You" (AN Ode to No One) features the band bearing down with increasing urgency. Of course the ting that blows it is the lyric-coil my tongue around her bumblebee mouth. I am sure that it sounded good after the eighth tequila or after listening to an ABC album. Zero sounds like the Pumpkins have been hanging around at Girls Against Boys shows. Love is a hissy distorted mid-tempo affair with a primitive demo feel, that adds a new dimension to Corgan's alternating sneer and whine. Cupid De Locke is a collision of mid 60's am radio pop and poet sightings. Galapagos is an acoustic based whimsy that would sound good on the radio right after noted has ben Christopher Cross's sailing. The nine minute plus Porcelina of the Vast Oceans is frustrating because it is made of several sections not all of them good. Iha's power riffing alternates with hippie psychdelia.
The road of twilight to Starlight gets better mileage with fewer diversions.Where Boys Fear to tread begins with practice room scrapes and a nod to Black Sabbath as elemnental electronics struggle out of the mix. Bodies is not a Sex Pistols song, but another tempered rocker that will sound better in the prescense of a huge PA system, especially when the Love is Suicide lament kicks in. Thirty Three is another piece of sincerity slumbering on a bed of unwanted Stevie Nicks albums. It certainly is a Mellon Collie a true dog.