Entertainment Weekly Nov 1994
Grade: B+
Smashing Pumpkins apparently feel that even after only two albums, there's nothing wrong with collecting home recordings, studio outtakes, and "songs never meant to come out," as leader Billy Corgan writes in the liner notes. Actually, these 14 leftovers are pretty revealing. Unplugged moments--like a note-for-note remake of Fleetwood Mac's ballad "Landslide"---show Corgan to be a closet wimp. And the electric moments prove alterna-rock is becoming the new psychedelia. either way, what's fascinating is how the Pumpkins can sound both raw and fussily produced at the same time.
For a blatant cash cow, Pisces Iscariot delivers some fine milk.