Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll
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Smashing Pumpkins music is distinguished from most other grunge rock in it's incorporation of high production values,ornate arrangements and melodicism of such 70's bands as Boston and ELO. Corgan whose father is a guitarist grew up in a chicago suburb and moved to Florida at age 19 as leader of a goth band The Marked. Returning home and at first simply a duo (billy and James Iha) A local label single I am One led to the release of Tristessa on Sub POP. In 1991 the bands debut album with Butch Vig producing became a college radio station favorite eventually selling more than 350,000 copies (and going gold in 1994) The major label follow up fared even better debuting at number 10 in 1993 and making the group alternative rock stars.

Emphasizing both the virtuostic interplay of Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin and Corgan's confessional lyrics the pumpkins employs the mellotron and strings and multiple guitars in Siamese Dream and continued to edge closer to progressive rock than to punk or grunge. Pisces Iscariot a compilation of earlier recordings was the Pumpkins version of Nirvana's Incesticide.