Customer Reviews

Earphoria

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are no extra or bonus tracks on this import version compared to the U.S. release of Earphoria. The little paper Japanese sleeve is cool...but probably not worth $30. Save yourself some money and get the cheaper version.

Amazon.com's (...)own review/synopsis for this disc is massively confusing and misleading. Earphoria is not a "live disc" or a "greatest hits disc", it is the soundtrack to the Smashing Pumpkins first home video "Viewphoria." It's not meant to be thought of as it's own entity (hence the rough cuts and archaic song choices, these are the takes from the video which was released in the mid '90s). This album is not new either, but is a re-release of the original promo soundtrack to the video that has been very hard to find until now. It's a great disc for any Pumpkin Head and actually a good introduction to the energy and freedom that is the Pumpkins live sound.

other people have covered a lot of the important stuff-like the Amazon reviewer is off in saying that Disarm sounds the same as the SD version, when it has the full band playing and has a loud and crunchy guitar replacing the strings; or that the reason it only covers the period up to '94 is because it's the soundtrack to Viewphoria, a tape released in '94, and was itself originaly released as a demo at the same time; or that when it comes right down to it things are a bit rough in places (especially the at-times uniteligable vocals on Geek) and as a result is a fans only release. But Amazon doesn't have the tracklisting, so, here goes:

1. Sinfony
2. Quiet (live)
3. Disarm (live)
4. Cherub Rock (live, acoustic)
5. Today (live)
6. Bugg Superstar
7. I Am One (live)
8. Pulseezar
9. Soma (live)
10. Slunk (live)
11. French Movie Theme
12. Geek USA (live)
13. Mayonase (live, acoustic)
14. Silverf*** (live)
14a. Over the Rainbow
15. Why am I so Tired

The bulk of the album is 60 minutes, plus the 15 min instrumental "Why am I so Tired". Like I said, really for fans only. Anyhow, enjoy.

Everyone here has already pointed out the blatant horrible mistakes in the Amazon.com reviewers facts, but I suppose unless more of us speak up it won't be corrected.

I'm chiming in the fact that Disarm can't sound the same, as the record version is based in acoustic and the Earphoria version is electric. And again, this CD is the soundtrack to Vieuphoria - the reason it cuts in is because that's how the original video was put together.

I'm greatly disappointed that such incorrect facts could ever be printed "officially".

Most people probably have never even heard of this album, unless they're huge Smashing Pumpkins fans. But here's what goes down: it began life as an oft-bootlegged collection of live recordings. By 2002, though, someone finally decided to officially release these recordings, with a few b-sides that missed Pisces Iscariot and some random outtakes tacked on, even though at this point most fans already owned a bootlegged copy. As for the music... on a whole I like it, but two of these songs are awful. I never thought I'd say I hated "Disarm", but this version is ugly, all feedback and power chords and squeals. It's remade as heavy metal nonsense, and it was one of the most beautiful songs ever! Billy? Never do that again. Please. "Why Am I So Tired" is even worse, because it's a fifteen-minute instrumental where absolutely nothing happens. Blah. And I do like parts of "I Am One". I just wish he hadn't gone off on one of those "`I Am One' rants". "Pulseczar" is the sound of Billy torturing his guitar, and I don't like that. Now, for what I like. There's a lot from Siamese Dream here, and while a lot of those performances are a lot like the originals, that doesn't matter because they're well done. Besides, the original versions of all the songs on Siamese Dream, bar "Sweet Sweet", rule. "Soma" has some weird synthesizer sound in it for whatever reason, but other than that there's no difference between it and the original; "Quiet" and "Geek U.S.A." still beat you over the head with their RAWWWK awesomeness; "Today" is also pretty similar, though the audience sings a lot of the lyrics. On the other hand, "Cherub Rock" is redone as an acoustic shuffle, and it's amazing. Total change of pace, but I like changes of pace - if they're good changes, and this sure was. It really brings out the melody. Another little magic change of pace is on "Silverf***", which has a little vocal bit from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and a weird instrumental section added on, which brings the length up to thirteen minutes. It's pretty cool. Better than "Why Am I So Tired", at any rate. "Mayonaise" is here, too! And it's acoustic! With bongos! I like it! Then again, I just love "Mayonaise" in general. You could make a country-thrash version of that song, and it would still be one of my favorites of all-time. I don't know where "Slunk" came from - it's almost punk-rock, not something the Pumpkins are known for - but I like it. It's fun. So that's that, then. You only really need this if you're a Pumpkins fanboy like me, but if you are, enjoy! Watch out, though, because some of it's crap.

I LOVE Earphoria. It's like this "gift" of live performances (and some not live...) that you would never have enjoyed without the release of this CD. I disagree with most that it is for "hard-core" fans only. I think if you played Earphoria to a new-comer or moderate fan, they'd fall in love with the blaring guitars and hammering drums.. It's like having the pumpkins performing right there next to you. The changes to some of the songs were interesting, and part of what makes Earphoria's songs better (or worse, in bad opinions, ha) than the studio versions. Enjoy.

i have had this cd for since the vhs tape vieuphoria came out via a bootleg version i found. i loved the music so i had to have this. SINFONY and PULSECZAR are, to me, extraordianry pieces of music although they are not structured like songs. they are quite short as well but they are interesting and unique much like billy and company. most of the material may be familiar to the pumpkins fan.
QUIET is a live version of the same song with little difference. the same goes for TODAY. CHERUB ROCK is way cool. if you have the vhs, then you know CHERUB is truly unplugged (not like the mtv mockery they call "unplugged") jimmy has a bass and snare(thats it). the rest of the band all play UN-amplified instruments which, to me, is great because i LOVE CHERUB ROCK. it is one of my favorite SP songs and this gives you the opportunity to hear it in its rawest form.
DISARM is also a differnt version. if you recall the MTV awards circa 94-96, the pumpkins played a heavy version of disarm(where billy popped a string) this version of DISARM is almost the same. it is the distorted and heavy version of the album version and i love it.
Most of the songs are as you know them but played live in some fashion. MAYONAISE is fully acoustic. the album version is partly acoustic into electric and back. here it remains acoustic the whole way through.
the gems of this cd are WHY AM I SO TIRED which is eleven minutes long so for some it may get repitieive but i love it. it is like the pumpkins jamming. no vocals, just great music but again some may say it is repititive. then there is the king of this cd. SILVERF is live but the catch is at the end, billy whips into this sabbath-esque groove that to this day never ceases to amaze me and raise the hair on my neck it is so cool.
what a wonderful live version of such a blazing rock song(funny too when billy sings verses from somewhere over the rainbow in the break) the end is the killer where the band explodes and leaves me breathless. great cd!!

"Earphoria" is a somewhat thrown-together hodge-podge of early Smashing Pumpkins classics, interspersed with short oddities like "Sinfony," "Bugg Superstar," "Pulseczar" and the lush-sounding "French Movie Theme." The creamy polish of songs from Siamese Dream are especially well represented, and benefit from the raw vibe of a live rock performance. "Quiet," for instance, rocks on CD, but it flat out burns the speakers when played live; ditto for "Geek USA." Billy Corgan's falsetto sometimes falters onstage, so hearing his various pitches during each song is sometimes an adventure.

There's no real rhyme or reason to "Earphoria." The quiet ballad "Disarm" is refreshingly turned into an imperfect rocker, while "Cherub Rock" is refreshingly acoustic -- a rather rousing acoustic number at that. By the time "Today's" sirenlike intro blasts in, with Corgan's raging voice and the Chicago crowd eating it all up back in 1993, you begin to long for an up-and-coming band as exciting as the Pumpkins were at that time period. (Queens of the Stone Age, perhaps?)

"I Am One" proably takes the honors as the heaviest, most spontaneous song on "Earphoria," as Corgan's angry, profane-laced tirade in the lulling middle steals the show. The best track, however, is "Slunk," played live on "Japanese TV" in 1992. Its slam-dance riff, blaring guitars, phenomenal drumming and Corgan's changed lyrics in spots (again profanely laced) truly carve up the speakers. What follows is the unlikely "French Movie Theme," a sensual, breathy, repetative track not found on other Pumpkins records. Also of interest to Pumpkins fans might be the extremely drawn-out but very grooving "Why Am I So Tired?", where Corgan's vocals are noticeably absent.

Again, there's not exactly any real continuity to this CD, but its fly-by-the-numbers track listing might make it all the more endearing to Pumpkin fans. Dreamy tunes like "Soma" blend in nicely after the grittiness of a track like "Pulseczar." All in all, "Earphoria" prominently showcases what this great -- and sometimes peculiar -- band used to do on a nightly basis, back when they were still discovering everything they were capable of.

This is the soundtrack to the newly released Smashing Pumpkins DVD "Vieuphoria," which is a re-release of the original VHS version from 1994. Overall, the material on the CD is in very good quality and there are stellar performances by the Pumpkins from the Gish through the Siamese Dream eras, when the band was beginning to pick up momentum. My personal favorite of the performances is the acoustic version of "Cherub Rock," though I also like the hard rock version of "Disarm" and the performances of "Soma" and "Mayonaise." Other highlights include "Slunk," "Today," "Geek U.S.A.," and "Quiet." Also, the 5 extra B-side songs that were placed on the CD are decent, especially since they're on the DVD during the cool interludes. The extra songs are "Sinfony," "Bugg Superstar," "French Movie Theme," "Pulseczar," and "Why Am I So Tired," and they are an excellent addition to any B-side/rarities collection. If you're not a hardcore Pumpkins fan, this may not be for you because most of the music isn't their mainstream stuff. For the devoted follower, however, the CD and the DVD are not to be missed.

I am a diehard Smashing Pumpkins fan and have been since 1999. I have every album they have released. I love Earphoria. I got it back in 2001 when it was officially released in Europe. Earphoria was originally released in 1994 to promote the Pumpkins awesome live footage video, "Vieuphoria". On this CD you will find every song from Vieuphoria exactly the same as on the video (just without the video part).

I love this CD. The Smashing Pumpkins are definitely so much more powerful live and you can feel that by listening to this awesome album. "Disarm" sticks out more than any other. The version on this CD is an electric version played with the full band. The power the pumpkins bring into the atmosphere is amazing. The CD recording could be fixed in a few minute places but that is to be expected with any live cd. Definitely a buy if you have never seen them live or just love their music.