Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their first and also their best, September 21, 2000
Woe for the days when the Smashing Pumpkins were the hottest item on the Chicago club circuit and WXRT was the only radio station in the country playing "Gish." That was way back in 1991. I was mesmorized by this album then, and the feeling has never changed. As the Pumpkins have exploded into mass popularity, their music has grown more pompous and less interesting. Not so here. Listen to the great cuts "Rhinocerous," "Suffer," "Tristessa" and "Window Paine" and you'll be hooked. An excellent low key debut from a band that eventually got too big for their own good.
|
|
|
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stepping stone to their future successes..., August 23, 1998
In all fairness though, this is still an excellent accomplishment from Billy Corgan and company. Yes, it is more guitar heavy than Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, or Adore (Pisces Iscariot I didn't include because that covers all of the b-sides from Gish and Siamese Dream, therefore it isn't a good album to be used as a measure), but consider that all of their live shows are just like Gish in their raw guitar power, and when Gish was recorded the Smashing Pumpkins were still a relatively new band who only had experience on stage, not in the recording studio. I Am One, Siva, Bury Me, and Tristessa will get your speakers booming with their grinding rythms, while Suffer and Daydream seem to around the room on a wave of soft melodies. One cannot count out Rhinoceros though, for this one song captures the best of both types of SP songs. So, to pumpkins fans new and old who don't have this album, buy it for it's sheer artistry at a time when Nirvana and the "grunge" sound ruled the airwaves, but more so, buy it because it still stands out as a great accomplishment from the Smashing Pumpkins
|
|
|
25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Beginning Was Beautiful, Too., May 7, 2004
Here is The Smashing Pumpkins' full-length debut album from 1991. The Pumpkins' sound here displays what we would come to expect from the gang: heavy, searing, multi-tracked guitars (which often gets compared to Brian May - of Queen fame), melancholic, dreamy soundscapes and lyrics, contrasts from heavy sounds to soft sounds. However, these are the beginning stages of what would fully blossom on later efforts like 1993's _Siamese Dream_, and 1995's _Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness_. While the heavy tracks feature the ethereal wall-of-sound that the Pumpkins are known for, this heaviness is not as full, lush, and oceanic as it would become on aforementioned following discs, but you can hear where the band was headed.
However, when taken as it is -- an album showing the band in it's earliest stages -- _Gish_ is an excellent, highly enjoyable album. It is hardly a disappointing album -- far, far from it. The Pumpkins' amalgamation of heavy (but melodic and dreamy) rockers and dreamy, atmospheric, psychedelic-tinged mellow tracks appear here, giving ample proof that the Pumpkins didn't necessarily change their sound over the years, but rather refined it. "I Am One" and "Siva" open up the album on hard-driving notes. The former could be heard on alternative rock radio stations, even to this day. Do you think that because The Smashing Pumpkins made hard-rockers, they used nothing more than simple power chords? Well, both these tracks feature arpeggiated chords that are beyond simple.
The hard-driving rockers are interrupted for what are possibly the most ethereal, wispy, mood-inducing six minutes on the album: "Rhinoceros" is such a heavenly beauty, and is without a doubt, my favorite track on this album. Billy Corgan's acquired vocal stylings blend perfectly with the dreamy atmospheres brought on by the guitar arpeggios, textured arrangements, and the treatment of them all. Many complain about Billy's voice, but what other vocalist could complement the Pumpkins' music as perfectly as his? Nobody I can think of (except maybe one of the other Pumpkins.. ), but regardless, his voice was an ethereal instrument unto itself.
Elsewhere, "Crush" seems to foreshadow "Thirty-Three," as it's a dream-folk track (it's very hard to categorize in exact terms.) Billy's vocals are lovely here. "Snail" is a moody piece that seems to share a kinship with most adult contemporary music -- except this rocks harder, and the lyrics are probably a bit more inscrutable. The rocker "Tristessa" sounds like it could have been a dry run for "Cherub Rock." Listen to some of those whacked-out fills from drummer extraordinaire Jimmy Chamberlain. "Window Paine" is almost as mood-inducing as "Rhinoceros," and takes it's time by resting on one or two chords, which build up to an explosive, cathartic climax, and the ethereal, acoustic closer "Daydream" features bassist D'Arcy on lead vocals, followed by a brief coda from Billy.
An excellent album from an excellent band, of whom I miss dearly. Definitely worth owning, but if you're new to the Pumpkins, start with _Siamese Dream_ first.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Smashing Pumpkins
~ Smashing Pumpkins
~ Smashing Pumpkins
~ Smashing Pumpkins
~ Smashing Pumpkins
by The Smashing Pumpkins 
