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Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness

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"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" avoids the pitfalls of many double albums -- too much filler, too few good songs, not enough of the good stuff. Instead, this is in the spirit of the Beatles' "White Album" or Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Billy Corgan's tight writing and the Smashing Pumpkins's brilliant instrumentation make this sweeping double album a must-have.

The first disc, "Dawn to Dusk," builds up slowly with a mournful piano song, only to bounce into the sweeping "Tonight Tonight." Forming the rest are sizzling rockers ("Jellybelly," "Zero"), sparkling softer songs ("Cupid De Locke"), and quiet alt-rock ("Galapagos") and a few songs that stray into unknown musical turf (the sweeping ten minute "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"). "Take Me Down" ends the first disc on the same quiet note that it began on.

Second disc "Twilight To Starlight" starts off on a very different foot. Jerky guitar riffs and drumming start off, sounding like a warm up, before exploding into the solid "Where Boys Fear To Tread." Having gotten that over with, Corgan and Co. switch into a somewhat quieter collection: gentle acoustics ("Thirty-Three," "Stumbleine," the sweet "In the Arms of Sleep"), catchy alt-rock (new-wavey "1979," "Thru The Eyes of Ruby"), blistering hard rock ("Tales of a Scorched Earth," "XYU"). The gentle "Farewell and Goodnight" rounds off the double album on a quiet note.

"Mellon Collie" has just about every kind of music you can hope to find -- ballads, prog, metal, alt-rock, and so on. A handful of songs feel superfluous, but the vast majority of them just feel like a musical quilt. That is, two musical quilts. The tone of each disc is quite different, with "Dawn to Dusk" being a rockier album more in tune with the past Pumpkins releases. "Twilight To Starlight" has a more experimental, sad feel.

Billy Corgan's reedy voice weaves seamlessly into the complex music, singing songs about loneliness, pessimism and longing for love. His songwriting is exceptional here ("breathing under water, and living under glass..."); his style is best described as poetry set to music. James Iha also dips into songwriting with "Take Me Down" and cowritten "Farewell and Goodnight." Guitar riffs both furious and gentle, sweeping strings, piano, Chamberlin's percussion and D'arcy's good bass work move up and down the scale, from soft to scathing.

With its epic music and tight lyrics, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" is madly brilliant and among the best work that the Smashing Pumpkins did. Dark, sweet, sad, and angry, this is a modern classic.

For all of their previous accomplishments, nothing could have prepared the world for what the Chicago-based Smashing Pumpkins would bring to the table with their double-album/masterpiece, "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness." Co-produced by Flood (Nine Inch Nails), the set -- which marks the third effort the band -- is as lush as it is intimate, as ambitious as it is focused and every bit as grand as such an affair should be.

From the opening swells of the hit "Tonight, Tonight," the amount of growth marked between this and the band's previous effort, "Siamese Dream" is evident. A sweeping ballad that is unlike anything the band had poduced before, it's not only indicative of the what was to come, but also merely a sampler of the wide variety of sounds the album has to offer. From there we are treated to the retro-pop of "1979," a nostalgic anthem of sorts that finds the band working with a drum machine for the first time since recruiting drumming powerhouse Jimmy Chamberlin. Bassist D'arcy Wretzky dominates on heavier fare such as "Zero" (a signature song of the band) and the superior "Tales of a Scorched Earth," which threatens to overload and obliterate even the best sound system. It's not all sonic bombast, though, as some of the simpler tracks like "Muzzle" (which carries the trademark vintage Pumpkins sound) and "Thirty-Three" are the stars that burn the brightest.

From front to back, not a moment on "Mellon Collie" is wasted. Not only is the band in top form and firing on all cylinders (arguably for the first and last time in their career) but Corgan's songwriting hits an all-time high as well. Unlike many of their fellow rockers, Smashing Pumpkins weren't afraid to embrace accessibility and reach new heights creatively, and to that end, "Mellon Collie & The Inifinite Sadness" is one of the most competent and most compelling rock releases of the 90's. A true classic that no collection -- alternative or otherwise -- should go without.

Although a shade less brilliant than Siamese Dream in my book, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness is a magnificent 28-song opus spanning 2-CDs and a multitude of musical styles. At times, the disparate influences and diversity between tracks cause some sprawling, unfocused tracks, but all in all, it's akeeper. One of the great acheivements of the 1990's, that probably won't(and shouldn't) be ever replicated or attempted.

The first disc, Dawn To Dusk, has more of the radio hits. The sweeping, orchestral "Tonight, Tonight," the heavy grunge of "Zero," and the famous 'rat in a cage' line of "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." Other highlights are the rockers "Jellybelly," and "Ode To No One," and the soft, epic soothing songs "Galapogos," and "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans."

The second disc, Twilight To Starlight, is harder to digest in that many songs are softer than on Disc 1. "1979" is found here, a 90's new-wave song. Other highlights are: the other Disc 2 hit, "33," the epic rockers "Bodies," "Tales Of A Scorched Earth," "X.Y.U.", and a plethora of other tracks consisting of lifting, grand, and sweeping design--all done in the Smashing Pumpkins' signature style. Billy Corgan's high-pitched whine of a singing voice, James Iha's textured guitar, D'Arcy's supporting bass lines, and Jimmy Chamberlain's intricate, progressive, technical drumming.

Just by reading the song titles and their cryptic lyrics, looking at the front and back of the mammoth CD case, and the pictures inside the two booklets, I get a feeling of magic and wonder. A feeling of surrealism, as if this is more than just a piece of music. It's art. More so to me than any Tool or Pink Floyd album. Each person is entitled to their own interpretation. You can find the music boring, or Corgan's voice annoying, or the whole thing too long. It might be laughable to compare it to Pink Floyd or Tool. Fine. But you'll never know until you try it...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know, Billy Corgan's an arrogant jerk who can't sing...insert your favorite nit-pick here. The juggernaut that is MCIS will roll right over them and never even notice. We're talking about 28 songs, nearly two-and-a- half hours of music here. Even back in '95 it was a gutsy move; double-albums do for most bands' album sales what the Jonestown Kool-Aid did for kid's soft drinks. But the ever-dysfunctional Pumpkins pulled it off in grand style, even dethroning the so-called King of Pop in sales.
Musically, this album is all over the map, covering basically every impulse the Pumpkins have ever even hinted at in their previous two albums. Want alt-rock? MCIS offers up the moody, blistering "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and the surging, groovy "1979". Metal? Try the menacing "XYU" or the defiant "An Ode to No One" or the blitzkrieg "Bodies". Glam rock? The gorgeous "Thru The Eyes of Ruby" or the arena rock anthem "Muzzle" sparkle like sequins on Ziggy Stardust's stiletto heels. Prog rock? "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" has the kind of weird time signatures and start-stop dynamics that would make Rush green with envy. Tripped out, psychedelic ballads? The swooning "Beautiful" and the playful "Cupid de Locke" should satisfy your sweet tooth. Oh and there's James Iha's shimmering, lovely twin contributions of "Take Me Down" and "Farewell and Goodnight". And let's not forget "Where Boys Fear to Tread", which sounds like the soundtrack to some sort of weird vampire motorcycle gang movie as directed by Joel Shumacher during his Batman tenure. And the industrial bite and scratch of "Love" and the subtle "In The Arms of Sleep" And...Well, you get the point.
Nirvana may have been the most talked-about and critically celebrated, Pearl Jam the most earnest, and Soundgarden the hardest but for sheer substance, for my money, even their best works can't hold a candle to what the Pumpkins achieved on MCIS. It's a feast for the ears and easily one of rock's true masterpieces.

Let me start off by saying that most of the reviewers here seem to be a lot younger than me. I am 41 years old, so I have listened to music for a long time. I enjoy many types and genres of music. With that being said, Mellon Collie is one of GREATEST albums ever made by any band. It is an epic masterpiece and I love all 28 songs on this classic piece of work. It ranks up there with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall", Metallica's "Master of Puppets", Pantera's "Vulger Display of Power" and U2's "The Joshua Tree" as one of the greatest, and one of my favorite albums of all time. What else can I say.

Mellon Collie is an album very dear to me...the cover art and the imagery on the booklet, i found this very stunning when i was 14, ten years ago now. I remember vividly sneaking into brothers room to listen to his mellon collie cassette. I was captivated by the track stumbeline, and i began a 5 year infatuation with the band. How couldn't I?

I think this album was the point when the Smashing Pumpkins captured their image most brilliantly, and to a 14 year old they were mysterious, interesting, fascinating, brilliant, and so so so different and better than everything else at the time. Indeed the world realised this, this was a very popular album at the time.

The band seemed to have an understanding of what it was to be the Smashing Pumpkins. To this day i am captivated by the video clips accompanying the singles. This wasn't a shallow garage band, i believe that everything they touched at this moment was magic.

I would disagree with the people saying that too much was crammed on Mellon Collie, and filler, FILLER? Maybe you just want to justify a negative respone. No there isnt any filler, each track is alive with melody, a subject matter, dynamic, beauty. To me each song has it's own life which means no two songs are alike.

Maybe I'm a bit sentimental but this CD captured a time. I would love to be 14 again and soak in all the imagery and sounds all over again for the first time. Mellon Collie was responsible for me beginning a life long interest and obsession with music. I think music is the best friend you can have, Mellon Collie is my oldest friend.

Bigger,better,faster,more--"Mellon Collie" is every significant musical and stylistic innovation of nineties rock times ten.Coming on the heels of thier global smash"Siamese Dream",and following much public sniping over who's playing what and who's in charge,the Smashing Pumpkins retrenched into the studio,mustered unprecedented levels of creativity and stamina,bolstered thier team with production wizes Flood and Alan Moulder,and set forth to steam-roll all opposition.What blasted forth is quite possibly the grandest epic-double-disc blow-out in rock history.Clocking in at at around eleven-and-a-half-hours,and with one-hundred and thirty-nine tracks(not really),the album sprawls all over the map,from churning,grinding,industrial-age monstrosities("Jellybelly","Tales Of A Scorched Earth","Bodies"),sweeping,elaborate operettas("Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans","Thru The Eyes Of Ruby"),haunting,minor-key laments("Thirty-Three","To Forgive","Stumbeline"),and jaunty new-wave pop oddities("1979","Lily[My One And Only]"),to flat-out rockers("Zero","X.Y.U.).That doesn't even mention "Tonight,Tonight" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings",two classic singles that garnered the Pumpkins a slew of awards in '96.This album's length may seem a bit daunting to the uninitiated at first,but trust me,give it a chance.Wait until you have about two hours of free time,go in your room,turn out the lights,strap on your headphones and dive in feet first.I guarentee you within moments this'll be on your top ten.

This double disc has to be considered the greatest effort from the Smashing Pumpkins. It was a bold and risky move for them to release a more expensive album for consumers when they could've just released a single LP with bascially the hits at a cheaper price. Thankfully, they didn't do this. The songs here are very different from one another, but each holds immense emotion, and this makes it a success without question. The experimental, somewhat techno-vibe of "1979" became one of the band's biggest hits, while other rock epics like "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "Tonight, Tonight" became radio and music television staples. I find some of the best moments though come from the songs not heard on the radio or always played at concerts. "Muzzle" and "We Only Come Out At Night" should've been hits because of the honesty Corgan exerts as he reflects on childhood and thinks of the meaning his life has. Two other solid tracks are the light and beautiful "In The Arms Of Sleep" and the positive mid-tempo rocker "Here Is No Why," which has a great chorus speaking of optimism. Some of the songs also have a true, roaring hard rock vibe that continues from start to end, and the best of these are probably "Bodies," "Tales Of A Scorched Earth," and "F-ck You (An Ode To No One)." Corgan's softer and even more experimental side comes out in both discs on the many love epics like "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans," "Lily (My One And Only)," and "Beautiful." The love songs are very mushy and remind me of soft rock, but they do show how much variety exists on MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS. No matter what happens with the cloudy future of this band, this epic double release will be one of the 90's best pieces of rock music, and it also may bring new fans who can hear the many sides of the Pumpkins just through this album.

"Siamese Dream" was pretty epic, but nothing compared to this. "Mellon Collie" is The Smashing Pumpkins' massively successful double album; a bloated, 28 track affair that works a good 95% of the time.

This is obviously Billy Corgan's animal, and he put painstaking effort into it to make sure that every song sounds different from the last. Thus, it's like "The White Album" - massively diverse, with no common theme. It worked with The Beatles, and it works here.

Thus, you have everything from gentle piano instrumentals (the title track) to raucous, raging rock anthems ("Zero", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "Jellybelly") to sweeping prog-rock epics ("Porcelina of the Vast Blue Oceans") to orchestral pop bliss ("Tonight Tonight") to power pop ("Muzzle") to sonic noise assaults ("An Ode to No One") to wistful, beautiful ballads ("Galapogos", "To Forgive") to elegant dream pop ("Cupid De Locke") to sappy James Iha fluff ("Take Me Down").

And that's just the first disc!

The second disc is all over the map as well. There's towering, tempo-shifting guitar freakouts ("X.Y.U."), raging rockers ("Bodies", "Where Boys Fear To Tread"), blistering death metal ("Tales of a Scorched Earth"), new wave pop perfection ("1979"), gorgeous ballads ("Farewell and Goodnight", "Thirty-Three"), stark accoustic confessionals ("Stumbeline"), soul ("Beautiful"), more majestic prog rock ("Thru the Eyes of Ruby"), carefree romps ("Lily"), sugary love songs ("By Starlight") and weird crap I can't describe ("We Only Come Out At Night").

I don't even think I named every song, and I'm still exhausted! However, don't be afraid of the sheer length of this album; "Mellon Collie.." is The Pumpkins' most accessible work. You're bound to find something you like, if not everything.

Best Songs: Tonight Tonight, Thru the Eyes of Ruby, Where Boys Fear to Tread, Bodies, Galapogos, Thirty-Three, Zero, Farewell & Goodnight.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is a flawless example of an epic. Rather than an epic book or movie, it's an epic rock album. It has many facets and they all shine brilliantly, like a diamond held up to the light. Ranging from screaming brutal metal (Zero) to soft melodic beauty (Galapogos), this album has it all.

Some of the highlights from the first disc, Dawn to Dusk: "Tonight, Tonight" is one the best songs of the 90s, period. "Jellybelly" is uptempo, albeit heavy and distorted. "Zero" is a brilliant, VERY dark rock song. "Here is no Why" is unbearably catchy and has some great (and a bit funny) lyrics. "Bullet with a Butterfly Wings" is very heavy and hits like a bat out of hell. "An Ode to No One" is dark and distorted. "Love" captures the emotion very well, but still manages to be very much a hard rock song and is almost techo-oriented. "Galapogos" is soft and beautiful. "Muzzle" is, in my opinion (and Billy's apparently) the best song on the album. The title of this review is a line from the song. I also think it's one of the best songs the Pumpkins have ever made. Great lyrics and searing melody. Amazing.

The second disc, Twilight to Starlight, is also very good. "Bodies" is a very emotional, screaming rock song. "Thirty-Three" is quite a change, slower and less heavy, but very good. "1979" is a classic. "Tales of a Scorched Earth" is a bit incomprehensible, but has (In My Humle Opinion) some of the most effective lyrics Billy has ever written - they're very blunt and powerful. "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" is indescribably beautiful. "X.Y.U." is vicious anger translated into song form. Very strong.

Although on later albums (actually only Machina as of now), the Pumpkins have manages to fuse the soft songs and the heavier ones together into one. Even so, Mellon Collie stands as a beautiful piece of art and an amazing portrait of youth. I think youth is really the theme of the album, and it's almost a concept album about life from birth to death. Buy it - NOW.