Customer Reviews

Smashing Pumpkins - If All Goes Wrong

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found a copy of this being sold at a local record shop a few days ago (November 7th to be exact). Among other things, they sell a lot of "tobacco" water pipes and rolling papers so I wasn't surprised that they had this dvd on the shelf before it was supposed to be released. Needless to say, I very excitedly handed over the $21.99 to purchase it.

The two disks in this set are totally different, so I'll comment on them separately.

Disk one is a documentary. It does feature a few songs and some snippets of songs, but for the most part it's interviews. It's not something that I plan on watching again (unlike the concert disk!), but it was very informative. I've been a fan of the Pumpkins since I was old enough to be a fan of anything. And although most Pumpkin fans all miss the glory days of Siamese Dream and the like, I can't help but to have a lot of respect for their willingness to change .. or, should I say, Billy Corgan's willingness to change. Personally, I'm still not sure what I make of Zwan, The Future Embrace, and Billy's decision to break the band up only to reunite it again seven years later. But what I do know, and what this documentary helped me to understand, is that Billy Corgan is the essence of the Smashing Pumpkins, and he's on a journey that will never stop evolving because he as a person will never stop evolving. He explains a lot of struggles he has dealt with, from therapy to trying to understand the fans, and how that has affected his artistic direction. What comes across most to me in this documentary is that Billy truly does want to keep on keepin' on with the Smashing Pumpkins. He wants to give us what he's always given us -- thoughtful songs, beautiful melodies, and superb musicianship. He still knows how to rock our socks off one minute and sing us to sleep the next. That hasn't changed.

The second disk (concert) is fantastic! The sound/video quality are great. I suppose the setlist might leave something to be desired for those looking for a lot of songs from their older catalog, but I was personally very impressed with the new material. Gossamer was a major highlight, and it rocked just as much as the live version of 'An Ode to No One' from the Pumpkins' Music Video DVD. Starla, an old favorite of mine, was also great. Billy's vocals were as good as any other show, Jimmy's playing was amazing as always, and I actually really liked watching the new members. Ginger, their bass player, really seems to have a knack for adding flare at just the right moments in a song. The keyboard player, Lisa Harriton, plays beautifully and adds incredible dimension to the music. Jeff Schroeder, guitar, is new as well, and he can actually keep up with Billy's playing. He has some solo spots throughout and proves over and over to the audience that he's worth listening to. All in all, I love the new SP cast. I'm also glad there's finally a Smashing Pumpkins concert DVD that you can watch all the way through, from one song to the next, without any interruptions or interviews thrown into the middle of it. Lord knows we've all been waiting for this.

Keep on rockin' Billy.

So I'll be honest, I bought this not for the documentary, but a nice, high fidelity copy of Gossamer (hey, it's an awesome 'jam' track!). It had been disappointing to be unable to get any good bootleg tracks, so the Fillmore concert in high fidelity was nice. The video quality leaves a little to be desired on the bonus feature tracks from the rehearsal, but the main feature quality was pretty good.

Packaging was top notch.

Just as a side note, I notices that there wasn't *any* css protection on the DVD which made ripping a little too convenient. This makes me kinda wonder if this is a wink-wink-nudge-nudge from the band there. Or their content distribution people are just incompetent.

Bottom line, even if you're not a die hard Pumpkin Head, this is a great concert and interesting documentary.

First off, let me say that SP allowing fans to record the residency shows in Asheville, NC was amazing and a fan's dream. I thought having a DVD of being front row in Asheville, NC to watch and enjoy forever was the best item a true fan could have but I was mistaken... this DVD captuing the band's take of the residencies are a dream come true! It is great to see what the band's take of the shows are coupled with my own recorded DVD. Also, I agree with the review by Moonchild above that the product description sucks so I thought I would inlude some info I found from Pitchforkmedia.com ...

Smashing Pumpkins Chronicle Reunion on DVD

If All Goes Wrong is a double-disc affair. The first disc features the titular documentary, which chronicles the band's reunion and live residencies in San Francisco and Asheville, North Carolina last year through interviews with band members, fans, journalists, and other musicians. Also on the disc: a featurette about Pumpkins fans called Voices of the Ghost Children and, inexplicably, an interview with the Who's Pete Townshend.

The second disc of If All Goes Wrong features The Fillmore Residency, a collection of live performances from the band's residency in San Francisco. Also included are five bonus tracks lumped together as Live From the Floor of the Fillmore, which are just that. All told, the second disc of the DVD contains seven different exclusive new tracks.

Coming Home Media will release If All Goes Wrong on November 11.

If All Goes Wrong:

Disc 1:

01 If All Goes Wrong
02 Voices of the Ghost Children
03 Interview with Pete Townshend

Disc 2:

The Fillmore Residency:

01 The Rose March *
02 Peace + Love *
03 99 Floors *
04 Superchrist
05 Lucky 13
06 Starla
07 Death From Above
08 The Crying Tree of Mercury
09 Winterlong
10 Heavy Metal Machine
11 Untitled
12 No Surrender *
13 Gossamer *
14 Zeitgeist

Live From the Floor of the Fillmore:

15 99 Floors *
16 Peace + Love *
17 No Surrender *
18 Mama *
19 Promise Me *

* previously unreleased

A great set, the documentary alone would be worth buying, throw in a rarities heavy live dvd(amazingly good audio mix btw.) and a 5 song stripped down acoustic set of brand new songs and purchasing this should be a no brainer. Fans from back in the day, who haven't kept up with recent tunes, shouldn't be scared off by the absense of familiar hit singles, since this release serves as a perfect introduction to who and what the band is now.

Filmed in HD, but not shown in HD. I thought it was a gimmick, but I was surprised at how sharp the image quality turned out.

Disc 1:
If All Goes Wrong (Documentary) - It's interesting following the Pumpkins and seeing what they went through after they reformed and and performed for the first time. The DVD shows what inspired Billy to write some new material. It also gives a new insight into Billy, which I appreciate as a fan. I was a little disappointed at how little attention was paid to the new band members, but they must have been shy anyway.

Interview with Peter Townshend - I enjoyed this feature very much as he talks about the psychology of artists, fans, and how they interact.

The Voice of the Children was just some fans talking about the band with the following depth: "I excited to be here. Broke, but excited." It was just a nonsense of excitement.

Disc 2:
This disc is live performance of some of the new material that was written just after they reformed. Half of it is acoustic and most of it is slow pace, lacking much energy or emotion - that is to say that there is no surrounding sound expression as in how the Pumpkins previously sounded. The Heavy Metal Machine version here sounds much different than the original - I'm not fond of it. The two standouts are the hard rocking Gossamer at about 30 minutes long, and Superchrist.

It was worth it alone for the documentary in disc 1 and Gossamer of disc 2 - I'm still waiting for the mp3 of that song.

If all goes wrong is being touted as a live concert dvd, but i believe that is a mislabel. It is more of a documentary (which should be required viewing to fully appreciate the concert dvd)and then they throw in a concert on the 2nd dvd in the set. If all goes wrong is all about the residencies in Asheville and San Francisco, if you are looking for anything further than that music wise then I say look elsewhere. There are no big hits like "bullet with butterfly wings" "cherub rock" "Disarm" or any of the big Pumpkin hits. The documentary highlights the new songs that were written during the residencies and focus's completely on where those songs came from and what Corgan's train of thought was when he wrote each one. It is a honest and truthful look at the song writing process Corgan went through in order to pen each one. Aside from the residency songs Gossamer is thrown in at the end of the documentary and it is explained a bit as to why it ballooned to a 37 minute jam fest. Overall the documentary is excellent and i would give it 4 1/2 to 5 stars. It is interesting and is a must view for any pumpkins fan.

On the other hand the concert portion is what most people will end up buying the dvd for and I'm sorry to say they will more than likely be disappointed even if, like me, they like all of the songs played. The set list in a single viewing seems to be missing something. It is ...if i dare say so kinda boring. Don't get me wrong I love most of the new residency songs. "Peace and Love" is excellent and should be released officially along with "99 floors" and "Mama" among others. However, here they are stripped down and along with the other songs that were picked like an alternate take on "Blue skies bring tears" and a stripped down "crying tree of mercury" there just seems to be no energy at all. I watched the concert dvd first (like I'm guessing a lot of fans will) and was greatly disappointed but then after viewing the documentary I appreciated and liked it a bit more. I still thought more should have been done about the pacing and the placement of the songs, but then again thats the point of the whole thing...they do things their way. I actually think the concert footage is excellent as long as you skip around and listen to a song here or there and then give it a bit and come back and listen to another song or two. Its definitely not something I'm gonna stick in the dvd player and watch all the way through over and over. The other fillmore rehearsal versions of the songs are excellent, I only wish "The Rose March" would have been included in these, but overall its nice to have these more rehearsed and intimate versions as well. All in all i would give disc two a 3 to 3 1/2 star rating.

In closing as an overall package I would say its a 4 out of 5 and is a must buy for any pumpkins fan. It might seem a bit disappointing at first mainly because we have all been waiting for the metro dvd for years and we get this one instead...so with that being said don't expect the metro, expect a dvd fully dedicated to the residency songs and you won't be disappointed at all.

While it's not really something you would watch over and over, this documentary - which follows the newly reformed Pumpkins on a series of two residencies in Chicago and San Francisco in 2007 - is a highly watch able account and insight into the mind of one Billy Corgan, the man behind the Pumpkins and indeed, it's heart and soul.

Rest assured, this is an interesting piece even for non-fans, but don't expect a big classic band reunion or a even classic songs showcase here as there is very little besides conversations regarding such times. But this is not the film's intention after all and it's far more watch able because of it. We talk with Billy (of course), current members (only), fans and few a managers and PA's along the way in-between this awkward time when the band is relishing the opportunity to grow as artists with a fresh attitude, but also dealing with what it means to the world and it's fans when you say a band like the Pumpkins is active again.

A must see for old and new fans - or anyone just interested in song writing for that matter - this will, at the very least, give you insight into Corgan for the better or make you dislike him even more. For fans, however, the inclusion of many songs written and performed acoustic when the film was made are shown with much affection. Love or loathe though, he is one artist that can't be ignored, and neither should this film.

DVD came in a timely manner, and was in good condition. The DVD has a great combination of interviews, and live performances.

I'm a big fan of smashing pumpkins and i was trying to get this dvd long time ago.
i think this is a good item to get for a SP fan, on the dvd story they show you what Billy had to go through to get back with SP
and the DVD concert just rocks it was so nice to see them again !
I think this is definitely an item for fans

As a long-time fan of the Smashing Pumpkins, I thought that this was a great docu-film. I really shows a "behind-the-scenes" look at the post reunion band during the first part of their tour. It is neat to hear songs for the first time ever on here and being able to watch Billy Corgan as he writes the songs almost on camera. The 2nd disc was also very fun to watch, it was songs taken from the very shows that the documentary was about.
I will add one more thing, if you are not a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins or if you are expecting a lot of the old band, then you might not enjoy this very much. Otherwise it is worth the watch.