Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 
Category: Entertainment > Music
Good
26
I remember being at the young age 7 of when I first saw the video for Tonight, Tonight. I also remember that same year, my father and I buying this album. It was pretty much the first album I had ever seen, little did I know 9 years later, it would still be one of, if not my favorite cd of all time. A few years later, I remember hearing a song called "Eye" by The Smashing Pumpkins. After listening to that song atleast 500 times, I went looking for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, I pretty much searched my entire hosue for my copy of it, sadly though I never did find it. However, I remember when I did buy it ( within a week of turning my house upside down) I remember sitting up at night before I went to sleep and in the dark lay in my bed and listen to this wonderful double album, which I still do. THis album holds many of my younger childhood memories. Now, enough for my emotional babble about my life and onto what I think of this incredible album.
From the start of the intro/insturmental " Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" you will realize you're in for a masterpiece. Every track represents something. Nothing is filler all 28 tracks are good in their own way. Even the artwork from the cover to the booklet down to the happy face on the " Dawn To Dusk" disk and the sad face on the "Twilight To Starlight" disk. I actually think one day the lyrics to this album could be made into a short poetry book of their own, they all come across as heartfelt and they even come across that way in Mr. Corgan's vocals. I don't care what people think he is one of the best vocalist I have ever heard and being a guitarist myself i think he is truly incredible the same goes for James.Jimmy is one of the best drummers I have ever heard and even though i'm not a drummer I truly respect his craft. Even though I have never picked up a bass in my life I truly enjoy D'arcy's work. I would give a personal run down of the songs but being that there are 28 I would run out of room. Also, I think this album alone destroys anything nirvana ever wrote no offense to them but I think they should never be compared to The Smashing Pumpkins because The Smashing Pumpkins just seem to be better musicians ( remember this is just an opinion) Picking a few favorite tracks is tought but if forced i'd say, Tonight tonight, Jellybelly, Here is no Why, Thirty-Three, In the Arms of Sleep, Stumbleine and my personal favorite "To Forgive" the first time I heard it I cried, whenever I have a tough time I just put this song on. THis double album has a few things, emotion power and intelligence. It is still that nearly a decade later, buy this. Enjoy.
79
"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.<p>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.<p>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.<p>"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.<p>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.<p>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.
18
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.
17
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.<p>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."<p>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.<p>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...
60
When Smashing Pumpkins first came out with the Bullet With Butterfly Wings video, I was 11 years old and my first thought was "Holy S*** this guy is mad!" From then on I had the impression that Smashing Pumpkins were supposed to be a heavy metal band. I used to only listen to the "heavy" songs and the ones that radio played. It was only in my last couple years that I rediscovered this CD and realized how much of a true masterpiece it is, and one of the greatest CD's to ever grace my CD player. Billy Corgan, whether you love him or hate him, is an AMAZING songwriter. His voice may not be that great, but this CD is overpouring with emotion. During the 2 and a half hours of this double set, you go through so many highs and lows, you are left breathless at the end. Smashing Pumpkins were something unique back in their day. This CD was released the year after Cobain died, and it is one of the few I can remember that WASN'T a Nirvana copycat. Smashing Pumpkins have always been a part of my musical life, and I think if you don't own this album already, you REALLY need to go out there and get yourself a copy.
