Archived: Feb 05, 2007

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Cherub “celestial“ rock

By Andrew Rooney

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Corgan has vehemently reiterated that people should not expect Corgan and Co. to release an album that will be reminiscent of their mid-1990s sound. Unless things have changed, do not expect another â??Zero.â?

Rock “n“ roll is a business littered with clichés, and no cliché is as inevitable as the reunion.

Granted, not every band ends up reuniting; although, most bands never truly break up. If they do, it is never “for real.”

Remember The Who“s farewell tour in 1982? Did you also happen to catch them in Chicago this past month?

Just this past month both The Police and Van Halen (with Diamond Dave) have reconciled their differences and are hitting the road this summer. Yet it still seems like yesterday when Roth was ranting about Eddie“s antics and vowed to never reunite, but now he has said that this current reunion was inevitable.

On a similar note, fans of The Smashing Pumpkins finally have something to look forward to as well. Two concert dates have been confirmed for this summer in Germany and apparently The Pumpkins (minus guitarist James Iha and bassist D“arcy,) will be putting out an album of new material sometime later this summer.

Pumpkin fanatics, which there are a lot of, have had a bumpy ride since the band played their “last” show in December of 2000. First there was Zwan, the somewhat well-received group which Corgan fronted and broke-up after one solid, yet not great, album. Corgan also found time to release a book of poetry which was smashed into the ground be critics near and far.

Despite the fact that Corgan spent the better part of the last several years producing and writing for other artists, he found time to release a solo album, “The Future Embrace,” which was received somewhat poorly by critics and fans alike.

However, on the day that Corgan“s solo album came out, he took out a full-page ad in two Chicago newspapers to announce his intentions to reform the Smashing Pumpkins, citing the notion that he wants “his” songs and “his” band back.

Corgan has vehemently reiterated that people should not expect Corgan and Co. to release an album that will be reminiscent of their mid-1990s sound. Unless things have changed, do not expect another “Zero.”

Corgan has instead said that, musically, the band will pick up right where “Machina II” left off, leaving fans like me to cry over the fact that I may never again hear another “Siamese Dream”-like album.

Released in July of 1993, “Siamese Dream” was in many ways the definitive alternative album of the 1990s “ not necessarily more influential than “Nevermind,” but probably better. The album kicks off with “Cherub Rock,” one of their most beloved songs, and a strong contender for the greatest album opener ever. Also featured therein are the band“s first huge single, “Today,” and the haunting “Disarm.”

Corgan proved once again to be a master of the studio when he overdubbed upward of 40 guitars for the song “Soma,” and proved he could play with the best of them on “Geek USA.”

According to rock legend, Corgan was so worried about how the album would be received that he went back after the recordings were done and re-recorded all the bass and guitar parts by himself. The band denies this of course, but Corgan has always enjoyed being in control, as he writes and produces almost every Pumpkins song.

While there is a better chance than not that this upcoming incarceration of The Pumpkins will not top “Siamese Dream,” it is comforting to know that the man who fronted the Pumpkins for 11 years is back at the helm, and with Corgan anything is possible.

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