The Infinite Sadness: A Retrospective of The Smashing Pumpkins
Click below on the streaming service of your choice to listen to the playlist as you read along.
In recent weeks, The Smashing Pumpkins have been building anticipation for an announcement of a reunion tour and new album. The build-up has been rife with speculation and social media intrigue around whether the original line-up would be involved. The conflict, animosity, and confusion around this announcement has been emblematic of the band’s history, which burned bright and then fell apart, resting since – for better and worse – on the forceful talent of Billy Corgan.
The Playlist
“I Am One”
“Rhinoceros”
“Bury Me”
“Cherub Rock”
“Quiet”
“Today”
“Frail and Bedazzled”
“A Girl Named Sandoz”
“Tonight, Tonight”
“Zero”
“Love”
“1979”
“Ava Adore”
“Perfect”
“Appels + Oranjes”
“The Everlasting Gaze”
“Stand Inside Your Love”
“This Time”
“That's the Way (My Love Is)”
“Tarantula”
“Panopticon”
“Violet Rays”
“Anaise!”
“Travels”
“The Colour of Love”
“The Gold Mask”
“Goeth the Fall”
Still, this is a band that helped re-invent rock n’ roll for a generation, and brought many into a love of heavier, guitar-driven pop music that had never previously ventured into those waters. Because it was that ability to blend fantastic pop melodies with hard rocking, R&B grooves that made Smashing Pumpkins one of the most important and successful bands of the grunge era. Let’s explore their sonic history and evolution.
“I Am One”; “Rhinoceros”; “Bury Me” \ Gish (1991)
Formed in Chicago by Billy Corgan and James Iha in 1988, the two guitarists recruited female bassist, D’Arcy Wretzky, and began playing shows around the city accompanied by a drum machine. They were known as Smashing Pumpkins from the start, a name Corgan had wanted to use. Acknowledging the limited appeal of a rock band without a drummer, they quickly brought on Jimmy Chamberlin, who oddly was a jazz player with limited exposure to rock, yet it was a choice that was serendipitous as his forceful and colourful playing fit beautifully and propelled the band to their unique sound.
They released their first single, “I Am One,” on a local indie label and its success led a second single, “Tristessa,” on the emergent and influential label, Sub Pop. Finally signing with Caroline Records, the band went into the studio with producer Butch Vig, who had just done the preliminary recording of Nevermind with Nirvana. The use of Vig and their presence on Sub Pop placed the Pumpkins in the crux of the grunge scene, which was about to explode out of Seattle. The Pumpkins were geographically apart but sonically adjacent. The slightly more polished and less angry tone to their music also led some to place the Pumpkins outside grunge and in the broader ‘alternative’ category, a moniker that became common in the ‘90s.
Regardless, the first album, Gish, which included the prior singles along with a new single, “Rhinoceros,” and the incredible rocker, “Bury Me,” was a strong statement of arrival for the band. Corgan was influenced by the darker, post-punk music of the 1980s such as New Order and The Cure, but his and Iha’s guitar playing trended to heavier, metal flavoured riffs. Once Chamberlin was on board, the heavy guitars were balanced by his lively drumming. Wretzky’s ability to lay down strong, melodic basslines further enhanced the distinct quality of the music. Heavier music in the past had been more anthemic, accompanied by wailing vocals, booming drums, and usually more than a few guitar solos. The Pumpkins didn’t just hit you with a wall of fuzz-laden guitar, but the propulsive drumming and thick, resonant basslines made for complete songs that provided a thunderous foundation for Corgan’s distinctive, high-toned vocals.
In 1991, I had settled into a weekend routine with a friend attending The Dance Cave, a club above the venerable live music venue, Lee’s Palace. Gish was a staple in the playlists at the club, and we danced every weekend to the several cuts guaranteed to be played each night. It was also one of my most played CDs.
As we awaited the second album, we were treated to a new song on the soundtrack to the grunge inspired movie, Singles (the soundtrack was the best part of the movie). The Pumpkins’ song, “Drown,” was a fantastic eight-minute, psychedelic plunge into feedback laden waters. It cemented the perception this was a formidable band that, like most grunge acts, could draw from retro rock and psychedelia but with a mix of punk and metal.
The Psychedelic Pumpkins: D'Arcy Wretzky, James Iha, Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin
“Cherub Rock”; “Quiet”; “Today” \ Siamese Dream (1993)
I will forever remember my introduction to Siamese Dream. Because of my love of Gish, I bought the album immediately and then jumped in the car to drive my baseball game, which was an hour or more away by car (I was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Intercounty Baseball League at the time). Once on the highway, I put the CD into my Sony Discman, which had to be connected to the car via an adaptor, plugged into the tape player because the car did not have a CD player (talk about distracted driving! Try changing a CD in a Discman laying the passenger seat!).
That first listen was memorable since so few songs have hit me as spectacularly as, “Cherub Rock”, the opening song. I hadn’t heard the song yet on radio or in the club, so having a first listen, alone, in the confined space of the car, driving on the highway, were the perfect conditions to take it in for the first time. The drum roll intro, the building guitar and bass, and the explosive launch of the song gave me (and still gives me) goosebumps. Within seconds I was air drumming and head banging in the car, enthralled by the song’s power and grace. From that moment, “Cherub Rock” entrenched itself as one of my all-time favourite songs.
And well, the rest of the album wasn’t bad either – yup, it was simply one of the best rock records ever made and an immense listening pleasure from those wondrous opening chords to the final string notes of, “Luna.” Picking songs for the playlist was frustrating since they’re all so good, so I just stuck with the first three tracks, which covers the two major singles, “Cherub Rock” and “Today,” and provides a good example of the heavy-metal-pop sound of the band in “Quiet.” They also nicely show how Corgan’s vocals could move from a hush to a shriek, flowing along with the melodic guitar-and-bass layers and Chamberlin’s frenetic drumming. “Today” also showed the band’s improved songwriting, unleashing a song of exquisite beauty and grace, despite the onslaught of layered, fuzzy guitars. It was a song that made you want to throw your hands in the air and look to the sky with joy. ‘Exultant’ is a word that always comes to mind listening to this album, and this song especially.
Exultant, however, did not describe the state of the band. Though Vig returned to produce the album, the band relocated to Georgia to record it but repeated some of the discord that marked the recording of the first album. Billy Corgan has been notoriously portrayed as a controlling and moody leader of the band. His penchant, with Vig’s support, to play most of the guitar and bass parts for the recordings, led to understandable animosity with Iha and Wretzky. The pair were also in and out of a relationship, so that was another troublesome mood setter. Chamberlin was also unreliable, going AWOL for parts of the recording due to his increasing drug use. All these factors led to delays and strife and made it all the more amazing that such an incredible album resulted from this atmosphere.
Siamese Dream, not unlike my insistent and impulsive purchase of it, took no time to gain an audience and brought greater success for the band. Grunge and indie rock were in full upswing and there was a ready audience to get on board with the Pumpkins. My first signal of this was when I went to buy tickets to the tour, which was going to be in a Greek banquet hall in Toronto, only to find out it had sold out in minutes. The fact they were booked into such a small venue was indicative of how little they’d broken through from the first LP. I still have not seen them to this day, though will change that later this year.
Siamese Dream reached #10 in the US and #4 in the UK, and three singles cracked the top ten on the US Alternative chart but could not make it to the main singles chart. Despite the success and increased popularity of the band, Corgan proved a bit polarizing with the press and their music peers. The Pumpkins seemed apart within the early ‘90s alternative movement.
“Frail and Bedazzled”; “A Girl Named Sandoz” \ Pisces Iscariot (1994)
Siamese Dream was the band’s first LP on a major label, Virgin, which now wanted to cash in on the band’s increased status. Virgin released an album of rarities and B-sides the following year that provided another great collection of the band’s music. Despite being a less approachable batch of songs, Pisces Iscariot reached #4 in the US, surpassing their prior, breakout album.
There were many great songs on the album, though generally a little rawer than the rest of their work. It also revealed the band’s adept hand with cover songs, including a great rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s, “Landslide”. “A Girl Named Sandoz” was one of those hidden gems that showed how the band could riff on a blues melody and trot out a great sounding, hook-filled tune.
“Tonight, Tonight”; “Zero”; “Love”; “1979” \ Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
The alt-rock era was dying down by 1995 and, prompted by the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, grunge was falling to the wayside. Perhaps benefitting from the slight separation Smashing Pumpkins had with that scene, the band was able to continue its success. It also didn’t hurt that their third album was one of the most ambitious, monumental albums of the decade. A double-CD issue, the first album was labelled, ‘Dawn to Dusk,’ and the second, ‘Twilight to Starlight’. Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness contained some of the Pumpkins best known songs and became their first #1 LP.
Corgan and the band set out to expand their sound with the third LP. They switched to well-known producers, Flood and Alan Moulder. Flood had mixed many of U2’s biggest albums and Moulder engineered some of the greatest shoegazer albums of the era. The album mixed their heavy rockers with many graceful ballads, more use of strings and piano, and offered one of the smartest and most intriguing pop songs of the decade, “1979”.
It took me a while to warm up to this record as I felt it lacked the sonic appeal of the first two albums. This was likely because the first single, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” sounded too much like a standard hard rock song and was missing the elements that had set the Pumpkins apart. It reminded me of the turn The Cult made in 1987 with the album, Electric. Despite having some great songs it felt like a move away from the brilliance of Love into a more boring, hard rock sound. Heavy guitars were great, but still needed melody, an engaging rhythm section, and interesting hooks to win my interest. “Bullet…” lacked all that for me and I paid less attention to this album. However, after “1979” and “Tonight, Tonight” were released it became clear they still had much to offer. Now in my mid-twenties and no longer living at home, I needed to scrape the cash together to buy the higher priced double-album. I think I ended up getting it as a Christmas present.
“1979” became one of my favourite songs. It sounded unlike anything I’d heard before. The even pace, mesmerizing rhythm, and off-kilter guitar made for an elegant and complex composition that still managed to sound simple and subtle. The use of loops and samples created unique sounds and showed more studio creativity than anything they’d done before; and was a breakthrough in evolving their sound beyond the wall of guitars and thick bottom end of bass and drums. It became the band’s most successful single, reaching #12 in the US (and #1 on the alt and modern rock charts) and was lauded by fans and critics alike. It also helped propel the album to #1 in the US and Canada, their only LP to do so, and #4 in the UK (where #1 has remained ever elusive).
In 1996, the band released a box set that literally came in a box with a handle and a flip-open lid (like cases we used to keep our 7” singles). The Aeroplane Flies High was a five-disc set with each CD anchored by a single from Mellon Collie. Also included were five or six extra songs on each disc. The first CD for “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” included great covers of The Cars’, “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” The Cure’s “A Night Like This,” Alice Cooper’s “Clones (We’re All),” Missing Persons’ “Destination Unknown,” and Blondie’s “Dreaming.” Once again it showed the band’s adeptness at reinterpreting the songs of their upbringing into their own sound.
“Ava Adore”; “Perfect”; “Appels + Oranjes” \ Adore (1998)
While on tour for Mellon Collie, Jimmy Chamberlin and touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin overdosed on heroin. Melvoin died and Jimmy was arrested. The band decided overcoming his drug issues needed to be Jimmy’s focus and he was dismissed from the band. They also ill-advisedly decided to finish the tour with replacement musicians, a decision Corgan later admitted was wrong and did nothing to help the Pumpkin’s poor reputation.
The band took the opportunity for a change in musical direction. They started to utilize a drum machine and more electronics. A sense of this new sound was heard in the song, “Eye”, on the 1997 Lost Highway soundtrack. The guitar-heavy sound remained for another soundtrack track, “The End Is the Beginning is the End,” from Batman & Robin, also in 1997. As songwriting continued with the band, who since Mellon Collie had been participating more in the creative process, Corgan was struggling with depression as a result of Chamberlin’s absence, a divorce, and the death of his mother. Unsatisfied with the production of Brad Wood, a Chicagoan they’d worked with early in their career, Corgan took over both as producer and in reworking the songs into a stripped-down folk-electronica format, once again ostracizing the band. Flood was recruited again to put the finishing touches on the LP.
Adore, the fourth album, continued the Smashing Pumpkin’s streak of fantastic albums. It indicated that, despite all the challenges, Corgan could certainly write great songs. Leaning into the progressiveness and experimentation heard on “1979,” the album was replete with heavily electronic sounds, which resulted in much less guitar. Billy’s solid melodies shone through like never before, no longer competing with the wall of guitars. Mostly subdued, the songs nevertheless carried the darker elements of the classic Smashing Pumpkin’s sound. The lead single, “Ava Adore” was a beat driven, electronica tune, while the next single, “Perfect,” was a lovely acoustic and electronic song. There were several others equal to those such as “Daphne Descends”, “Once Upon a Time”, “Pug”, the sublime, “Shame”, and the quiet, “Annie Dog”. “Appels + Oranjes” was their most electronic yet, driven by an infectious beat. Adore was their most approachable album.
Despite its quality, the change in sound did not grab their fan base nor win them new ones. The album rose quickly to #2 in the US and #5 in the UK, but then disappeared quickly. While critics praised the album, it still gained the reputation as being a bit of a flop (it still went platinum, so not that much), an undeserved reputation for a quality release.
“The Everlasting Gaze”; “Stand Inside Your Love” \ Machina/The Machines of God (2000)
As the band toured Adore, they welcomed Chamberlin back but saw the departure of bassist, Wretzky. She had been dealing with her own drug issues and there was speculation of mental health problems. She declared she was going to pursue an acting career. The band replaced her with Canadian, Melissa Auf de Maur, who had been in Courtney Love’s band, Hole, for the past five years.
Billy was looking to make a concept album for the next project, with a rock star protagonist similar to Ziggy Stardust. As they toured and underwent the personnel changes, the concept fell away and a return to their guitar-driven rock came to the fore as the finalized Machina/The Machines of God. The goal was to make more of a pop-rock album, but it ended up like a less engaging version of Melon Collie. The electronics were still around but more as accents than a primary driver. There were several decent songs but nothing that stood out. The second single, “Stand Inside Your Love,” was the only track to capture the pop sensibility, being carried with a distinctive swagger and polish.
This could have been an opportunity to wade into New Order territory, given their influence on Corgan, and blend their rock sound with the electronics, offering a heavier version of the electro-rock sound. It was too bad they did not go that way. The album, similar to Adore, rose quickly on the charts to #3 in the US and #7 in the UK and then faded quickly, not selling nearly as much as their prior three LPs. The band was also dealing with the general demise of rock as a mainstream genre. Pop, dance, and hip hop were ascendant and rock acts were struggling to stay in top. After having a moment, nu metal was also falling away. This spelled as much trouble for the band commercially as the uneven quality of the album.
Chamberlin, Auf de Maur, Corgan, Iha
The album was released in February 2000, and in September a companion album, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released for free on the internet. This was the extra material Corgan had wanted included in a double-album version of Machina. Virgin was not willing to release a double album nor the extra material after the weaker sales of Adore and Machina. Therefore, Corgan issued it on his own label, Constantinople. It was released as a two LP set, which was the album proper, and then three EPs that Corgan referred to as the B-sides. There were many decent songs but nothing to set the world on fire. It apperared the band had settled into a consistent rock sound that was mining the same territory.
Perhaps it was that feeling, that the band was not achieving anything new, and given the lack of label support, that led Corgan to announce in May 2000 that the band would finish at the end of the year. In December, they played a final show at The Metro in Chicago, releasing a single, “Untitled”, to accompany the show (it would appear on a greatest hits compilation, Rotten Apples, released in 2001).
“That’s the Way (My Love Is)”; “Tarantula” \ Zeitgeist (2007) (YouTube playlist only)
After the break-up, Corgan and Chamberlin had a short-lived act, Zwan, and Corgan guested on others’ albums, including New Order’s 2001 LP, Get Ready. He also released solo work. It should be noted that Corgan was also a significant contributor to Hole’s 1998 album, Celebrity Skin, one of the best albums of the 1990s. His songwriting abilities were unquestionable. Chamberlin also formed his own rock-jazz fusion band and Iha joined the supergroup, A Perfect Circle.
In 2005, Billy announced his intention to reform Smashing Pumpkins. While Jimmy was on board, the plan ran into some problems when Iha and Auf de Meur declined to participate. As touring members were added it was evident that Smashing Pumpkins, now as much as ever, was essentially Billy Corgan with supporting members (though he’s acknowledged Chamberlin is an important partner).
The seventh album, Zeitgeist, was released in 2007. It was preceded by the first single, “Tarantula.” It was a stronger effort than the Machina albums but below the standard set by the first four. The heavy guitars were back and it was well within the established Pumpkins’ sound. There were some broader and ambitious songs, like “United States”, and big pop-rock songs like, “Tarantula”, “Starz”, and “That’s the Way (My Love Is)”, that gave the listener more to bop their heads to than anything heard since 1995.
Rock was not top of mind for most record buyers in 2007, as the early 2000s flirtation with indie rock was subsiding. Zeitgeist followed the same pattern as the past few Smashing Pumpkins’ LPs, shooting up to #2 in the US (in its first week) and #4 in the UK, but then disappeared quickly and with overall sales being comparatively low for the band.
“Panopticon”; “Violet Rays” \ Oceania (2012)
“Anaise!” \ Monuments to an Elegy (2014)
Corgan and Chamberlin issued a Pumpkin’s EP, American Gothic, in 2008, but the next year Jimmy once again left the band, though this time under less auspicious and more amicable conditions. Now essentially a solo act, Corgan replaced his drummer and continued with other hired hands. The first project he announced with his new line-up was a monumental, forty-four song concept album called, Teargarden by Kaleidoscope, which was to be released online one song at a time. However, only one song was issued, “A Song for A Son,” before it was announced a proper album would be put out instead in 2012, Oceania, drawn from the content of the concept album.
Given that Billy was the creative force from day one, it was unsurprising it sounded like a Pumpkin’s album, despite he was the only original member remaining. The album did not grab me. There were some great moments – “Panopticon” rocked pretty good, and “Violet Rays” had a lovely feel – but otherwise it was just another stroll through the standard Pumpkins vibe. What was missing were the impeccable melodies, the graceful moments layered on walls of impossibly heavy guitar, bass, and drums, or even the original and engaging use of electronics, that made their early albums so engrossing. It’s a cliché to complain about how new music never matches the early stuff of legacy acts, but for Smashing Pumpkins I just couldn’t hear the same energy, creativity, and power that has made them so good. The band went on tour and played the album in its entirety, which I suspect would not go very well for a lot of fans.
The band went on tour and played the album in its entirety, which I don’t think went over very well for a lot of fans. Still the Pumpkins have a die-hard audience that sticks with them. Certainly the band’s sound is solid and the songs are still listenable, receiving favourable critical reception, but now into his third decade of making music Corgan needs to deal with the challenges of those fans wanting to hear the full discography.
In 2014, the next album was released, Monuments to an Elegy, a relatively brief collection of nine songs totalling 32 minutes – which I applauded since most albums are bloated these days. It was recorded by yet another line-up of supporting musicians, including Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe on drums. It was the least successful release under the Pumpkins name since the first album, ending a string of seven consecutive top ten albums (not including Machina II, which as a free download wasn’t chart eligible). But once again it was a solid, enjoyable album, consistent with the contemporary Corgan sound. Given the Pumpkins were reaching the quarter-century mark, perhaps it was not surprising Corgan’s writing was maturing to less aggressive, edgy, and urgent music.
James Iha made several appearances with Corgan over 2016 and 2017, who had been working on solo material. Pictures and hints on social media created a build-up to the announcement of a reunion tour and new album that will include Iha and Chamberlin, getting three-quarters of the original line-up together (and Jeff Schroeder, who has been on guitars and keyboards since Zeitgeist). D’Arcy Wretzky and Billy have offered competing stories of whether the former bassist was invited to participate or not, but at this point it seems she won’t be involved. The drama around it has been a distraction to what could be triumphant period for the band, if they can lose the perception of dysfunction and the reputation that Billy Corgan is a moody, control freak and that no one wants to work with him. This new album and tour are a chance to reset and start a new, hopefully more creative and positive phase.
The Smashing Pumpkins, whether they’re a true band or just the operating name for Billy Corgan, are undoubtedly one of the most successful and influential bands of the grunge era. The first four albums each hold a distinctive place in the last great period of rock dominance. Gish was an impressive debut and Siamese Dream is one of the most perfect rock albums ever recorded, and for that alone the band can take pride, without even getting into the argument – and many will – of whether Mellon Collie is more deserving of that claim. Adore gets short shrift in their legacy but I think was also a brilliant effort that capped an incredible run that few bands have achieved.
So, I will go to the show in August and ignore all the backdrop distractions and appreciate the chance to hear their 90’s music, celebrate their legacy, and make up for that lost opportunity to see them in a basement of a Greek restaurant.
Schroeder, Iha, Corgan, and Chamberlin - getting ready for another round
UPDATE November 2025
As noted, shortly after this profile was published, I attended the Smashing Pumpkins show in August 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Metric was the opener, for a nice bonus, though the arena was only half full and it was very distracting as many people were still arriving, moving around, and talking. The volume was also not full-up so it was hard to hear.
For the Pumpkins show, the fanfare was the return of James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, who had not been a part of the band since 2000. The tour was only a reunion, with no new music to promote. Notable, for me at least, was Jack Bates touring as their bassist (he had also done so in 2015), since he was Peter Hook’s (Joy Division\New Order) son.
As for the show, on the positive side, they played well with a good setlist spanning their career, and I was happy to finally see them live. The negative was we were seated far away, the people behind us talked all the way through the show, the band chose to show accompanying videos to the songs and not close-ups of the band performing, so we could not see them very well. On balance, we thoroughly did not enjoy the show, but that was only partly due to the Pumpkins’ performance.
“Travels” \ Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun (2018)
“The Colour of Love” \ Cyr (2020)
“The Gold Mask” \ Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts (2022)
“Goeth the Fall” \ Aghori Mhori Mei (2024)
The reunited line-up has sustained since that 2018 tour. The Pumpkins have released four albums since, but despite the return to most of the original members the music has not achieved the same exhilarating results as the band’s heyday.
As I began to summarize the new albums and review the music, it became clear to me that I am no longer a fan of Smashing Pumpkins. On reflection, it’s more accurate to say I’m only a fan of Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot, Adore, and selected tracks from Mellon Collie. While the rest has moments of quality and good songs – “Stand Inside Your Love” is fantastic – overall, it just hasn’t clicked with me.
I decided not to reduce the playlist to just the first four albums (similar to my profiles on Sia and Coldplay) and added tracks from the later albums to capture the full musical history of the band. No doubt there are fans of the music, because its all well written and well played, but the overall guitar rock, melodic metal, and electronica and beats the band has been exploring has washed over me without distinction.
Indeed, the band has ventured around some new styles, especially a greater use of electronics, most notable on the Cyr LP. The exhausting volume of music on the triple album, Atum (with each disc being released separately between November 2022 to May 2023), at thirty-three songs and more than two hours of music, required a listener truly invested in the band. As a sequel to Mellon Collie and Machina, fans of prog and metal, genres that lean into concept albums, would likely appreciate these works far more than myself. Otherwise, I could not see casual fans getting swept up in such projects. The tidier releases of Shiny and Oh So Bright and Aghori Mhori Me were easier to tackle, no doubt.
Smashing Pumpkins remains mostly the project of Billy Corgan. While Iha and Chamberlin are back in the fold, the consistency of the musical approach represents the vision of its leader. Originally, the band was part of the grunge and indie rock waves of the early ‘90s, but now are more in the modern, prog metal mold of bands like Tool. This shift has created a separation for me and their music, so I will continue to dwell in their past and cherish the incredible albums they gave us.
