Gabe Bullard on what makes a band

I'd like to point you over to a great article over at Number One with a Bullard about what defines a band, and specifically whether a band with none of the original members is still the same band. This is a question I've concerned myself with many times over the years. Inspired by one of those conversations with Gabe, I literally asked the same question about The Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan when I saw the act billed as the former in 2012. It came up again when I saw Tangerine Dream a few years ago, and in that case it did not at all negatively affect my enjoyment of the performance.

Anyway, Gabe's been writing on all sorts of topics in media and culture relevant to my interests, asking and answering plenty of questions that have rolled around in my head as well. Go check it out. There's a written version and a podcast version (at least for the newer posts), and they're usually very similar but sometimes have slight differences. It's all worth it.

The Smashing Pumpkins / Fangclub - Live 2019.06.05 Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Yes, I went. Despite my decidedly negative assessment of Corgan's behavior and politics of late, I couldn't resist the allure of a show with James Iha in the fold. The ugly publicity of the feud with D'arcy is quite embarrassing, but the fact that even Iha was able to reconcile with Corgan seemed like news enough. Whatever. I went.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins

Venue: Zitadelle Spandau

Location: Berlin, Germany

Date: 5 June 2019

Opening Act: Fangclub

Setlist:
01. Siva

02. Rhinoceros

03. Zero

04. Solara

05. Knights of Malta

06. Eye

07. Bullet with Butterfly Wings

08. Tiberius

09. G.L.O.W.

10. Disarm

11. Friday I'm in Love [The Cure cover; lead vocals by James Iha]

12. Superchrist

13. The Everlasting Gaze

14. Ava Adore

15. 1979

16. Cherub Rock

17. Tonight, Tonight

18. The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)

19. To Sheila →

20. Wish You Were Here [Pink Floyd cover]

21. Alienation

22. Today

Encore:

23. Sunshine of Your Love [Cream cover tease]

24. Muzzle

Opening act Fangclub were so bland that the less I say, the better. They played a generic brand of alternative hard rock that left me entirely unenthused. The novelty of seeing any band in a Renaissance fortress with a moat was far more exciting than the actual band itself.

The Smashing Pumpkins came out loud and strong with "Siva". Corgan, Iha, and Iha's longtime replacement Jeff Schroeder all played guitars. Each took a solo. Iha played his old parts and even sang the backing bits in the chorus. It almost felt like the old days, except that instead of D'arcy's spite and attitude, there was just Jack Bates, quietly pretending not to be the son of Peter Hook, and then there was the whole thing with the extra guitarist. At least Chamberlin was holding it down again.

For "Rhinoceros", Katie Cole came out to sit behind a keyboard and sing backing parts. It was nice to see that another of Corgan's latter-day acolytes had stayed in the fold long enough to last through two international tours (she played bass at the show I saw in Austin in 2016), but it was hard to tell how much she was actually playing live. (Bates has apparently been playing with the band since 2015, but he wasn't at that 2016 show.) She stayed out for most of the show, but not for every song.

The focus of the attention was Iha. He was as shy as ever, yet he did most of the talking. Corgan remained conspicuously quiet until the encore, but Iha periodically addressed the audience throughout the night. No one else said a word. Iha played almost all of his original parts on the old songs, including the oft-forgotten backing vocals. He even got to take the lead for a delightful and endearing cover of The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love". He occasionally teased Cure covers in the 90s, and took the lead on the studio recording of "A Night Like This" in 1996, but there was something exciting and redemptive about this. Corgan even stepped off stage, and Cole filled in on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.

The band played three songs from their new album, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. (2018), and I was actually impressed by the live renditions. The album isn't great, but it's certainly better than the pedestrian artifice of Monuments to an Elegy (2014) and feels like less of a deliberate attempt to evoke Siamese Dream (1993) than Oceania (2012). The band did a better job of making the songs come alive with three solid guitarists than the album did.

However, all of the other post-reunification songs ("G.L.O.W.", "Superchrist", and "Tiberius") were less compelling, and Iha had little to add to them. In fact, most of the songs were poorly optimized for three guitars. In particular, "Eye", "The Everlasting Gaze", and "Ava Adore" were all really well done, but there just wasn't really a need for three guitars. Rather too often, the guitars just became a morass of thickly distorted riffs. A mediocre mix and a strong wind probably weren't helping. On the other hand, several songs featured wonderful ebow parts from Iha, including "Alienation". And "Today" was richer than most prior live versions thanks to the third guitar that could play the extra parts from the studio version.

The biggest deviation from the other post-reunification shows I've seen was how willing Corgan was to share the spotlight. In addition to hardly talking and letting Iha take the lead on "Friday I'm in Love", he shared the lead guitar parts fairly equally with Iha and Schroeder, and on several songs he didn't play any instrument at all. The balance of power felt somewhat more equal.

In fact, the whole show seemed surprisingly natural and unforced. The band seemed the most comfortable and confident that they've been since reunifying. In the other shows I've seen, I got a strong impression that Corgan had something to prove. In 2008 in St. Louis, he was trying to reclaim his most beloved legacy after a series of failed side projects. In 2012 in St. Louis, Corgan desperately wanted to prove his new lineup could make a good album. In 2016 in Austin, he showed off his songwriting craft, his skill with arrangement, and the breadth of his career. This time, he was more at ease and less concerned with making a statement. Perhaps having three of the original four members on hand was enough to let the music stand on its own.

That 2016 show was impressive because of how much ground it covered, but like the two shows I saw before that, the band were unable to end the show on a high note. This time around, they finally did it. They played a ton of great songs and just about every big single. In fact, I was just a tad disappointed that they didn't play more deep cuts! When it came time for the encore, I couldn't think of any of their hits that they hadn't already played. Then they played "Muzzle", their best song that should've been a single. It was a perfect choice.

The Smashing Pumpkins are messy. They are far from perfect, and their reunification has been quite flawed. But this is the closest they've come yet to doing something that feels genuine, and the latest album is tolerable. This was the most consistent show of theirs I've seen, even if it was fairly predictable. I suspect I have Iha to thank. And even if only for that, it was worth it.

Scores:

Fangclub: D

The Smashing Pumpkins: B

[Edit 2019.08.11: P.S. This show was bootlegged and is available for download here, although the quality is unfortunately rather poor.]

The Smashing Pumpkins / Liz Phair - Live 2016.04.19 Bass Concert Hall, Austin, Texas

Last time that The Smashing Pumpkins came through Austin, they were touring with Marilyn Manson, tickets were surprisingly expensive, and after being less than impressed the last time I saw them live (in 2012 in St. Louis), I just couldn't bring myself to go. It looks like I missed what may have been a compelling acoustic rearrangement of "Thru the Eyes of Ruby", but probably not much else new or unusual. (The setlist is here.) That show was in July of last year, and I was surprised that they were touring again so soon, but this time the prices were slightly more reasonable and the touring mate was Liz Phair, who interested me somewhat more than Manson did. I decided to take a chance. After all, the prospect of a mostly-acoustic show seemed novel enough (I usually have enjoyed Corgan's past flirtations with acoustic arrangements), and I was encouraged by the return of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin to the band.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins

Venue: Bass Concert Hall

Location: Austin, Texas

Date: 19 April 2016

Opening Act: Liz Phair

Liz Phair's setlist (with some help from here):
01. Johnny Feelgood

02. Fuck and Run

03. Polyester Bride

04. Stratford-on-Guy

05. Never Said

06. Quiet [debut live performance]

07. Our Dog Days Behind Us

08. Extraordinary

09. Mesmerizing

10. Supernova

11. Why Can't I?

12. Divorce Song

The Smashing Pumpkins' setlist:
01. Cardinal Rule

02. Stumbleine

03. Tonight, Tonight

04. The World's Fair [originally performed by Billy Corgan]

05. Space Oddity [David Bowie cover]

06. Thirty-Three [backing vocals by Liz Phair]

07. Jesus, I [traditional rearrangement] → Mary Star of the Sea [originally performed by Zwan]

08. Mayonaise

09. Soma

10. Rocket

11. Spaceboy

12. Today

13. Whir

14. Disarm

15. Sorrows (in Blue) [originally performed by Billy Corgan]

16. Eye

17. Saturnine

18. Identify [originally performed by Natalie Imbruglia; co-written by Billy Corgan]

19. 1979

20. Stand Inside Your Love

21. Pinwheels

22. Lily (My One and Only) → Blister in the Sun [Violent Femmes cover tease]

23. Malibu [originally performed by Hole; co-written by Billy Corgan; lead vocals by Katie Cole]

24. The Spaniards

25. La Grange [ZZ Top cover; lead vocals by Sierra Swan]

Encore:

26. Angie [Rolling Stones cover]

For some reason, although I knew that Corgan and company were supposed to be performing an acoustic set, I didn't think that Liz Phair would do the same. I was wrong: she appeared solo with just an acoustic guitar, although she also played an electric for about half of her set. The stripped-down arrangements did her songs justice: the lyrics were much easier to parse than otherwise, sharply revealing just how blunt and direct her songs are. I appreciated the perspective of her songs, but realized that I didn't actually like them all that much. Nonetheless, her guitarwork was solid and her voice was quite strong. Absent of the characteristic 90s alt-rock production of her studio work, her songs came across much more pop-oriented, and I even heard a conspicuous country inflection in parts. She played twelve songs in rapid succession, but I was surprised that she left after only 40 minutes. When Manson co-headlined last year, he was allotted time for an almost complete set, and I was expecting something similar from Phair. My impression was that she was similarly co-headlining, but this seemed more like a traditional opening set.

Billy Corgan initially appeared as the sole representative of The Smashing Pumpkins. (I've joked for years that the reformed version of the band would be better titled The Billy Corgan Experience.) Corgan began with a new, unreleased song ("Cardinal Rule"), two Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness classics, and then the lengthy "The World's Fair", originally part of his abandoned Chicago Songs project circa 2004. The MCIS songs are clearly favorites of Billy's and came across well, and "The World's Fair" was a treat to finally hear; before this tour it had only been played twice.

Guitarist Jeff Schroeder joined in with an acoustic guitar for "Space Oddity". The Pumpkins played the song throughout 2012 and 2013 in a rock arrangement, but seem to have brought it back in the wake of Bowie's death. It's unquestionably a great song, but there's only so much any cover version can bring to it. I'm not really sure why Corgan is so drawn to it. At any rate, they arranged it well and concluded it with a little dual-lead bit that almost fell apart but came together just right. The two proceeded with another MCIS classic, "Thirty-Three", joined by Liz Phair on backing vocals. Corgan and Schroeder gradually worked their way into the sprawling "Jesus I → Mary Star of the Sea" medley, which comes as a bit of a surprise, as it was originally performed by Zwan. (Oddly, Chamberlin, who had also drummed with Zwan, remained absent.) Zwan frequently performed acoustic sets, so the idea of this medley in an acoustic setting is not new, but the arrangement for just two guitars was, and again, they pulled it off exceptionally well. Corgan let Schroeder take most of the leads, and he rose to the challenge. Even though I find the overtly evangelical nature of the lyrics tiresome, the two managed to play a fairly convincing rendition.

At that point, Corgan finally took a moment to address the audience. He explained that he wanted to showcase a particular part of the band's history, and as soon as he dropped the words "Siamese Dream", the audience erupted in a frenzy. (Billy also claimed it was "just for us" despite that they've been playing practically identical setlists for the entire tour.) The two guitarists first offered "Mayonaise", which is a great song but came with the realization that James Iha would not be appearing on stage as he had at recent dates in Las Vegas and Chicago. Nonetheless, I was delighted by the new take on "Soma", in which Billy played keyboards, Jeff handled lead electric guitar, and the rest of the band finally came on stage: Katie Cole on bass and backing vocals, Sierra Swan on keyboards and backing vocals, and of course, Jimmy on drums. The keyboard-heavy take still brimmed with enough energy to make it work, even if the mix in the room made the bass drum too boomy.

"Rocket" was also done with Billy at the keyboard, which made for a solid new interpretation (versions with acoustic guitar were done by the band since before Siamese Dream even came out) and still managed to rock. "Spaceboy" and "Today" were both done in fairly standard but solid arrangements, but they brought out a surprise with "Whir", nominally a pastoral outtake from Siamese Dream (released on Pisces Iscariot a year later), but transformed here into a more rocking version than appeared on record. The highlight was Jeff's perfectly appropriate lead electric parts. The last of the Siamese tracks was "Disarm", which Billy played solo on a keyboard. The starkness of the performance came as a sudden departure in tone and didn't quite work. While certainly not a bad song, it stuck out and felt tedious.

The band made another sudden departure when Jeff began layering guitar effects and gradually building up to "Sorrows (in Blue)", originally from Corgan's 2005 solo album, The Future Embrace. Corgan, in the first instance I've ever seen, didn't even play an instrument! Partway into the first verse, electronic backing tracks began filling in the drum and synth programming. It sounded cool, but it was an odd choice to use pre-recorded tracks when the full band was available. This same trend continued for "Eye", which was especially odd, considering that the band have done excellent rock arrangements (including the first time I saw them in 2008). Nonetheless, Jeff kept up the lead guitar work and they made it work. For "Saturnine" (an Adore outtake that eventually appeared on Judas O), Chamberlin came back out, but Corgan remained instrumentless and they still relied on electronic backing. "Identify" followed suit, but I was surprised enough as it was that they were even performing the song! Originally written primarily by Billy Corgan, it appeared on the Stigmata soundtrack, but performed by Natalie Imbruglia. In 2014, a demo version featuring Corgan's vocals was leaked (perhaps through some party involved in trying to get the Machina reissue released), which made me wonder if this performance was connected to that recent spark in interest. The last song with a discernible backing track was "1979", which was played in the standard acoustic version with doubled drums parts.

The band took it down a notch for a serene version of "Stand Inside Your Love", which started out with Cole on lead vocals before Corgan joined in. Swan also contributed backing vocals. This lighter theme with both women singing backing parts continued for "Pinwheels" and "Lily". This led to an abrupt change when Corgan introduced "Malibu" (originally by Hole but co-written with Corgan) with Cole on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Swan on bass and Corgan on electric guitar. The latter two both sang backing parts as well. There was a redemptive feeling in Corgan finally wielding his classic electric guitar sound, but it was strange to see it applied to that particular song. It was followed by "The Spaniards", a new, unreleased song with Billy back on lead vocals. Jeff and him shared lead parts, which was a pleasure to behold, albeit again somewhat out of place in the set.

Most dates of the tour ended the main set there. We were granted one extra song, apparently due to our proximity to the subject matter of the song: a cover of ZZ Top's "La Grange", written about a brothel in the Texas town of the same name. Swan took lead vocals initially but then just wandered about the stage with her phone in hand while the guitarists wailed. Sure, the interplay was great, but the song is horrible. Matters weren't improved by the encore, which was just a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Angie". While not a bad song, the Pumpkins just didn't have much to add to it. What's with Corgan and seemingly not knowing how to end concerts? Finishing with a few middling covers just doesn't leave a strong impression. This wasn't as bad as when I saw them in 2008 and they concluded with three long, heavy, meandering covers, but it was also just a bit of a letdown.

[The only halfway decent shot I got all night.]

Other than the covers, I got the impression that Billy was in a mood to reclaim some of his history. He historically has generally shied away from mixing up the various projects of his life (i.e. Zwan never played Pumpkins songs, the reformed Pumpkins never played Zwan songs, and the same separation was also mostly true with Corgan's solo work), but this tour is a deliberate deviation from that pattern. He played plenty of hits and select album cuts, but he also chose a few fairly obscure songs, and the performance of several songs Corgan wrote outside of the Pumpkins is quite a novelty. For a fan well-versed in the Corgan discography, it was a delight. Still, one can only wonder at some of the choices. There was nothing from Gish or Adore, nor anything from the early reunification years (Zeitgeist, If All Goes Wrong, and the early Teargarden by Kaleidyscope era) or even the latest album, Monuments to an Elegy. There were two new songs, both decent, but those and "Pinwheels" from Oceania were the only post-reunification selections.

The acoustic arrangements were mostly quite successful, adding further proof that Corgan is a gifted arranger when he sets out for it. It also helped that I generally find Corgan's live sound to be superior to the weird, artificial sheen that graces the production of all of Corgan's studio work since the days of Zwan. The full electric portion at the end was a bit out of place, but only somewhat disappointing because it didn't feature any classic Pumpkins jams. The biggest surprise for me was the electronic portion in the middle: but again, I felt like Billy was trying to reclaim his mark on music history. Indeed, he was a bit ahead of the curve in embracing electronic music in alternative rock, and it's easy to forget how jarring that was at the time.

It was also nice to see Corgan play with a band that he felt comfortable and confident with. Schroeder, despite being silent and inscrutable, performed wonderfully and apparently serves as a reliable foil for Corgan. He seems to have grown into his role well. Chamberlin is always a welcome addition, and Corgan's work is consistently the better for it. His drumming was more restrained than normal, as appropriate for the material, but when he let loose, he was incredible. Cole and Swan both performed well, but there is something odd about Corgan's revolving door of women bassists. Maybe I'm being unfair.

The only other thing on my mind during the show was Corgan's appearance on Alex Jones' Infowars show before the concert. I already knew that Corgan was somewhat out of touch and bizarrely critical of millennials (is that related to why Mike Byrne left the band?), but his politics have veered towards the terrible as time has gone on. This time, things got even worse: he compared social justice warriors to the KKK. If that had happened before I bought the ticket, I probably wouldn't have gone. Pull your head out of your ass, dude.

Scores:

Liz Phair: C+

The Smashing Pumpkins: B+

[Edit 2019.08.11: P.S. Somehow I forgot to mention that this show was bootlegged. It's available for download here.]

Smashing Pumpkins - Adore Reissue DVD (1998/2014)

As should probably be no surprise, considering how many times I've written about The Smashing Pumpkins before, I've been buying their ridiculous reissues and eating them up. Each time, I get high hopes for the live DVDs that accompany them, only to get frustrated each time by certain glaring flaws.

[The Adore reissue, using the original vinyl artwork.]

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
DVD: Adore reissue bonus disc: Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia: August 4, 1998
Release Date: 23 September 2014
Label: Virgin

Tracklist:
01. To Shiela
02. Behold! The Night Mare
03. Pug
04. Crestfallen
05. Ava Adore
06. Tear
07. Annie-Dog
08. Perfect
09. Thru the Eyes of Ruby
10. Tonight, Tonight
11. Once Upon a Time
12. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete
13. Drum Solo → Where Boys Fear to Tread [tease] → Zero [tease] → Bullet with Butterfly Wings
14. Shame
15. For Martha
16. Summertime [Gershwin cover tease] → Blank Page
17. Transmission [Joy Division cover] → Let's Dance [David Bowie cover tease]

[The DVD insert. For a moment I thought these might be the same buildings on the cover of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.]

The Adore era tours have always been special because no other part of The Smashing Pumpkins' career has ever tried to do something remotely similar. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was temporarily out of the band, in his place were three live percussionists, Mike Garson joined on keyboards, the band mostly played Adore material and skipped anything before Mellon Collie, almost every song was performed in an extended and dramatic fashion, and all the proceeds of the US tour were donated to local charities. In contemporaneous interviews, Billy Corgan admitted that the album was largely written and performed just by himself, but stated that the live show was a more inclusive, democratic band effort. It's hard to know if that really is true, but the concerts certainly sound different than the album.

The setlist contains every track from Adore except the primarily electronic songs "Daphne Descends" and "Appels + Oranjes" and the forgettable, brief "17". The first two were played at other dates, and while "17" was never played live, it is widely considered to be derived from the rarity "Blissed and Gone", which was played live on a few dates of the tour, but sadly not this one. Otherwise, the setlist contains three songs from Mellon Collie and a hyperextended closing jam in the form of a cover of "Transmission" (instead of the band's traditional closer, "Silverfuck"). Also sadly, "Let Me Give the World to You", an excellent unreleased outtake played many times on the tour, was not played on this date, and nor was the full-band rearrangement of "Stumbleine". Saddest of all is that "1979", despite being played live at this show (see here for details and here for the bootleg recording of the radio broadcast), is not included for unspecified reasons.

In general, the performances are excellent, with only two exceptions. One is the dismembered version of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", which is mostly a heavy jam that doesn't go anywhere and offers no surprises. If the anger of the original version was already on the line of being over the top, this arrangement just feels futile. Maybe that's the point, but for a ten minute song (if you include the drum solo), it really drags. Second is the aforementioned "Transmission", which features a few great elements and many, many vapid sections. Some nights of the tour, the jam would turn out great. Other nights, such as this one, start out well enough and then end up falling apart. Corgan starts to tell a story but loses the thread, he hoists audience members on stage to take the band's instruments when he gets bored, and the music just doesn't hold together. If only the whole twenty-five minutes of the song were as good as the first five or ten.

But otherwise, the best part about this tour and this particular recording is that the band manages to take a carefully crafted, electro-acoustic, dour, heavy album with themes of loss and death and turn it into something more direct, electric, large-scale, and powerful. Adore might be my favorite Pumpkins record, the one where the band's maturity, style, and melody reached a clear apex, but the live shows have entranced me even more ever since my sister gave me a bootleg of their Houston gig. These performances are part of the reason why "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" might still be my favorite song of all time. It was the moment the band realized they could be more than a rock band, but still rock. The track lengths might carry on close to ten minutes a little too often, but the music manages to be simultaneously graceful, heavy, unusual, and elegant all at once.

So what's my real complaint? My setlist squabbles mentioned above are but a trifle, and a few duds in the setlist is no crime. The more serious problem is the mix. This isn't my first time complaining about a Smashing Pumpkins DVD mix, and if I were to review each of the reissue bonus DVDs, I'd be making the same complaints every time. It's like the band was just Billy and drums, and in this case, some keyboards, too. But where you might think that three drummers means a really dense percussion mix, you'd be wrong. Only the primary drummer, Kenny Aronoff, can be heard in the mix. Additional percussionists Stephen Hodges and Dan Morris only occasionally contribute to the sound output despite performing just as often. They rarely appear in the camera shot, but most of the times they do, you simply cannot hear what you can see they are playing.

Even worse is the case with James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky. Iha's guitar is mixed so low in most songs that his parts are rendered useless. In several songs ("Behold! The Night Mare", for example), the camera will show Iha playing a guitar solo, but you wouldn't even know it otherwise, because it is mixed so low that Corgan's absurdly loud rhythm guitar drowns it out. His parts do turn up in a few songs, such as "Thru the Eyes of Ruby", but more often than not, you wouldn't even know he was there.

Similarly, D'arcy might as well have not been on stage that night. It is far from uncommon in rock music that the bass is mixed annoyingly low, but D'arcy's bass is so low as to be simply not present. Rarely are her parts even audible. Even in songs like "Ava Adore" and "Pug", which are ostensibly centered around the bass parts, her bass is practically mute. D'arcy frequently sang backing vocals live, but the only time you would know it from this DVD is on a brief segment of "For Martha", where her vocals are suddenly mixed almost as loud as Corgan's. Iha, too, is given the silent treatment; he sang backing vocals less frequently, but he is nearly inaudible the entire time.

Whoever made this decision had to realize how bizarre and artificial this is. Musicians can be seen playing instruments and singing into microphones, yet Corgan's blazingly loud guitar render them inaudible. Bootlegs from the same era do not suffer these mixing problems and are correspondingly superior. Was Bjorn Thorsrud, the credited audio mixer, at fault, or was this done at Billy's instigation? Presumably, this rather expensive "super deluxe" reissue is only aimed at the hardcore fan, but is it not reasonable to expect that a large number of these same fans would recognize these mix alterations? I'll admit the visual presentation is welcome, but if I'm going to listen to a live concert recording from the band, I'll still be sticking to my bootlegs.

Scores:

Original album: A+

Entire reissue package: A-

Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia: August 4, 1998: C+

P.S. Make no mistake, all of the DVDs in the current deluxe reissue series suffer the same flaws. This one may have been the most egregious and obvious, but they are all mixed in a frustratingly revisionist manner.

[The back of the DVD insert.]

The Smashing Pumpkins - Live 2012.10.18 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri

Although the number of original members of the Smashing Pumpkins remaining in the band has dwindled to just one (Zwan now officially had more original members of the Pumpkins than their current configuration), the band (i.e. Billy Corgan) is still making music – and despite the annoying production qualities of their recent recordings, some of the songwriting and instrumental work is actually quite good. After being surprised by Oceania, and slowly coming to mildly appreciate the rest of the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, I decided it was worth seeing them live when they came to my town.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
Venue: Chaifetz Arena
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 18 October 2012
Opening Act: Anberlin

Setlist:

01. Keyboard intro → Quasar
02. Panopticon
03. The Celestials
04. Violet Rays
05. My Love Is Winter
06. One Diamond, One Heart
07. Pinwheels
08. Oceania
09. Pale Horse
10. The Chimera
11. Glissandra
12. Inkless
13. Wildflower
14. Space Oddity [David Bowie cover]
15. X.Y.U.
16. Disarm
17. Tonite Reprise → Tonight, Tonight
18. Bullet with Butterfly Wings
19. Shock Me (tease) → Detroit Rock City (tease) [KISS covers]
20. A Song for a Son

21. Guitar instrumental → Zero

22. Cherub Rock

Encore:

23. Ava Adore

24. Guitar Duel → Whole Lotta Love (tease) [Led Zeppelin cover]

25. Muzzle

Last time I saw the Smashing Pumpkins, they were playing a greatest-hits setlist based on their 20th anniversary. This time, they're promoting a new record and doing their best to get people to listen to it. If the first half of the setlist looks oddly familiar, it's because it's the exact tracklist of the new album, Oceania, which they've been playing in sequence at every night of the tour. The album is clearly an attempt to connect with their core audience that fell in love with Siamese Dream, as the clever use of melodic guitar hooks and impressive drumming dominate the album. It also features a surprising amount of keyboards (some almost overtly retro and cheesy) and some of the best bass parts ever seen on a Pumpkins release.

Corgan's many interviews lead one to believe that he is certainly trying to talk up his new bandmates and prove that they play key roles in the recordings. He might actually be telling the truth – new bassist and backing vocalist Nicole Fiorentino is at least more consistent than D'arcy was, even if she isn't necessarily better; the very young drummer Mike Byrne picks up right where Jimmy Chamberlin left off; and guitarist Jeff Schroeder, despite appearing even more shy than James Iha, somehow manages to meet Corgan's high standards. It's hard to tell how much of the guitarwork on Oceania is actually Jeff's (my guess is not much), but the basswork and drumming is almost assuredly from the new members.

Seeing the band perform live the new album in its entirety might have been cool if I hadn't bought the record yet, but since I had, it was a bit boring. The songs weren't really rearranged, there were no extended jams or new parts, and no extra members filled out the sound. While some of the guitarwork was exciting to see live, some parts were left unused, and samples were too often used to add the extra keyboard and percussion parts. In some cases, it appeared that those parts could have been played by the members of the band (or a touring keyboardist!) but instead the members just stood there. I was surprised; it struck me as inauthentic and unnecessary. All four members did play some keyboards, but not as much as one might expect for the work of setting up the instruments for each member.

After playing the album, stage hands cleared all the keyboards, as if the band was now returning to "normal". Few samples were heard from here on, and the band seemed to loosen up just enough to notice. They played a rocked-up cover of Bowie's "Space Oddity", which was great aside from some odd vocal rephrasings, before digging into a quick overview of some of the band's biggest singles. Unlike previous tours, where the band mixed major hits with top-notch album cuts and assorted oddities, there were no surprises to be found after the Bowie cover. A few songs were slightly rearranged, but those familiar with the Pumpkins' live history would not find anything new.

Many of the remaining songs felt predictable and relatively uninspired. "X.Y.U." has never been one of my favorites, and this rendition offered nothing noteworthy. "Zero" and "Cherub Rock" were also played straight by the numbers (except for the pleasantly cascading guitar instrumental preceding "Zero"), and even "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" was played conventionally after starting off with a heavier take borrowed from live renditions from years ago.

"Disarm" seemed like a lazy choice, as the band played a lackluster version dominated by a sampled string section. I feared the same treatment would be given for "Tonight, Tonight", but I was proven wrong. It instead began with the low-key "Tonite Reprise" as an intro, featuring Jeff on E-Bow. After playing about half of that version, Mike began playing the easily-recognized drumroll to lead into the full-band version of the song. Instead of a sample orchestra, Jeff continued using his E-Bow to play a similar part. It was an excellent version.

The only other new song played all night was "A Song for a Son". Clearly already recognized as a high point since the band's resurgence, the band hoped we'd recognize the song and started into a rocking job of it. Near the end, they dragged it into a quieter jam, but something sounded out of tune or just off. The bass seemed to resonate with something in the building, but it threw off the rest of the song, and when the band tried to bring the energy back up, it still didn't jell quite right. The core of the song sounded great, but the five or six minutes of whatever after that seemed a bit lifeless.

Although "Ava Adore" was done in a fairly solid heavy rendition, the ending of the song ended oddly. Although the two guitarists hit the brief harmonized solo perfectly, they ended the song with a guitar duel that got progressively weaker until it just fell flat. After Corgan started screwing up, they ended up just laughing and tossing around tired Led Zeppelin riffs. They meagerly tried to bring things to some kind of decent close, but they made up for it by tearing into a great version of "Muzzle".

I'm never quite sure what to make of the Smashing Pumpkins anymore. After a rocky start to their reunion, I'm happy that it seems like the band has settled on a stable configuration. It's still unclear if Corgan has abandoned the completion of his ambitious Teargarden project, but he's certainly given up on the original vision in favor of the traditional album format (which he'd previously claimed he had forsaken entirely). Something must have changed in Corgan's head, because Oceania is noticeably superior to everything previously released from the Teargarden project. The songwriting and performances are clearly a step up, although the production is still obnoxious. Seeing the album performed live brings up a big question: why doesn't Corgan realize that his live sound is better than his studio work?

Scores:

Live performance: C+

Oceania: B

P.S. This show was bootlegged and is available for download here. This is entirely legal as the band permits taping of their concerts. 

The Smashing Pumpkins - If All Goes Wrong (2008)

I don't want to focus so much on the Smashing Pumpkins, but I've been thinking about writing a review of their latest single ("G.L.O.W.") or their latest music videos or something, and after watching their new DVD, I decided I had to say a few words on the topic. Here goes:

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
DVD: If All Goes Wrong
Release Date: 11 November 2008
Label: Coming Home Media
Producer/Director: Jack Gulick and Daniel E. Catullo III

Tracklisting:

Disc One:
01. "If All Goes Wrong" documentary
02. "Voices of the Ghost Children" featurette
03. Interview with Pete Townshend

Disc Two (Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco):
01. The Rose March
02. Peace + Love
03. 99 Floors
04. Blue Skies Bring Tears
05. Superchrist
06. Lucky 13
07. Starla
08. Death from Above
09. The Crying Tree of Mercury
10. Winterlong
11. Heavy Metal Machine → White Rabbit [Jefferson Airplane cover]
12. Untitled
13. No Surrender
14. Gossamer
15. Zeitgeist
16. 99 Floors (Rehearsal)
17. Peace + Love (Rehearsal)
18. Mama (Rehearsal)
19. No Surrender (Rehearsal)
20. Promise Me (Rehearsal)

I didn't quite know what to expect when I bought this DVD. I figured the second disc would be predictable, but I wasn't sure what the documentary would focus on. It essentially covers the Smashing Pumpkins' residencies in Asheville, NC and San Francisco, CA in the summer of 2007, right as Zeitgeist was released and right after their first reunion shows in Europe. The band played nine nearly-consecutive shows at the Orange Peel in Asheville and twelve at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The idea was that the band would tighten up, have an opportunity to write new songs, and perhaps have a certain degree of dialog about the material with the audience.

The documentary semi-chronologically follows mainly the band throughout the nights but also frontman Billy Corgan during the days while he tries to write songs. Several songs are singled out and described; we are told when each of these songs was written and first performed (often just a day apart) and Corgan often explains how the songs fit into what is going on around him. Most relate directly to his experiences with the audience and his environment across the six weeks of the residencies.

Considerable time is given for Corgan to explain that he feels held back by his audience, that they are living in the past and don't want the Smashing Pumpkins to grow and change. He continually talks about trying to move on have a new start beyond his band's former identity. This strikes me as interesting for several reasons. First, when Corgan first put an ad in local Chicago papers saying that he wanted to reform the Pumpkins, he explicitly said he wanted his old songs back (after adamantly refusing to play them during Zwan and solo tours). Second, his setlists from the first reunion shows in Europe, the residencies covered here, the extended world tour thereafter, and the 25th anniversary tour that he just completed all are filled with old material. Granted, he has written many new songs while on tour that he frequently performs, but the tracks from Zeitgeist are infrequently performed live, especially on the latest tour, where they rarely appeared on setlists. Why would he overlook the obvious new material and favor old material if he's trying to get away from it?

A large conundrum here, though, is that in many ways, Corgan is moving on. He has written at least forty songs since reforming the band, in addition to adopting plenty of new cover songs, revamping old songs, and bringing back some forgotten songs (like the previously unperformed "Translucent" and "I Am One, Part 2"). As far as performing concerts goes, Corgan is doing exactly what he should be: mixing old favorites and overlooked songs with newly written material. He hasn't forgotten the songs that made the band great, but he's adding a new chapter to the story. He keeps talking about trying to move on, and he is. I wish he'd stop talking about it and ripping on his audience members and just do it. He doesn't need to proselytize – there are plenty of people out there picking up what he's putting down.

This doesn't mean that everything the Pumpkins are doing is great. I really like the American Gothic EP and many of the songs seen only in concert (especially "A Song for a Son", "Owata", and "99 Floors"), but Zeitgeist and the "G.L.O.W."/"Superchrist" single both sound so static and trite. I can't recommend them or any of the recent music videos, all of which are just flashy excuses to dance around without actually having any content. And at the same time, I recommend the EP and a concert ticket, even if the latter is expensive and I still don't really like how the band has been ending many of their concerts (such as the one I attended). This is partially addressed in the documentary when the band performs 30+ minute versions of "Gossamer" as their closer. One of these performances is included on the second disc, and it's really obnoxious. In the film, the band complains of people losing interest and the camera shows people yawning and leaving the concert early. Honestly: what do you expect? The still-long but significantly more tolerable 15- or 20-minute versions of the song have some really cool parts, but the 30-minute versions just drag on and have extended periods of senseless jamming. These things are fun to do in your basement (and I can attest to this), but they don't translate to the stage well.

The two bonus features on the first disc are of limited interest (just as the main feature, I suppose). The "Voices of the Ghost Children" segment is just fans saying typical and predictable things about the band and the reunion shows. They are obviously one-sided, just as most of the fans shown in the film itself. The interview with Pete Townshend is far more interesting, as he talks about the relationship between musicians and fans and his own experience with residencies.

The second disc is decent. It compiles fifteen songs from the Fillmore residency and makes a good setlist out of them. Some songs are done acoustic or with sparse instrumentation, and some are full-band. The performances and sound quality are top-notch, and the song selection is appreciable outside of a few songs that are just metal-riff jam-fests. The eight-minute rendition of "Blue Skies Bring Tears", though, manages to be a heavy song that totally rocks and sounds great. The main set is augmented by five songs from a rehearsal done on July 27, 2007 on the floor of the Fillmore. There are a few repeats with minimal differences from the stage versions, but the two extra songs both sound good. My main problem with all of the live performances on the disc is that the mix really favors the guitar and drums (which are conveniently the instruments played by the only two original members). Ginger Reyes' bass and Lisa Harriton's keyboards (and all the backing vocals) are frequently nearly inaudible.

When it comes down to it, I'm happy to have the Smashing Pumpkins back. Honestly. Corgan talks a lot about how his fans won't trust him, but I do. I think he often treats the people around him and his audiences fairly poorly, but he's still a good songwriter and musician. He's not always spot-on these days, and that's fine. I'm confident that he will continue to make music that will occasionally shine brightly. I'm willing to accept that the band must evolve and that the personnel involved must also change. The new members fit their roles well enough, and although I think nearly everyone would like James Iha or D'arcy back, it is understood that they are not interested in participating, and that's fine. They've moved on in their own ways. I do, however, find it a bit inappropriate for the documentary to use several interviews to minimize the role those members played in the band – especially in having one of the band's soundmen, Kerry Brown, reiterate this with a title under him mentioning his status as D'arcy's ex-husband.

Corgan must understand that not everyone will follow him everywhere he goes, but he cannot deny that many people will. (Zeitgeist has gone gold in the US, so there's at least half a million people on board.) He doesn't need to rant about moving on, he should just do it. Instead of berating his audience and lamenting the disinterested people, he should simply let his audience know that he wants to explore new directions and then go for it. People will listen.

Scores:
"If All Goes Wrong" documentary: D
"Voices of the Ghost Children" featurette: C-
Pete Townshend interview: B
Live at the Fillmore: B
Entire package: C

Bonus scores (just for fun and reference's sake):
American Gothic EP: A-
"G.L.O.W."/"Superchrist" single: D+
The four music videos made since the reunion ("Tarantula", "That's the Way", "Superchrist", "G.L.O.W."): F

The Smashing Pumpkins - Live 2008.11.26 The Fox Theater, St. Louis, Missouri

When the Smashing Pumpkins reunited and started playing live shows, I was fairly excited and even thought they sounded decent based on bootlegs recordings. When Zeitgeist came out, I was disappointed by the blandness and uniformity of the album. Since then, they released the download-only American Gothic EP, the “G.L.O.W.” b/w “Superchrist” digital single, and the If All Goes Wrong documentary/live DVD. The EP shows the Pumpkins moving in a more acoustic direction, exploring complex vocal layering, and generally being much more creative than what Zeitgeist indicated. The single is okay but nothing revelatory. I haven’t watched the DVD yet, but I know that it contains about a half-dozen new songs that are continuing in the direction of the EP but making progress. Now on tour, the band has another four or five new songs, most of which I actually really like.

On the band’s current tour, christened their 20th Anniversary Tour, the band has been playing double-night residencies in each city they play in. They use just about the same setlists in each city for the two nights; the first is billed as “Black Sunshine” and the second as “White Crosses”. The former tends towards the louder, heavier, more guitar-centric songs while the latter is more balanced with softer and more acoustic songs and thus probably more interesting. In a few cities, they are just playing one night, blending the two setlists together. One of these cities was St. Louis, which is where I caught them.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
Venue: The Fox Theater
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 26 November 2008
Opening Act: None

Setlist:
01. Tarantula
02. G.L.O.W.
03. Kill Your Parents → Siva
04. Eye
05. Mayonaise
06. Tonight, Tonight
07. A Song for a Son
08. Superchrist
09. Heavy Metal Machine → White Rabbit [Jefferson Airplane cover] → Glass' Theme
10. Landslide [Fleetwood Mac cover]
11. Disarm
12. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
13. Soma
14. Cherub Rock (“Cocktail Version” tease)
15. Cherub Rock (normal version)
16. Zero
17. Bodies
18. Gossamer
19. The Sounds of Silence [Simon and Garfunkel cover] → Lil' Red Riding Hood [Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs cover]
20. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun [Pink Floyd cover]

After reading Pitchfork’s roast of the current Smashing Pumpkins tour and being aware that Corgan has a tendency to preach or rant or just get obnoxious at recent shows, I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this show. However, I liked the look of the setlists and sound of the bootlegs that I have been able to get a hold of. I went on in hoping for the best.

The core touring band (singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin from the old days along with second guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton) came out to some guitar feedback that led into “Tarantula”, the lead single from Zeitgeist. Next came the new single, “G.L.O.W.”. Both of these newer songs were performed well, but neither is a particularly great song; both are loud, heavily-distorted rockers, but at least “G.L.O.W.” has some good dynamics.

The band then started doing a little jam bit that I was fairly sure I recognized, and sure enough, it was the intro jam to “Siva” (dubbed “Kill Your Parents” by fans), only performed live back in the day. “Siva” is simply one of the best songs from the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut album, Gish, and its live performance was quite a treat, since they rocked it well and extended the middle break sections into creative feedback and guitar jams. This was followed by “Eye”, one of the band’s coolest songs (available on the Lost Highway soundtrack or the Rotten Apples greatest hits compilation). It is also one of the most electronic, which means live renditions never mimic the studio recording. This take was largely adapted to guitars, which made it rock even harder, and several parts were still done on keyboards to keep with the general sound.

Harriton’s keyboards on “Eye” were accompanied by second keyboardist Kristopher Pooley and by 10-string violinist Gingger Shankar. These two musicians are new to the Pumpkins’ touring band, and they appeared now and then on certain songs, totalling about half of the concert. Some songs also featured Gabrial McNair on trombone and Stephen Bradley on trumpet. So far, all of the touring members are yet to appear credited on a studio release, but it would seem that at least the core three members (Schroeder, Reyes, and Harriton) are full-time members. However, Corgan does have quite the reputation for being a perfectionist and playing all the non-drumming parts on his albums, so I suspect there is little chance of these members appearing on record. (Past touring keyboardists, such as Jonathan Melvoin and Mike Garson, and Chamberlin’s replacements during his temporary leave of absence were never considered official members, but original bassist D’arcy Wretzky’s replacement, Melissa Auf der Maur, was somewhat recognized as an official member.)

All these additional members really made “Tonight, Tonight” sound full and comparable to the orchestrally-arranged studio version. They stayed out for “A Song for a Son”, which is a new, as-of-yet-unreleased song that features some nice guitar work and classic Pumpkins dynamics. The melody is catchy, it builds up into a great full arrangement, and it has some good keyboard parts, too. Out of all the songs the reunited Pumpkins have performed, this may be my favorite.

Next came “Superchrist” (available as the b-side of “G.L.O.W.”), a long jam with just a few lyrics. Corgan has claimed the song is the sound of the band “back in free territory”, but I think it’s the sound of a band that likes to play really loud electric guitars and play mundane metal riffs. They can do better, and most of their other new songs demonstrate this.

A restructured “Heavy Metal Machine” followed. The band has played it consistently since reforming, and they continually rearrange it, in part by throwing in lyrics from other peoples’ songs. Other than the frequent “White Rabbit” segments (which are the coolest parts of the medley), on this tour they’ve usually thrown in parts of Laid Back’s “White Horse”, Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”, and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” and “YYZ”. (Since I am not familiar with any of these songs, I cannot verify if they were done at this performance.) Generally, though, the song just felt overlong. It seemed that the band was just reaching for any excuse to add another segment to the song, and many of these extensions were based on just using different thickly distorted guitar riffs that don’t do anything for me. It ended well, though, by segueing into the awesome Machina II rocker “Glass’ Theme”. I wonder if the lyrical content of the medley is coherent in any sense.

After that, everyone but Corgan and Schroeder left the stage, and they traded their electric guitars for acoustics to do a pleasant version of “Landslide”. Schroeder left while Reyes, Shankar, and the horn section returned for “Disarm”, which Billy claimed he wrote at 6am while standing under the St. Louis Arch. Since he also said during the show that he likes to lie and he does it frequently, something tells me his story is inaccurate. You can never be sure, though.

Billy left the stage, but the rest of the band stayed to do a beautiful take on a rearranged “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”, which was never performed live before this tour. Billy then came back and led the band through four really awesome classics. “Soma” was great, but “Cherub Rock” was one of the best moments of the show. It started with a false start because Corgan forgot to switch guitars, but then the guitarists did a short smooth-jazzy “cocktail version” of the song before the band played the real thing.

The last part of the show was the Billy jam-fest. “Gossamer” is an unreleased song that has been played since the initial reunion shows, and it was given a decent rendition without doing the full half-hour version from some of the concerts last year. The song is a long, multi-segment prog-rock piece that is largely an excuse for Billy to do some extended guitar solos, but it does sound pretty cool. This was followed by two covers morphed into incredibly long jams that crossed over from the cooler prog-rock territory into the somewhat less-cool space-jam territory. “The Sounds of Silence” sounds nothing like the original and wasn't particularly worth the amount of time it took to perform. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” mostly followed this pattern, but it was superior due to a better arrangement. After a significant period of aimless noodling, the band hit their experimental jam peak when the members started changing instruments. First, Corgan set down his guitar and played on some timpani (even though he didn't really do anything that cool with them). Next, Schroeder set down his guitar and started playing with a theremin and Reyes traded her pick for a bow. The resulting segment of abstract jamming was actually pretty cool. It was out there, but it came together and worked. (It helps that theremins and the like fascinate me.)

Now, on the whole, those three jam sessions lasted about 45 minutes, and although they were mildly interesting, they weren't that great, and the worst part is that afterwards they just left. No encore, no goodbyes, nothing. They just left and the stage lights came on. I think everyone was expecting the band to come back and break out into “1979” or something similarly riveting. After all the abstract spaciness, I think everyone was sort of mellowed out and ready for a rousing conclusion. And yet it failed to materialize.

I can’t really complain too much here, especially since the band played for nearly two and a half hours and they did do a lot of my favorite songs. However, I did notice that we only got twenty songs, whereas every other show on this tour thus far has had more like 23 or 24. (“Only” must of course be used relatively here.) Again, I think the jamming only occasionally entered exciting territory, but I probably wouldn't be so negative about it if they had finished with just one or two more great songs. It would have really sealed the deal and made for a near-perfect night. As it was, I enjoyed it a lot, but it just felt like it wandered off at the end of the night and got lost out past Neptune.

The setlist is also intriguing. Most nights they've played two or three of their newly-written unreleased songs, but on this night we just got “A Song for a Son”. As much as I like it, other new compositions (“99 Floors”, “Owata”, “As Rome Burns”) were overlooked. Also noticeably absent was anything from the recent American Gothic EP, which I rather liked.

Actually, if you analyze the setlist, you’ll notice that the greatest concentration comes from the Pumpkins’ two best-selling albums, at a rate of four from each: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream. Much as I love these albums, I also love Adore, from which nothing was played, and Machina II, from which only one brief song was played. Furthermore, only one song was played from each other album (Gish, Machina, and the recent Zeitgeist). None of this would be of much concern if it weren't for this tour being billed as a 20th anniversary tour. If this is supposed to celebrate 20 years of their (discontinuous) existence, why would the song selection be so imbalanced? Wouldn't it have been cooler to play a few of the rare early songs? Couldn't one or two of the less creative extended jams have been replaced each for three or four better selections, or at least the more obnoxious segments of the jams excised in favor of five minutes towards an Adore track?

What I’m trying to say is that I liked a lot of what the band did, but the more directionless jams were a lot less engaging than they could have been. I’m happy to have my favorite band back and putting on fairly good shows, but they are holding themselves back from being truly impressive and invigorating. They have potential, but they aren't living up to it quite as fully as they could. Nonetheless, I do not hesitate to say this show was incredibly enjoyable. I never got to see the band in their original lifetime, but I am not disappointed by their current incarnation. The various replacement members actually do a decent job of living up to the original members, and they play some great material. Despite their many imperfections, they play a good show.

Score: B+

P.S. In Atlantic City, the band covered the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man”, obviously one of my personal favorites. If anyone comes across a recording of this performance, please let me know.

[Edit 2008.12.12: Via LiveSmashingPumpkins.com I found the cover of "Nowhere Man" from the Atlantic City show. In fact, if you're willing to pay, you can get mp3s, flacs, or CDs of soundboard recordings from each night of the tour. I bought this concert and the single "Nowhere Man" track, and the quality is great.]

[Edit 2014.10.12: The concert recording is now available from livedownloads.com.]

[Edit 2019.08.11: In retrospect, B+ was probably too generous. I was clearly excited to finally see one of my favorite bands live. This show was better than the St. Louis show I saw in 2012 (which I gave a C+), but definitely not as good as the Austin show in 2016 (which I gave a B+, and probably just slightly inferior to the Berlin show in 2019 (which I gave a B). Hence, it would probably be more appropriate to give this show a B-.]

[Edit 2019.11.13: The concert recording is now available at nugs.net.]

An Essay About Packaging

For a bit of a change, I'm going to write a little essay here. I'd like to say a few words about something about music that I think is important: packaging. Packaging and liner notes, and printed lyrics, and little associated essays, and photographs. Good liner notes, that's what I like. Some well done cover art goes a long way, and I like reading lyrics along with the album. Notes, credits, photos, and so on are not entirely necessary but awfully nice when present.

For me, a big part of buying albums is getting the packaging. This is why I don't like buying digital albums (or just copying or illegally downloading music). I really like to be able to hold the artwork and look at it thoroughly. I like to get to know albums I buy, and it's hard without packaging.

I hate buying CDs from the early 90s that just have no packaging. You get the regular old jewel case, the CD, and the tiniest liner notes possible: just a single sheet, folded once. Maybe it contains lyrics to one song and the credits. I mention the early 90s, but really it started in the 80s when CDs first came out, and when albums were being issued on CD for the first time, often the record company just shrunk the 12" vinyl artwork and crammed it into the 5" CD case.

Some of the worst examples are a few of the Cure's albums, like Boys Don't Cry (1980) (actually an American compilation basically consisting of their first real album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979) and their first three singles), Devo's Duty Now for the Future (1978) (containing literally nothing on the sleeve but a catalog listing from the record company), Moby's self-titled debut (1992), or Electronic's self-titled debut (1991). (I should note that many of the Cure's later albums have much better liner notes, like Disintegration (1989) and Wish (1992).)

[The Cure – Boys Don't Cry (1980). Not much more here than the bland, non-band-approved art.]

[The Cure – Disintegration (1989). A major improvement – interesting, plus lyrics and more art inside.]

Plenty of albums, new and old, just don't have much packaging. Sometimes that's fine. That defined New Order, for example. Actually, any band whose album covers were designed by the Factory artist Peter Saville (namely, Joy Division, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ultravox, and a handful of others) is nearly guaranteed to have been given a great design. New Order in particular was known to have a sort of mystique, and the lack of descriptive liner notes was part of that. It's still a bit bothersome, but their style was so good that it's hard to complain. Some artists and bands get away with less and it's not so bad (Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) has such a great cover but limited liner notes), but sometimes it feels like some bands just don't care.

[New Order – Power, Corruption, and Lies (1983). This is the original cover by Saville; later CD reissues added the band name and title. A great cover picture.]

[Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979). Another of my favorite Saville covers. Some of the inside art available only on the vinyl version inspired an oil painting I did in high school.]

[OMD – Dazzle Ships (1983). Another Saville work. The vinyl version has a unique design with small holes designed to let the different colors of the inner sleeve come through while pulling the inner sleeve out. A great design.]

[Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969). Simple, but I love that shot so much, and the way it was printed made it grainy in a sort of good way.]

Some bands just get it right. I apologize for my incessant talk of the Smashing Pumpkins, but it happens a lot, and I'm going to mention them again. Their liner notes are superb. Gish was weak, but all four subsequent commercial albums (and the outtakes collection Pisces Iscariot and the b-sides box set The Aeroplane Flies High) all have great liner notes. The albums all have full lyrics, plentiful artwork, photography, full credits, sometimes special notes from the band... it's good stuff. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness even had two booklets (but it was a double album) – one for lyrics with little clip art-ish (only better) drawings, and one for weirdo collages and the actual credits.

[From the sleeve of The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore (1998). This has always been one of my favorite shots; I painted my own version. The sleeve is thick due to several pages of photos and complete lyrics in different fonts and arrangements.]

The Smiths always had good liner notes too – full lyrics and pictures from any number of Morrissey's favorite movies, TV shows, or whatever. Radiohead have been masters of album art for years now. They may or may not print their lyrics, but the interesting arrays of artworks are never disappointing. They make each album and EP really feel like an item of value.

[The Smiths – "This Charming Man" single (1983). Morrissey always found interesting shots of his favorite actors and models, and this was always one of my favorites.]

[Radiohead – Kid A (2000). This art was mind-blowingly arty and thus great.]

I don't remember exactly when bands first started releasing CDs in packaging other than jewel cases, but that can often be interesting. It's more popular with reissues these days, but Neil Young's Mirror Ball (1995) has a cardboard-ish slip sleeve sort of thing, and it's not bad. I like the nontraditional slip sleeves in that it's at least something different. It helps.

[Neil Young with Pearl Jam – Mirror Ball (1995). A great cover that doesn't even include words.]

Vinyl in general is an entirely separate story. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and the New Order albums had the same limited packaging when first released on vinyl, but the artwork was bigger. Some albums on vinyl merely have the cardboard-ish outer sleeve and nothing (maybe a bland white sleeve) on the inside, and that's sad. Some would fold open or have elaborate inner sleeves, or just something extra, like John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Wedding Album (1969), which came with photos, articles, drawings, and a copy of the couple's marriage certificate. Genius. Part of my problem with vinyl may be that I'm a music collector of the 21st century and thus the vinyl I buy is always used – so pieces may be missing. However, my father's collection seems to indicate that this is only rarely the case.

[John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Wedding Album (1969). Whoever took this photo had a Japanese edition with all the inserts, which are displayed here.]

Most 60s and 70s material, when first put to CD, seems to be a bit simple – maybe some lyrics or photos or a little write-up. Think of every Beatles or Doors album, or even the Violent Femme's self-titled debut (1983). These aren't too bad, just uncreative and plain.

The best thing is when albums are reissued, usually with remastered sound and bonus tracks. Not only do I love bonus tracks, but these reissues usually have full lyrics and little essays and period photos. I adore these reissues. Echo & the Bunnymen's reissues are notable for all the above, plus an extra paper outer sleeve, but no lyrics (which is even weirder considering the original CDs had printed lyrics). The Cure's reissues (and the reissue of the side project The Glove's Blue Sunshine (1983, reissued 2006)) are fantastic: a whole second disc of bonus tracks, lyrics, photos everywhere, little essays and notes. Wonderful. The Byrds' reissues lack lyrics but have song-by-song notes. Not every band gets it right, though: Psychedelic Furs and Siouxsie & the Banshees reissues are disappointing for the lack of much of anything but a few bonus tracks and notes.

[Echo & the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain (1984). I love this album and its cover. The packaging of the reissue helps, but lyrics would've been great.]

[The Glove – Blue Sunshine (1983). In case the name of the band wasn't clear, the cover makes it clear that this is a Yellow Submarine reference. The reissue keeps the design up throughout the entire lavish liner notes booklet.]

I know I may sound like a hypocrite for questioning the Smashing Pumpkins' $22, 76-page booklet version of Zeitgeist, but my version has a dozen or so pages anyway, and I didn't want to pay around ten cents a page for photography that wasn't even that great. I don't like overpaying, but I like a bit of effort to be put into something. If an artist can spend so much time making the music, how hard could it be to put together a package to make it physically pleasing in addition to the auditory enjoyment?

I could mention many more bands and reissues, but I figure that's enough. Feel free to make suggestions for notable good or bad packaging that I failed to cover.