Siamese Dream
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Siamese Dream was the breakthrough success for and second album by The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993. It was rumoured that due to constant fighting within the band, Billy Corgan played all the guitar and bass parts. The band generally denies this reason, saying that Corgan only recorded all stringed parts because he could lay them down in recording easier and with far fewer takes. Entering and peaking in the U.S. charts at #10, Siamese Dream - as of May 2005 - stands at 4.6 million copies sold in the U.S.
In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Siamese Dream the 67th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 360 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Two of the songs from Siamese Dream were included in Guitar World's list of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time. Readers voted "Geek U.S.A." at number 54, and "Cherub Rock" at number 97.
The fighting within the band at the time of recording was caused by a number of factors. The first was the dissolution of a relationship between guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy, which also made them lose much interest in the band, although since the recording and release of the album, the band generally doesn't discuss the incident. The second was that Corgan insisted on writing and recording the vast majority of the music himself, which was not done on their previous album Gish. Corgan once said that if Siamese Dream had not been a success, the band would have broken up.
Corgan has said that he experienced massive writer's block during the recording, and wrote the song "Hummer" during this lack of inspiration. He went on to say that some executives from Virgin Records were coming to the studio to check on the progress of recording the album, and panicked without any substantial material. He wrote and recorded a rough demo of the song "Today" before they arrived. After hearing the new recording, the executives were so delighted that they cancelled any future visits to the studio.
The album's unique production sound is due, in most part, to Butch Vig, the producer of the album. For the album, the guitars were layered multiple times, and in one case, over 40 guitar tracks are present. "Layering" is a technique in which a sound is recorded multiple times and the sounds are "layered" on top of one another so that they are played at the same time. It is the recording equivalent of an orchestra, except only one person is needed for the particular instrument to be layered. This technique is extremely tedious and time-consuming, but, as one who listens to the album can instantly tell, it is well worth it as it creates a very slick, full sound that cannot be achieved through other means.
Track listing
- "Cherub Rock" - 4:58
- "Quiet" - 3:41
- "Today" - 3:19
- "Hummer" - 6:67
- "Rocket" - 4:06
- "Disarm" - 3:17
- "Soma" - 6:39
- "Geek U.S.A." - 5:13
- "Mayonaise" - 5:48
- "Spaceboy" - 4:28
- "Silverfuck" - 8:43
- "Sweet Sweet" - 1:38
- "Luna" - 3:20
The Japanese version of the album ended with "Pissant" from 'Pisces Iscariot', which appeared as "Hikari Express".
Singles
"Cherub Rock" was released on 7" with "Purr Snickety", and on 12"/CD with "Pissant", "French Movie Theme" and an unlisted drunken karaoke version of "Star Spangled Banner"."Today" was released on 7" with "Apathy's Last Kiss", on 12"/CD with "Hello Kitty Kat" and "Obscured", and on CD in Japan with "Apathy's Last Kiss" and "French Movie Theme".
"Disarm" was released on 7" with "Siamese Dream", on 12"/CD with "Soothe" and "Blew Away" and on CD with "Dancing in the Moonlight" (by Thin Lizzy) and "Landslide" (by Stevie Nicks).
"Rocket" was released on 7"/CD with "Never Let Me Down" (by Depeche Mode).
"Geek USA" was never a single, but was included in the Triple J compilation album Eleven (1994)
"Mayonaise" was never released as a single but many rock stations started playing it therefore making it radio single, and a fan favorite.
Outtakes
The following songs are those that were written and recorded for "Siamese Dream" but did not make the final cut, were not complete or did not get past the demo stage. Most were included on other releases as b-sides or were re-recorded and released on future albums or Pisces Iscariot (1994).- "Apathy's Last Kiss"
- "Blew Away"
- "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
- "Doorstep" (later released as "Meladori Magpie" on the Tonight, Tonight single)
- "Frail and Bedazzled" (Later released on Pisces Iscariot)
- "French Movie Theme"
- "Glynis"
- "Infinite Sadness"
- "Kitty Kat" (later released as "Hello Kitty Kat")
- "Pissant" (Included in Japanese release, and on Pisces Iscariot)
- "Purr Snickety"
- "Set the Ray to Jerry" (later released as a softer version on the 1979 single)
- "She Says"
- "Siamese Dream"
- "Spaced"
- "Suicide Kiss" (reworked into "Geek USA")
- "Tulips"
- "Whirl" (later released as "Whir")
Charting positions
Album
- 1993, Siamese Dream, The Billboard 200, No. 10
- 1994, Siamese Dream, Australian Highest Selling Albums, No. 47
Singles
- 1993, Cherub Rock, Mainstream Rock Tracks, No. 23
- 1993, Cherub Rock, Modern Rock Tracks, No. 7
- 1993, Today, Modern Rock Tracks, No. 4
- 1994, Disarm, Mainstream Rock Tracks, No. 5
- 1994, Rocket, Mainstream Rock Tracks, No. 28
- 1994, Today, Mainstream Rock Tracks, No. 28
- 1994, Disarm, Modern Rock Tracks, No. 8
- 1994, Today, Modern Rock Tracks, No. 6
Sample
- [Download sample] of "Cherub Rock"
Personnel
- Billy Corgan - vocals, guitar, Mellotron on "Spaceboy"
- James Iha - guitar, vocals
- D'Arcy Wretzky - bass, vocals
- Jimmy Chamberlin - drums
- Mike Mills - piano on "Soma"
- Eric Remschneider - cello on "Disarm" and "Luna"
- David Ragsdale - violin on "Disarm" and "Luna"
External links
- http://guitar.about.com/library/bl100greatest.htm
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