It's hard to imagine the Smashing Pumpkins as an obscure band. There was a time before the culture shock of the album Siamese Dream (1993) and the monumental 28-track Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) made the band's theatrical rock almost ubiquitous. One also needs to look beyond the three decades since, when Billy Corgan's personality overshadowed the band's significant musical legacy. Dodging accusations of excessive control, feuding with other musicians, and spreading bizarre UFO theories seemed more important than writing good songs. But Corgan always did what he wanted and said what he wanted to say.
Listening to the album Gish, Recently reissued on vinyl for its 35th anniversary, it's a good reminder that the Smashing Pumpkins started out as a damn good rock band. Unlike contemporaries like Nirvana, a punk band looking to upend the patriarchal rock hegemony of the '80s, and Pearl Jam, who served as a kind of nightly exorcism, Corgan never hid his rock star ambitions. He wanted to play arenas, wear eye makeup, and deliver soaring guitar solos. In an era when bands like Def Leppard had banalized rock, Corgan wanted the Smashing Pumpkins to roar like Axl and Slash, and to differentiate himself from the overly sensitive types like Seattle's Kurt Cobain that record companies were suddenly greedy for.
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It is also worth remembering that Gish released four months earlier Nevermind . Produced by Butch Vig and named after silent film actress Lillian Gish, this album doesn't sound as tense and angsty as Nevermind . Perhaps that's why Smashing Pumpkins didn't hit the mark until Siamese Dream. Corgan still dreamed of powerful riffs in the vein of Jimmy Page, balanced with the gothic influences of bands like The Cure. Gish peaked at only number 195 on the Billboard 200, despite airplay on college radio. In 1991, the world wasn't in the mood for new stadium rock.
Time was kind to Gish , especially given the return to theatrical rock ten years later with bands like My Chemical Romance. Separated from the 90s, Gish is proof that the Smashing Pumpkins arrived fully formed, with Corgan delivering stunning guitar solos over arthouse songs brimming with angst and rage. Yes, some of the lyrics are insanely childish and emotional, but that's also part of the tradition Corgan established. The album opens with an incredible triple whammy. "I Am One" is a thunderous guitar slam, while "Siva" is pure adrenaline. Meanwhile, "Rhinoceros" is Corgan at his best. The frontman said the song proves, "We can be beautiful, sweet, psychedelic, and then go heavy and play a killer solo.".
It's hard to believe the golden era of the '90s is so far behind us. Three of the four original members of the Smashing Pumpkins are still touring. However, this fall, the band will celebrate Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and not Gish. While nothing here reaches the heights of '1979,' 10 tracks sound more decent than 28. This makes sense, since Gish will forever remain in the shadow of the two subsequent albums. This anniversary edition gives us a chance to rediscover where Corgan began, but perhaps it's impossible to do so without all the baggage of the past.
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