Rating: 9/10

Track Amount: 13

Running Time: 1 hour, 2 minutes and 8 seconds

Genre: Grunge

Personnel: Billy Corgan (lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, electronics), James Iha (guitars), D’arcy Wretzky (bass guitars and backing vocals), Jimmy Chamberlin (drums)

Producer: Butch Vig & Billy Corgan

Recording Location: Triclops Studio (Marietta, Georgia, USA)

Record Label: Virgin Records

Art Direction: Len Peltier, Melodie McDaniel, Steve J. Gerdes

Best Tracks: Cherub Rock, Today, Rocket

Quick Verdict: Without a doubt, one of the best Grunge albums ever made

As far as the history of music goes, this album was one of the greatest releases of the 1990s, even before hearing a note of the music from within. Nirvana had begun the Grunge trend of the 1990s, but there were certainly others who matched Nirvana in terms of overall music quality and musical importance. Countless USA bands from in and around Seattle made some of the finest music of both this movement and the 1990s. The Smashing Pumpkins achieved huge critical and commercial success out of an album that was difficult for the members of the group to make, with Billy Corgan, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman, suffering a nervous breakdown during recording, along with other internal issues prevalent within the group. Several singles were released from this album as well, ensuring its popularity. Let’s jump back in time to 1993 and take a listen to this album, now regarded as a classic album, and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. Cherub Rock begins with some marching army style drums, some neat, clean Fender Stratocaster work and enters into an awesome, loud and Grungy tune at hand. Immediately, this song sounds really fantastic and is very much indebted to Black Sabbath in its own way. A seriously cool and sludgy tune, with Billy Corgan singing softly over the top of it all. Soon enough, the chorus arrives with some awesome guitars, powerful drumming and iconic singing. Anyone who ever liked Nirvana or Pearl Jam seriously needs to hear this music. A powerful and awesomely divine tune that still sounds as amazing today as it did back in 1993. A fantastic song with power, purpose and energy throughout it all. The music and performances are stunning. If you were a music fan listening to this in the 1990s, then you were listening to very cool music indeed at the time. A discordant guitar solo is present, which is fairly minimal but covered in a ton of different treated sound effects. Nonetheless, this is a really powerful and magical listen throughout. Very, very good to listen to indeed. The squall of guitars and sustained guitar riffs and notes sounds absolutely top. Great tune to begin the album with. The drumming at the end is insanely amazing.

2. Quiet begins with some warped, backwards guitars and sounds, before drums enter, and this tune comes nicely alive. Yet another solid gold piece of music that was a staple of the early 1990s Grunge era, and it sounds like it deserves to be cranked up nice and loud by teenagers all over the world. Nonetheless, this music is insanely good for what it is. This music is certainly different to much else out there. A great mixture of Black Sabbath, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag and Nirvana, amongst many other bands, this is an iconic listening experience that is ultimately rewarding. The guitar solo also sounds very warped on this song. The musicianship and singing are absolutely wonderful, no matter if you are hearing this for the first time, or for the thousandth time. A seriously great tune at hand, once again. Absolutely brilliant music to hear.

3. Today begins with a clean Fender Stratocaster guitar riff, which sounds sweet and quickly launches into a loud and driven piece of music that is timeless and fantastic. This launches quickly into a cool song that has some sweet and genuinely great 1990s tune that has some interesting and unique melodicism about it. The guitars sound dark, dirty and powerful as well. Bill Corgan sings sweetly and variably on this song, in a lovely and melodic singing style. This has some heavily distorted guitar riffs that sound just right as well. Undoubtedly, a 1990s classic song that was released as a single. All in all, this sounds super fantastic to hear. A downtempo but sludgy listen musically that sounds solidly good. Another fantastic song from this album.

4. Hummer begins with some eastern sounds that are heavily processed, followed by some interesting drum loops and audible bass guitar work. This quickly launches into a sweet and melodic song that has its own intellectual and unique music flavour. This is a seven-minute-long tune that never gets old. The guitars are unique and heavy in their very own way. The music and performances throughout are totally underrated here. The chorus has some melodic singing, rolling drumbeats and dirty guitars galore. If you love your music that is loud, dirty sounding sonically and impressive, this album is definitely for you. It is also fantastic listening overall that goes above and beyond Grunge Music in general, and is a definite classic album so far into it. This extended tune never sounds old, dull or boring. The guitar solo section is also very impressive to listen to. Billy Corgan sounds super cool with his singing as well, just sounding terrific and iconic. In the second half is a great instrumental break that sounds dynamic and awesome throughout, with occasional singing. This breaks down into a neat and clean melodic section of guitar work with some excellent drumming in the background. This goes on nicely for some time, and just sounds incredibly soft and beautiful. The Smashing Pumpkins ask the listener to ask themselves if they are really free. This eventually continues on very well, in a dreamy and Psychedelic way, which sounds really superb. It builds up somewhat in volume and suspense towards the end, just sounding really killer. An awesome song to listen to. The outro is fantastic, with a guitar volume swell in the right channel.

5. Rocket begins with another iconic guitar riff that sounds trippy and trancey. This launches into another seriously awesome song that has some seriously great guitars and drums. The vocals by Billy Corgan sound inimitable and absolutely fantastic throughout. This is another Grungy piece of songcraft that makes a real difference in the world of music. Some interesting guitar riffs are present, and this song is dramatic sounding music for the early 1990s Grunge era. A punchy and excellent listen that again, really needs to be cranked up loud to be enjoyed to the max. A fantastic song with singing at different volumes that isn’t screamed. This is some of the best music of the 1990s, and those 12-hour-long recording sessions on this album were obviously fruitful. The guitar riffs throughout and Billy Corgan screaming: “I shall be free!” are infectious. It slows down very nicely and has a dramatic conclusion, which speeds up. Brilliant.

6. Disarm begins with some sweet and dramatic acoustic guitar playing, church bells and enters into a great and dramatic song that sounds very interesting with Billy Corgan’s singing. This music evolves into a seriously and sonically wonderful song with a mellotron in it as well, playing a string section. This is absolutely and pleasantly sweet music at hand. This is very much the Grunge version of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) album at large. This is a sensationally wonderful and timeless listen, with a multitude of sounds, melodies and textures throughout. Absolutely great music to listen to, with a passionate and emotionally charged song at hand.

7. Soma begins with some mellow and clean electric guitar parts that are multitracked. This gradually increases in volume, and soft drumming enters. The music and playing at hand is professionally and gorgeously delivered. Bill Corgan sings softly over the top of it all, and he deserves credit where it is due here. This is a downtempo and pleasant melodic ballad that is specifically designed for one to sleep to with headphones on at night. This eventually has more overdubbed sonic textures build up very nicely, and it gradually builds up nicely into a sonic ballad galore that sounds extremely cool throughout. Strummed acoustic guitars also enter, alongside piano. A very sweet and awesome tune that goes into full-on Grunge guitars and melodic singing, with some awesome drumming in the second half of the song. An absolutely fantastic tune is present, and this is some of the best Grunge Music that you will hear to this very day. A squealing set of guitar solos is present, leading into some awesome and powerful shredding at hand. A top notch tune to listen to that sounds extremely good at hand. Absolutely awesome and memorable music is present in this song. The wailing guitars and performance by The Smashing Pumpkins sound magical. At the end, it breaks down into a soft and sweet tune to finish up with. Excellent music.

8. Geek U.S.A. begins with some neat and powerful drumming, sludgy guitars and enters into a seriously cool piece of music at hand. Some awesome vocals that sound very much like Metallica’s James Hetfield emerge, and this tune takes on a life of its own. A seriously cool listen throughout, this music is the sort of music that should literally have been on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game series soundtracks extensively. All in all, an interesting and another catchy and lovable song that needs to be heard by more. There is a soft breakdown musically in the middle, with lyrics about being connected like a Siamese twin, which is relatable to the album title and album artwork. This music and sonic sounds are really cool. A fast, pseudo-shred guitar solo is present in the second half, before the music and playing take you to a higher place. Absolutely marvellous, the guitar solos towards the end are absolutely awesome to hear. These eventually have some feedback, before launching into more Black Sabbath-style guitar riffs and playing that sounds absolutely monumental. A great song to hear. Fantastic from start to finish.

9. Mayonaise begins with a sweet guitar arpeggio and flanger guitar overdubs. This is a sweet, moving and mellow tune that again deserves to be heard. There are some sweet and variable guitar parts being played here, before drums and heavily distorted guitar riffs enter this song. This is an absolutely enjoyable and fantastic song at hand, which sounds super sweet. The music and sounds throughout are energetic and supercharged, and just sound like the real product of hard work at hand. This sounds literally wonderfully powerful and fantastic throughout, with some clearly awesome melodies and sounds. Billy Corgan sings incredibly well on this song, and he sounds like a great singer in his own way. There are some sections of guitars, including a flanger affected guitar solo that sounds neat and unique throughout. A very interesting and pleasant listen for Grunge Music. In the second half, the song breaks down into a fine and pretty second half, which sounds really good. A seriously cool tune that has 1990s flavour and attitude throughout it all. This is, without a doubt, a classic album that has some pretty melodies and awesome guitar work to match it. Excellent work by The Smashing Pumpkins, and this puts them into the books of musical greats. It has a return to the intro at the end, and just sounds seriously great. Awesome stuff.

10. Spaceboy begins with upbeat acoustic guitar playing that is in an unusual rhythm, and launches into an awesome and interesting lyrical tale with some unusual lyrics that are wacky and artistic. It launches into another mellotron driven piece of music with strummed acoustic guitars at hand in the chorus. This is a lovely and artistic tune that sounds really lively and wonderful throughout. Billy Corgan articulates Grunge Music alongside such contemporaries as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains as a musical great, along with the rest of The Smashing Pumpkins. This is a gloriously good song that has some impressive and lovely music to match it. The sounds and performance throughout are solidly gold, and just sound absolutely solidly good. An amazing and timeless tune that still has some gorgeous beauty about it all. It stops suddenly in the second half, before a sonic montage of sound fades in, which sounds really weird and mentions masturbation. Good tune though.

11. Silverfuck begins with some awesomely Grunge based guitars, and launches into a punchy and powerful song at hand. This is a seriously awesome song that sounds just right. It also goes on for nearly nine minutes in length, so strap yourselves in and away we go. There is a section of awesome drumming that follows with bass guitar and cool, drawling vocals that sound really fantastic. This is a top tune that sounds very definitively 1990s and superb. A sonic piece of music mayhem that sounds extremely cool and is driven along nicely. The music and performances throughout are absolutely wonderful to hear. There is a series of guitar squalls and sonic textures that sound extremely good overall. The music stops for a bit, with some bass guitar on its own. Vocals re-enter alongside some trippy and processed guitars, which sound sweet and unique. An awesome and timeless tune overall, which has some incredible musicianship. Billy Corgan repeats: “I feel no pain…” repeatedly, before unique guitar sounds and textures play on throughout. This sounds absolutely gorgeous overall. Billy Corgan sings a lovely vocal here about a lover that he misses, and the emotions tied up with it. This is a lovely but dark listen about the pain and emotion that human existence can bring. Very nice to hear in its own way, and also extremely interesting to listen to. Some modified vocals emerge that describe a murder at hand, before this song finishes up with roaring guitars and powerful drumming to conclude. A good way to wrap up a longer than usual song, and it sounds particularly chaotic as it gradually reaches its monumental sonic conclusion. A very awesome listen indeed, although some may not like the discordant guitars at the end. Very cool, all the same. The ending is odd.

12. Sweet Sweet is a short piece, only a minute and a half long. It sounds extremely beautiful and magical throughout. A simple, enjoyable and sweet song that is a fine piece of music at hand. The music and sounds throughout are extremely cool at hand, and although this is a lesser observed song on the album, it still sounds really cool and great.

13. Luna begins with some interesting and slightly discordant guitar riffs at hand. This is the final song on the album, and it sounds really tuneful and interesting at hand. This is a good song pulsating with deep emotion and sounds throughout. This album finished up being tuneful and timeless overall. The guitars in this song are truly beautiful, and The Smashing Pumpkins really prove their worth on this album. A very fantastic and enjoyable loveable song to finish off this monumental album at hand. A sitar is also playing in the background, go figure. It builds up to an excellent song about romance and concludes very well indeed. Absolutely awesome music to finish off a superb Grunge Music album at hand. Fantastic. Top stuff overall.

This is a really cool album that not only was a clear product of the early 1990s, but also transcends that time and place of the album itself. The Smashing Pumpkins made a unique Grunge album that sounds, plays and still holds up to this very day. Yes, Grunge is not everyone’s cup of tea, but this album is difficult to point fault with. A consistent listen from beginning to end. Should you listen to this album? Do give it a shot, but people who dislike Grunge Music will wish to look elsewhere.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.