CD Review - Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist

From the first drum roll of Smashing Pumpkins much anticipated comeback CD Zeitgeist, I wanted to jump up and yell "The Pumpkins are back!" The CD features many of the sounds that make the Pumpkins what they are, from Billy Corgan's cerebral and symbolic lyrics and distinct voice to the inimitable drumwork of Jimmy Chamberlain.

When the first track Doomsday Clock kicks things off, you're at once brought back to the heavier sounds the Pumpkins highlighted during the heyday of the band. At the same time, you feel the band expanding and experimenting with new, even heavier drum beats and apocalyptic lyrical work from Corgan "I'm certain of the end / it's the means that has me spooked". You can't help but feel like Billy is aiming this one straight at the Bush administration when he wails "it's lonely at the top / these lonely days when will they ever stop / we gotta dig in, gas masks on / wait in the sunshine, bug-eyed / if this is living?" In fact, the whole album feels a lot more political than previous efforts from the band.

Bleeding The Orchid is a melodic lambast of the music industry and the sycophantic business approach of the record labels. I heard Billy rant about the topic in an in-studio live performance on XM Radio that demonstrated the passion the band has for making music. I will say that I was extremely disappointed to learn that my favorite lyric from this song does not say "There's clowns in my shower" but instead the more humdrum "There's clouds in my shower". Damn, clowns would have been a lot more fun.

That's The Way (My Love Is) is a hit in the vein of Adore or Machina, later Pumpkin albums that were considered more artsy and not as commercially successful as alt-rock staples Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie. The melodies are catchy and the music filled with the hooks Corgan has come to be known for.

The first track released to radio is the ambling and rambling Tarantula, conjuring up images of the Guns N Roses track Double Talkin' Jive from Use Your Illusion I. While the Pumpkins would probably cringe at the thought, the vocal rhythm is strikingly similar and the dirty guitar sound adds another level of comparison. Billy reaches a little further back in Stars, a song that must have been a cast off from some 70's era ridiculous arena rock also ran. The picture of Chamberlain mid-drum solo seals the image.

The middle of the CD displays some real strength. United States of America is the drunken lovechild of previous Pumpkin favs Drown (of Singles soundtrack fame) and Silverf*ck from Siamese Dream, with a crazy Michael Jackson screech thrown in for good measure. The drumwork in this song is exceptional.

The best part of the CD is the diversity and ease with which the band switches from one sound to another, as deftly as ever. The transition is never more apparent than switching from the driving drum-heavy USA to the soft-handed, xylophonic Neverlost as Corgan gently pleads "Let's kill these hours and fill desire." This song crystallizes why I love the Pumpkins. They can write a song that will make you want to dive headlong off a stage and turn around and write a sweet melody such as this.

Bring The Light is my favorite track and starts slowly before sending the album back into turbo mode. The quick, short verses over Billy's melodies create a driving and emotional backdrop and Chamberlain struts his stuff on this quirky tune. For God and Country has the band dipping into an 80's pop tart sound while delving into issues of faith and patriotism(?). The piano sound towards the end of the song helps distract attention from the Thomas Dolby sound-alike attempts.

The title track to wrap up the album leaves an upbeat acoustic sound with Corgan asking "Are there any real souls to find?" The song brings to mind a more innocent time in our country, where a young Corgan could happily hitchhike his way across a hilly, verdant New England patch of road as afternoon stretches into early evening.

All in all, the CD mixes a lot of different sounds so that old Pumpkins fans and newer ones will find something to like. I also found a few things not to like, including the annoying habit of bands to release several "versions" of the same CD, with each having one different song than the others. Very annoying for those of us who haven't yet followed the herd onto I-tunes where you buy the songs individually. And a few of the songs on the CD were just a bit too much for me, primarily Stars and For God and Country. Oh yeah, and the fact that he didn't say "There's clowns in my shower." Boooo...

Until next time.

Ace