Pisces Iscariot [Explicit Lyrics]

The pumpkins have always turned out quality records,but i always think you can tell how good a band is by the B-sides.
"soothe" is a slow acoustic masterpice,"frail & bedazzled" is a punky rocker with and awsome swirly riff,"whir" is probably the best track on the album annoyingly catchy acoustic riff.
About 12 of the songs on here are up with anything of other pumpkins records(and would be some bands best hits.It amazes me how people talk about Nirvana(who i love to)being the best alt-rock band of the 90s,for me the pumpkins are up with them,and this is just another shinning example why.

There's nothing quite like Billy Corgan! Here is a man with such song-writing talents that he is able to release 'frail and bedazzled' on a collection of b-sides. Nine times out of ten when a band releases a collection like this between albums the contents are embarrassing, but not in this case. If you aren't won over by the sheer elegant beauty of 'soothe' then, quite simply, the Smashing Pumpkins can never be the band for you. James Iha gets his chance on 'blew away' and, surprisingly, creates a song worthy of the great man himself and even adds something to the mix by singing it himself in his soft, hypnotic way. The only criticism would be as to why some these tear-inducing songs didn't find their way onto any of the pumpkin's five albums. Oh well, there's a perfectionist eccentric for you. A stormingly understated album.

Pices Iscariot was first released in 1994, a year after their break through album Siamese Dream, and comprises of 14 songs that were recorded during the sessions for Siamese Dream as well as their first album Gish yet were never included in the final cut. In most cases, b side albums are often scrappy, disjointed and all round lacking coherence. However, Pices Iscariot is different. This is an amazing album and a rare instance where the majority of tracks sound nothing at all like b sides, the quality of the song writing is simply too strong. The album opens with a surprisingly sombre 'Soothe' recorded with just Billy and an acoustic guitar. 'Frail and Bedazzled' is straight up Siamese Dream rock, energetic and catchy. 'Plume' is another Siamese Dream outake, where fuzzy distorion takes the primal focus of the song, yet in complete contrast 'Whir' is a beautiful and touching acoustic song with Billy's trademark vocal performance, 'Blew Away' is another great song written and sung entirely by James, which is always great to hear as he is a very talented song writer which is often overlooked by many jaded fans. 'Pissant' is a rare live performance cut with its roaring guitars and amazing drumming from Jimmy, which is further demonstarted in the upbeat 'Hello Kitty Kat'. 'Obscured' is another gorgeous acoustic track, however it is the stunning Stevie Nicks cover of 'Landslide' that remains my favourite track on the album. The next track 'Starla' is an 11 minute epic with begins with a beautiful guitar riff which out of nowhere launches into full on distorion and dazzling solo work from Billy and James. 'Blue' is a Gish outake which includes one of my favourite bass lines from Darcy, simple yet effective. Next comes the albums second cover courtesey of 'A Girl Named Sandoz' by The Animals taken from the Gish sessions, a dirty and visceral performance. 'La Dolly Vita' is another great Siamese Dream outake, and the album closer 'Spaced' is a weird psychedelic aura or echoing spacy tones, a weird yet effective end to the album. I would definatly recommend Pices Iscariot to anyone who's just started getting into the Pumpkins, and also anyone who likes melodic rock music. Dont let the fact that this is a b side album fool you, this is a superb album and a fascinating insight into the dynamics of the Pumpkins early material.