Zeitgeist

People have been lining up to have a pop at Zeitgeist, including a ridiculous amount on here who penned reviews based on hearing the first (and poor) single, hearing a couple of dodgy live outtakes or obtaining, (cough) "an advance copy" (cough).

It's easy to have a pop at Billy Corgan. He wears his heart on his sleeve and has done a complete u-turn on his millenium 'rock is dead' rhetoric. His notorious 'artistic temperament' makes him an easy target and always will do. That said, he remains the one true survivor of the early 90s US alt-rock scene, (now that Pearl Jam have well and truely gone down the mainstream route with their sub-U2 latest offering and Rolling Stones support slots) and i'd suggest his longevity is in no small part down to his willingness to try new things and experiment with new sounds. For me he stands alongside Cobain as the only 2 real talents of that scene.

So to Zeitgeist. Id dispel the 2 most common criticisms thus:

"It isn't Mellon Collie / Siamese Dream"

- Of course it isn't. Since when did the Pumpkins EVER try to recreate previous albums? This was the band that issued a double album that went 13 times Platinum in the US alone, then followed it with a complete musical right turn to the 80s electronica-inspired Adore - a superb album, if commercially unsuccessful.

"It's only Billy and Jimmy, therefore not the Smashing Pumpkins"

- Siamese dream was written and performed almost exclusively by BC and JC as well. Let's face it, although we miss them D'Arcy and James Iha were always the Pumpkins' window dressing.

So forget bemoaning the fact BC and JC aren't still stuck in the 1990s and instead enjoy a record that shows flashes of sublime quality of the type many of today's overhyped young pretenders would give their right arm to be able to produce.

"Bleed The Orchid" is a Pumpkins classic that would sail effortlessly onto any 12-track 'Best Of'. The poppy "Bring The Light" would sit astride many a popular radio playlist were it being performed by The Killers or Razorlight. "Doomsday Clock" and "United States" are OTT, loud and just plain evil tunes. Corgan's ear for glorious melody is fully intact on Starz, Pomp & Circumstance and That's The Way (My Love Is). In true Pumpkins fashion the album is over-long and contains a couple of filler tracks that could've easily been left off the final cut. Most disappointing is the bizarre decision to release different editions of the album with different bonus tracks exclusive to each. A pretty poor show, especially when 2 of the bonus tracks "Gossamer" and "Stellar" are amongst the strongest tunes from the Zeitgeist sessions. Both should've made the 12-track (at the expense of Tarantula and Neverlost i'd suggest). You've done yourselves no favours there, guys.

Overall this is a damn good album. It sits comfortably within the Pumpkins catalogue and shows there plenty of life in the old dog yet.

Long may they rumble on.

I, like many of the other reviews that I have read, was not overly impressed with this album when I first heard it. This was a huge disappointment to me as Zeitgeist was one of my most anticipated albums since I had first heard of the reunion.
I really liked Tarantula and Doomsday Clock, but nothing else stood out. However, I kept wanting to listen to it and I'm thankful to say that after about 6 or 7 listens, I really like it now, and it stands up well against their back catalogue. I always thought Machina was a bit of let down, bar a couple of classics such as Everlasting Gaze and Stand Inside Your Love. This is a return to form in terms of consistency. Every song is strong apart from United States which, despite some good moments, is a bit of a self indulgent dirge. My highlights are Doomsday Clock, 7 Shades of Black, Tarantula and Bring The Light, which contains some wonderful guitar, powerhouse Chamberlin drumming, and great tempo changes. Doomsday Clock and 7 Shades of Black are two heavyweight old school Pumpkins rockers, and Tarantula hears Corgan's sublime screeching guitar return after an absence of far too long. There are still moments of Corgan's mellower more romantic side with the likes of That's The Way (My Love Is), which is in the vein of Zwan, which is not such a bad thing in my opinion. Corgan's willingness to experiment is still evident in For God and Country and Pomp and Circumstances. These two tracks require the most patience, but are rewarding in the end.
The album has been criticised as not being a true Pumpkins record due to the absence of Iha and D'arcy, but the fact that it is well documented that the Pumpkins masterpiece Siamese Dream was almost solely recorded by Corgan and Chamberlin renders this criticism void. Zeitgeist doesn't reach the sublime heights of Siamese Dream or it's excellent successor Mellon Collie, but it is still a worthy addition to your Smashing Pumpkins collection.

I was never a big lover of the Pumpkins' ballads off of the earlier albums. So, after hearing Tarantula and Doomsday Clock, decided to get the latest album as both songs were very energetic (like all my favourite Pumpkins songs off of Mellon Collie...). After reading some of the bad reviews I was not expecting the overall album to be very good, but, in my opinion, it is easily the best Pumpkins album overall. Most of the songs have tremendous energy and the sound is very fresh - not just a rehash of the old Pumpkins sound.