TheUnknown285's Full Review: Zeitgeist by Smashing Pumpkins
To borrow and bastardize a quote from the Smashing Pumpkins’ song “Geek U.S.A.,” words couldn’t define the excitement I felt inside when I learned the Pumpkins were returning to the studio. From those sessions came Zeitgeist, which is a bit different from previous Pumpkins albums. It’s more political than anything I’ve heard before from them, with the juxtaposition of religion, entertainment, violence, and sex being ubiquitous in its artwork and filtering through to some of the songs. The sound is harsher in places, denser in others. Does it work? Well, read on to see.
Doomsday Clock is a great opener. It’s heavy and energetic, featuring hallow, resonating guitars and some nice vocal harmonizing created by overdubbing Billy Corgan’s voice on top of itself. Sure, things do kind of bog down two thirds of the way through with uninteresting guitar scratching and the song’s weakest lyrics (“If this is living / Sakes alive.”), but the song is more than redeemed by the last verse and its urgently resonating guitars and Corgan’s even more urgent vocals. The lyrics are equally as wonderful, with parts of the song addressing war. The first verse alone, which I’ve included below, addresses fearmongering, a go it alone mentality, and warmongering and how greed, political opportunism, armageddonism, and the media cause and feed on them and other parts being more introspective, addressing such subjects as fame. Then, there are parts that are ambiguous, such as, “It’s lonely at the top.” which could obviously be a reference to America’s status as a superpower, or could be about fame. ”Is everyone afraid / Is everyone ashamed / They’re running towards their holes to find out / Apocalyptic means are lost amongst our dead / A message to our friends to get out / There’s wages on this fear / Ooo, so clear / Depends on what you’ll pay to hear / They’re bound to kill us all / In whitewashed halls / The jackals lick their paws.” That’s the Way (My Love Is), the second single, in some ways, evokes “Perfect” from Adore. Both are earnest, heartfelt songs that feature bouncy drum beats. But the two are also quite different. “That’s the Way” replaces the infectious, weaving guitar from “Perfect” with ambient, gently swirling guitars and a touch of electronic buzzes that culminate in a heartfelt guitar solo. Lyrically, both songs are about rocky relationships, but “That’s the Way” is more hopeful and less bittersweet: ”I feel a coming age now / I feel a dawn in me / A certain sun keeps rising / On my belief in you.” Tarantula, the first single, is fiery and energetic, led by its superb guitarwork. Quite possibly everything about the guitars is great. From the buzzing, radiating melody to the rocking rhythm to the fiery solo to the dreamy “Hummer”-like interlude, all the instrumentals are interesting and well-constructed. Like “Doomsday Clock,” it has a dual meaning, simultaneously being a message to a lover and from Corgan to his fans. The only detraction is Corgan’s voice at the beginning, which is quite tone-deaf, but that is more than made up for by the lyrics and instrumentation.
It took a while for United States to grow on me. At just under ten minutes, it can certainly feel bloated. Even worse, there is a three minute stretch where it drags with annoying howling, uninteresting instrumentation, and overdone repetition. In fact, the repetition is a problem throughout with the word “Revolution!” being driven into the ground. At the same time, however, there is much to like. Corgan’s vocals during the verses are catchy in a menacing and haunting way. The instrumentation is the musical personification of war with a dreamy, somewhat surrealistic twist. The song begins with hypnotic, methodical drumming that evokes images of tanks and armored troop carriers racing toward the front. This eventually gives way to quicker, spinning, resonating guitars that evoke images of planes racing by overhead. As the song’s intensity increases, there is an explosion on each symbol crash. And I love the conclusion and its fiery, heavy distortion: organized chaos that perfectly puts an exclamation point on the song. So, “United States” may not be my favorite song on the album, but it just might be the most interesting. ”Tired eyes close for days / There’s no regret / ‘Cause there’s no place / I don’t know what I believe / But if I feel safe / What do I need?” For God and Country is a paradox, managing to be several contradictory things at once. It’s energetic but subdued, hard and intense but delicate and hypnotic, too. It begins with a haunting, ethereal piano. From there, electric guitars and classical strings lead seamlessly into one another for a catchy but haunting rhythm below a very good vocal performance by Corgan.
Let’s move on to the rest of the album. One of the many things I like about the Smashing Pumpkins is their albums typically have depth with several good songs in addition to the hits and diamonds in the rough. Zeitgeist is no exception, although the backing tracks do lack some degree of emotional power, interest, and replay value. 7 Shades of Black is frenetic at its core, featuring emphatic drumming and cascading distortion that give way to hallow, sawing riffs, coupled with Corgan’s rapid fire vocal and interesting vocal layering. Neverlost’s dreamy feel with what sounds like a watery, electronic xylophone as its main instrument interchanged with a straight forward power ballad over of cryptic lovesick lyrics makes for an interesting song. Bleeding the Orchid is somewhere between the two, with the flowing distortion (albeit at a much more subdued tempo) of “7 Shades of Black” with an airy, distant feel to the vocals and, methodical pace. If you can get past (Come On) Let’s Go!’s disgustingly enthusiastic title, you’ll realize it’s actually a catchy, exuberant song whose poppy feel and brisk pace masks some pretty heavy guitars. Pomp and Circumstances might be a bit sappy and/or melodramatic and have an overly thick sound, but it has some very good, heartfelt lines (“What was once new now gone / What was once praised now wrong / As they go, we can say we know / But what do we know / But warm sunshine and graves.”) and some good guitar chords.
There are probably only two songs that come close to being more bad than good. Even understanding the satirical, ironic nature of Starz, a song that is a commentary of the cult of celebrity and/or the bipolar nature of America, it’s still easy to get annoyed by it. The refrain is kind of stupid and the way it is chanted is laughable, and the brief, heavy coda seems unnecessary. However, it’s not without its redeeming qualities. Corgan’s vocals during the verses are catchy, and there are some good lines (ie. ”Torn from God and flung towards night / Don’t you want what I can’t fight?”). Bring the Light gets really repetitive (how many times can you say “bring the light”?) and lasts longer than it should.
In closing, Zeitgeist is a flawed album. There is a distinct drop-off in quality from the standout tracks to the backing tracks. However, while lacking the breadth and depth of Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and much of the emotional power of the Pumpkins’ past, it is not without its high points. There are a few really good songs and several others that are good in small to moderate doses. I actually like Zeitgeist better than Machina. I give it four stars and a recommendation. TRACKS and RATINGS 1. Doomsday Clock ***** 2. 7 Shades of Black ***.75 3. Bleeding the Orchid ***.75 4. That’s the Way (My Love Is) ***** 5. Tarantula ***** 6. Starz *** 7. United States ***** 8. Neverlost **** 9. Bring the Light *** 10. (Come On) Let’s Go ***.75 11. For God and Country ***** 12. Pomp and Circumstances ***.75 SMASHING PUMPKINS ALBUMS Gish (1991) Siamese Dream (1993) Pisces Iscariot (1994) Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) Adore (1998) MACHINA: The Machines of God (2000) MACHINA II: The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music (2000) Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits (2001) Zeitgeist (2007) American Gothic [EP] (2008)
Following the demise of the short-lived Zwan and an ill-received solo album (TheFutureEmbrace), singer/guitarist Billy Corgan decided to revive the Sm...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.