Pros: A few great songs. Can see potential with the band...
Cons: A few forgettable tracks. Unimportant lyrics.
The Bottom Line: Like Smashing Pumpkins? Consider yourself a semi-fan? Then Gish is worth checking out. Maybe not the place to start, but a fine enough place to end up.
lambchops's Full Review: Gish by Smashing Pumpkins
Wielding an irrepressible gift for melody and arrangement, Billy Corgan burst on to the rock scene with 1991’s Gish. Of course there were other players in the success of Smashing Pumpkins, but it was always Corgan who drove the Chicago-based alt-rockers to perfection and subsequent excellence.
The Pumpkins music isn’t for everybody. Corgan’s voice could be seen as both fey and annoying. Of course, I like it—especially when he’s rocking out. Also, the lyrics aren’t exactly bulletproof. But with that said, I think that usually the melody, production, and performance make up for that. The fact is that the Pumpkins are one of the classic acts of the 1990’s—like it or not.
Gish was the world’s introduction to the band that would become large-scale arena-rock hits in the mid 1990’s with albums Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness. Produced by Butch Vig (member of Garbage and famous for working with Nirvana in particular), the album managed to break into the Billboard Top 200. It wasn’t a huge hit, but Gish did garner a following for the band. The lineup (which remained pretty stable throughout the band’s relatively brief career) also consisted of guitarist James Iha, bassist D’Arcy Wretzky, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (the only member to be “let go” during the band’s impressive run).
The first memory of the Smashing Pumpkins I have comes from Gish. It is of the video for the song Siva. I remember a long-haired Corgan in a bathtub. I remember liking the song but not specifically remembering the name of the band or thinking that they could become so very famous. Heh…shows what I knew when I was fourteen or fifteen years old. In any case, in retrospect I’m pleased to have stumbled on the Pumpkins by way of late night MTV before most of the rest of the world.
Of the ten songs on Gish, Siva is indeed one of the best. There are others that do however make an impression. Rhinoceros, I Am One, Daydream, and Crush are interesting and entertaining offerings. Each of them showcases a slightly different side to the Pumpkins; sides that would all gain them a loyal following, critical acclaim, millions of units of sales, and Grammy Awards. Gish is by no means a masterpiece but does shed some light on the pre Siamese Dream Corgan and company. The band still seems a bit raw and directionless here, but there is some indication that they’ve got a great deal more to give to the world.
Gish is most memorable early on. I’ve already mentioned my attachment to Siva, but there’s also little question that I Am One rocks one’s socks. It’s loud, it’s nasty, and it represents the kind of music I’ve always most appreciated from the Pumpkins. D’Arcy’s bass guitar anchors the whole thing. But what I really groove on are the heavy, intricate guitars. Corgan’s vocals are almost secondary, and considering sometimes grating nose-singing, this is a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, Corgan rocks, but I “get” why some people don’t like him/his music.
The milder Rhinoceros and Daydream play to a different part of my soul but are no less compelling. Rhinoceros, in fact, ranks among my personal favorite “ballads” from the Pumpkins. There are but a few tracks that rub me at all in the wrong way. Suffer just doesn’t go anywhere for me. I appreciate the acoustic/psychedelic edge but just can’t enjoy the track. Similarly, Snail, Tristessa and Window Paine do little for me with Tristessa in particular seeming more like a rehashing of the more successful I Am One than anything else.
Overall, Gish seems to be the work of a band yet to really figure out which direction to go and what influences to follow. It’s a good effort—but considering the high quality of later Pumpkins albums it really isn’t quite up to par. Gish is recommended to all levels of fans of the Smashing Pumpkins. While not perfect, it is worth experiencing.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 (rounded up)
Track Listing:
01. I Am One
02. Siva
03. Rhinoceros
04. Bury Me
05. Crush
06. Suffer
07. Snail
08. Tristessa
09. Window Paine
10. Daydream
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