Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

I would give this 5 stars if not for the fact that it’s WAY TOO FUCKING LONG! I had to listen to this one in 4 sessions of 7 songs each to not get bored. I know that there are a lot of great songs here, SO WHY DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO 5 FILLER TRACKS JUST TO GET TO THEM???!!!

The favourite album of ex of mine that cruelly dumped me when I was convinced that we'd be together forever. Can howl "Tonight, Tonight" with a passion and fire unlike any other as a result.

Also, other songs are available on this album

Honestly could be half the length

Favourite song: Galapogos

It's cool if he wants to do this kind of thing behind closed doors, but this is really none of my business.

The first thing that strikes me about *Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness* by The Smashing Pumpkins is its sheer length—over two hours. During that time, there’s a pretty wild mix ranging from quiet instrumental pieces to typical Pumpkins songs.
It’s a nice idea, but I still find the Pumpkins’ sound too undifferentiated—even though it has improved compared to “Siamese Dreams.” Plus, I don’t like Billy Corgan’s whiny voice.
At least it’s not a step down from its predecessor.

I really liked their first two albums but this one is a bit much.
There’s lots of good songs on here but a two hour double album is a lot to ask of the listener.
An extreme example of how the age of CDs ruins a reasonable listening experience.
This album could possibly be made into a masterpiece though with some track editing.
Although the sound of this album is a bit strange.
It’s as if they were trying too hard to make it sound warm and we’re just left with a lower mid-range mess of a mix.
There are some great moments here though but it might be praised more for the scale of ambition rather than a set of good songs.
So let’s leave this one off the list and substitute it with their first album.

This is a very long album and I didn’t enjoy all the songs but I’m giving it a four stars for “Tonight, Tonight,” “Bullets with Butterflies Wings,” “1979,” and for the title and cover. A friend of mine from college was obsessed with this album and the lead singer!

It's a beast. A behemoth, really. Could it be trimmed down to regular album length and be a completely perfect album? Yes. But then it wouldn't be the greatest double album ever released, and that's not a trade-off I'm willing to make.

Billy Corgan was at his creative peak during the writing of this album, and it shows. While it is in no way concise, it takes the listener on an incredible journey showcasing a nice variety, from the beautiful to the downright ugly. And the songs are FANTASTIC. This has spent 30+ years being one of my favourite albums for a reason. Absolute greatness on display here.

I quite like this album. I had not yet listened to it due to its runtime but it remains a good listen. I think that it has better highs than Siamese Dream but it is too long for its purposes.

8/10 [KEEP]

It's a really well made album. I remember at the time feeling like, by comparison, it was so much "bigger" feeling than previous releases by them? I didn't care for it. While other albums were disparate and intimate moments this was some grand attempt at an experience and that wasn't what I was looking for. On its own merit it's just a really solid album.

this album was long as fuck and changed genres 20 times and took me all day to finally finish it and idek what i think about it bc it was so all over the place

this shits too long and the dude cant sing but somehow i find myself keep coming back to it

Always much more diverse and compelling than I remember it being.

4/5

As someone who's enjoyed Siamese Dream since he was a teenager, it's high time that I check out the other big Smashing Pumpkins record. After touring for Siamese Dream, Billy Corgan immediately began writing songs for the next record. There was an intent to go for broke, writing a double album's worth of material, employing a wider variety of styles, working with different producers, and changing their recording process to simultaneously challenge themselves and eliminate the tensions of the last album cycle's sessions. The resulting record, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, is certainly bold and a lot to take in.

This is an emotionally volatile record, as Billy sought to explore what he called "the human condition of mortal sorrow". Apathy, fear, rage, spite, nihilism, isolation, temptation, anguish, disillusion, obsession - there is no sparing in the darker broodings. Between the heavier lyrics and tuned-down guitars, there is very little respite to be found outside of the fleeting hope on the title track and "Tonight, Tonight", the distancing from one's past transgressions on "To Forgive", the longing nostalgia of "1979", and the two tracks penned by James Iha, "Take Me Down" and "Farewell and Goodnight", that close out each disc with calm reflection. I don't think there's a bad or weak track across both halves, certainly with how good the singles are, plus other highlights to be found like the synthetic harp arpeggios of "Cupid de Locke" and the unbridled stomp of "X.Y.U.". Yet it can make for an overwhelming two hours, as themes and sonic palettes run together, particularly with how many songs on the second disc ruminate on love and Billy's past relationships. I'm sure it must have been cathartic for him to lay it all bare, and the rest of the band were able to compensate for what could be considered an ambitious work.

Even if I prefer the tighter package of Siamese Dream, I can recognize how important Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is in shaping the larger pantheon of alternative rock.

Selvom det er en af de helt store og grundlæggende alt-rock-udgivelser, så kan anden halvdel ikke hamle op med første, og det trækker ned på den lange bane. Derudover havde jeg lige glemt, at man faktisk skal indstille sig på Billy Corgans vokal. En såkaldt acquired taste

I've always thought this album was a bit too long, but it's overall really quite good. The last four/five tracks are like a fall of a cliff though, absolutely should've been cut.

Better than Coldplay

When Kurt Cobain sang "teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old," I think Billy Corgan heard the first part and thought "what a great marketing strategy!" and zoned out during second part. Some of these lyrics are downright juvenile: "the world is a vampire," "love is suicide," "the king of gloom," "God is empty just like me" etc etc etc. Cobain had a rich sense of irony and was taking the piss out of the music industry, Corgan is dead serious in a really embarrassing way.

There's a lot of good rock songs on this album, but it still feels bloated. Not because there's any serious amount of filler, but because the songs themselves are just packed with content. Almost every song has a hundred guitar overdubs plus synthesizers, keyboards, harp, orchestra, drum machines, etc etc etc. The epic grandeur of this album can be nauseating. This was clearly Billy Corgan's attempt to reach "rock god" status -- just look at the title and the artwork. He's obviously going for something baroque and "artsy," but it actually just sounds like an expensive album made by a guy going through a manic episode.

Overall, I have mixed feelings. SP were my "favorite band" from ages 10-13 and this album was a big reason why. Their media blitz worked on me because modern rock radio was blanketed with at least 4 songs (Zero, BWBW, 1979, Tonight Tonight) around this time, so I knew my dollar would stretch far if I bought this (double) CD. And on relisten, I still enjoyed much of it. But I was also reminded that, by high school, I grew aware there was something very cringe about SP. Kim Gordon put it best: "Smashing Pumpkins took themselves way too seriously and were in no way punk rock."

I liked Cherub Rock and this album has elements of it but no one song stood out and whoa double album distress as too long and lost concentration.