Albums like this do not just appear out of no where, they take years of musical evolution and hybrids of many ideas and sounds experimented with by others in order to craft an album that is the apex of the music moment. The Smashing Pumpkins 1993 sophomore release, Siamese Dream is an example of one such album, a release that looked backwards and at other artists around playing similar music too create a record that defined the musical era, and the musical era of fuzz guitar experimentation, wall of sound ambiance and self-reflective angst developing throughout the late Eighties had officially peaked.
In the late Eighties, the alternative underground was under drastic transformation with the release of several ground breaking albums that pushed the barriers of what underground bands were capable of. Seminal releases including, Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Leaving all Over Me, Pixies Surfer Rosa and basically anything released by guitar-noise pioneers Sonic Youth sparked a creative revolution in the approach to the electric guitar and songwriting in the quickly rising alternative music scene. Combining the aggression and attack of hardcore punk and the noisy tendencies of lo-fi art bands, Indie rock was now more than a label it had a sound of it's own. Many bands would take on this sound and approach and achieve astronomical success.
Everyone is familiar with the alternative rock explosion that occurred within the mainstream and gave music an abundance of alternative music mass radio play for the first time . The ancient year of 1991 dawned upon quite possibly two of the most significant alternative rock albums of all time, the Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds of the genre. Nirvana's Nevermind and My Bloody Valentine's Lovless presented angst-fueled guitar rock in beautifully approachable way that was yet to be experienced by the masses. On Siamese Dream, The Smashing Pumpkins showcase all the elements that made the alternative rock explosion so exciting. Despite the distinguishable waling vocal and guitar abuse of early alternative bands heard throughout the albums 12 tracks, Siamese Dream is far from an obscure Indie album. In the era of its release it didn't need to be labeled as such because this was the stuff that was popular in the 90's. Even though It was released on mainstream mecca, Warner and received respectable airplay and glowing acclaim from mainstream media outlets, Siamese Dream in the end is a powerful record that was successful for good reason it showed all that was fresh in alternative rock. The tensions, ambiguity and anger juxtaposed with beauty are the keys too this albums lasting power. Billy Corgan and company were never afraid to "wank out" and let their progressive side show. Sprawling epics like "Hummer" and "Silverfuck" reflect the Pumpkins at their most ambitious. Just listening to these songs is like listening to an alternative encyclopedia, flowing with countless time changes, octave noise attacks and obscure feed back Corgan proves that he is a virtuous of the the Big Muff and he uses many sounds and unorthodox playing styles like tremolo, delay and octave to compensate for his lack of conventional soloing techniques. The album remains firmly grounded in alternative, even though the songs venture into uncharted territories with sections of lush atmosphere and peculiar noises, Corgans head is still in the right place at this point in his career and the songs are anything but self indulgent. The lavish, adventurous song structure is what really makes Siamese Dream stand out as a definitive alternative record. Tracks like "Cherub Rock", "Today" and "Rocket", the most "accessible" rock songs on the album refrain from sounding bland even by todays standards thanks to Corgan's obsession with making every riff sound bigger and louder than the preceding.
What is most shocking about Siamese Dream is how accessible an album it is, especially with all the layers of feedback within the production. Corgan clearly has an ear for melody and when the distortion is turned down briefly on songs like "Luna" and "Spaceboy" one can't help become embellished in Corgans nasally sneer and the vibrant melody. No sound or tone is off limits to the Smashing Pumpkins and they really do try everything possible to keep the album sounding fresh and exciting. It was the Smashing Pumpkins ability to look far beyond the restraints of punk and alternative but yet stay so firmly within the genre, that makes the album stand out in a sea of artists with a similar sound. The album plays like the musical vision of a person already bored with the new guitar-rock style of alternative rock and is ready to layer and polish the approach of the sound and repackage it for everyone else.
No comments:
Post a Comment