domingo, novembro 28, 2004

135 .Jane's Addiction - live and rare

135.JAliveandrare
135.JAliveandrare,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I am not sure why I waste my money on such. Well I did because I loved this band and thought that they would never be getting back together again playing live or releasing an album - obviously they ended up doing both. The biggest seller on this album for me was the inclusion of Three Days part 2 - which after listening to it I realised was just the original broken down into two parts - cheap. The disc contains remixes, demos and live tracks - all pretty much not memorable - the demos for Had a Dad and I Would for You aren't bad, but if I hadn't paid full price for this back in 95, I would maybe get rid of it.

5 out of 10

segunda-feira, novembro 22, 2004

134. Jane's Addiction - ritual de lo habitual

134.JAritualdelohabitual
134.JAritualdelohabitual,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This is an album that not only solidified the band's place in music but opened the doors for many other bands at the time who also weren't easily categorized. Three Days has the best non-metal metal solo ever recorded, Stop is great and Been Caught makes you want to bark and shoplift.

'a city of candles'

9.5 out of 10

domingo, novembro 21, 2004

133. Jane's Addiction - nothing's shocking

133.JAnothingshocking
133.JAnothingshocking,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This album has so many great moments there is no point in trying to talk about it - it seems as if the band knew exactly what they wanted and how they were going to record it - the only thing better than this would be their next album. A great, great record - the band does sound like they are ocean size, coming down the mountain.

'Sex is violent'

9 out of 10

132. Jane's Addiction - jane's addiction

132.JAjanesaddiction
132.JAjanesaddiction,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Interesting that their first album is a live one, consisting of covers, and some tracks that would later appear on Nothing Shocking. The sound is pretty clear and crisp, which makes songs like Trip Away, I would for you and Sympathy really stand out. This album only hinted at what the band had in store.

7 out of 10

131. Psi Com - psi com

131.PCpsicom
131.PCpsicom,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This is an interesting disc. It is Perry Farrell's first band. They sound sort of goth, but goth wanna be's. The songs sound like 1987 (although the album was released in 1985). Farrell hadn't developed his signature vocal syle yet, it just occasionaly comes out here and there. At the time I am sure this album sounded great, but today it sounds like what it exactly was, young kids finding their sound by trying to sound like their idols Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen (and not doing it too well).

5 out of 10

130. Zwan - mary star of the sea

130.Zmarystarofthesea
130.Zmarystarofthesea,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This sounds like what Billy's first solo album should sound like, that's probably why the band broke up. The songs are solid, catchy and familiar - but what makes a cd an album is it being spectacular, and this it isn't. despite the epic Mary Star track, decent is a more apt word.

7.5 out of 10

sábado, novembro 13, 2004

129. Smashing Pumpkins - live on 99x (bootleg)

The last in my series of Pumpkins bootlegs, for now at least. This is a solo acoustic performance by Billy on a radio station - the songs are played well, but it is interesting to hear him answer questions from the audience (although the questions are bad, and the answers at times even worse). Still nice to hear Stand inside your love played by just him and have him confess he has no idea what the word machina means.

7.5 out of 10

128. Smashing Pumpkins - seattle, wa 2000 (bootleg)

Another acoustic set with Melissa playing bass - intimate and nice. I am not sure if the tour was winding down at this point, but the band does sound like they are already saying farewell. Only eight tracks long.

7 out of 10

127. Smashing Pumpkins - sydney, au 1996 (bootleg)

At one point I downloaded a ton of Pumpkins shows and got rid of almost all of them. This is from 96 off of the Mellon Collie tour in Australia. That's all I know about it. The set is annoyingly acoustic, I wanted one great loud good sounding bootleg from the band but all I can find is acoustic. Dena just laughed because it's the 100th time we've heard 1979, and she wasn't here for the majority of these albums. I guess it's a radio broadcast for triple J. The sound is okay as is the performance.

6.5 out of 10

126. Smashing Pumpkins - FAEOMM (bootleg)

I'm not sure what the story is behind this, why it has a similar title to Machina 2 - I heard that it was a tape that Billy gave to a fan with some demos and such. Anyway, the album contains sketches for Machina and other songs that never took a final form. The songs are still fuzzy like in Machina, but simpler and and almost more accessible. There are a couple of live tracks included too. My favourite has to be the alternate version of The Everlasting Gaze.

7.5 out of 10

125. Smashing Pumpkins - adore demos (bootleg)

I am not sure how these leaked - I guess eventually everything that has ever been recorded eventually finds its way out. These are great alternate versions of the songs on Adore, with the majority not having a drum machine on them. Batman take 1 and Batman take 2 are better than the final song. Overall these demos are great, of course it would be great for the sound quality to be better, but given what it is this is a great disc. Highly recommended to any fan.

8 out of 10

terça-feira, novembro 09, 2004

124. Smashing Pumpkins - friends and enemies of modern music

124.SPfriendsandenemiesofmodernmusic
124.SPfriendsandenemiesofmodernmusic,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I love the idea of this album: a sequel to Machina, released by the band for the fans on vinyl to be distributed online. But then you hear the sound quality, crappy because we are going from vinyl to mp3. downloaded and passed onto a ton of people. Why couldn't the band have just posted mp3's for everyone? You know five years from now it will be released by some label. The double cd contains alternate versions of songs from Machina and tracks that were later released on Rotten Apples/Judas-O. If you are a big fan this is a must have - stronger in my opnion to Machina. Somehow the album, although all over the place, holds itself together better than Machina. If the sound quality were better I would have given it a better rating.

8.5 out of 10

segunda-feira, novembro 08, 2004

123. Smashing Pumpkins - earphoria

123.SPearphoria
123.SPearphoria,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I got this because I had spent many a nights watching Vieuphoria - and absolutely loved it, so many great moments. I was hoping that it would translate onto the CD but it doesn't really - I keep wanting to see it and not just listen to the song. Normally I would always pick having the live album over the video. Still there are some great moments to be heard - i am one, Soma and Silverfuck are amazing.

7.5 out of 10

122. Smashing Pumpkins - rotten apples

122.SProttenapples
122.SProttenapples,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This is a joint review for the greates hits disc and Judos-o that came with it. The greatest hits album is er, great of course. Sure some will argue with the track listing, but that's everyone. Added to this disk are Real Love and Untitiled. Both are okay, at least Real Love is from Machina 2. Judas-O has some b-sides from the aeroplane flies box set which to me is confusing - I always thought that Pisces had all the b-sides from Gish and Siamese, Aeroplane had all from Mellon Collie and therefore Judas O would contain songs from Adore and Machina... So hearing some of the same tracks again wasn't thrilling and the newer or unreleased songs were neither intense or interesting.

7 out of 10

domingo, novembro 07, 2004

121. Smashing Pumpkins - machina: the machines of god

121.SPmachina:themachinesofgod
121.SPmachina:themachinesofgod,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
"you know I'm not dead". A great way to start an album. I had gone back to school to get another degree, this time in design, I was 25, and I once again had the Pumpkins playing while going to school - and Melissa was playing bass, I was sold. I wanted to love this album, and I sort of do. Even slightly cheesy themed songs like I of the mourning and Heavy Metal Machine seem to find a way into my subjective appreciation for this album. The main problem with the album is that it looses steam, just sort of fading away in the end - who knows maybe it was intentional, but it is a far cry from the beginning of the album.

8 out of 10

120. Smashing Pumpkins - ava adore

120.SPavaadore
120.SPavaadore,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I have never used the word quiet so much, but Billy plus strings plus piano equals quiet. And sometimes nasal. The two songs backed with this single are as charming as a placemat at an all night diner. As savory as a tuna sandwich at the same diner, as clean as the ice in your water - at the same diner. Hopefully you get the point. I will still for some reason keep this.

3.5 out of 10

119. Smashing Pumpkins - adore

119.SPadore
119.SPadore,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Even if jimmy Chamberlain hadn't been fired for the whole heroin thing it seems like the band was headed towards an electronic drum machine sound anyhow (didn't Eye come out on Lost Highway around then too?). Anybody and everybody was going 'electronic' back then, and to a degree the Pumpkins pull it off. The album takes a different light if you just view it as an intermission until the band regrouped. With that said, it is interesting to hear quiet electronic melodies replace the orchestra sound from Mellon Collie.

"we must never be apart"

7 out of 10

118. Smashing Pumpkins - the end is the beginning

118.SPtheendisthebeginning
118.SPtheendisthebeginning,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I have no idea why I got this. Maybe I wanted the song without getting the soundtrack. This cd is as good as the movie.

1 out of 10

117. Smashing Pumpkins - tonight, tonight

117.SPtonighttonight
117.SPtonighttonight,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I hate to be so repetitive, but the music is… again, quiet and nice. The four track of Tonight, Tonight is a NICE change from the orchaestral grandeur of the original.

5 out of 10

116. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

116.SP1979
116.SP1979,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Another quiet set, with two tracks featuring James singing, I think. Ugly isn't a bad track, just doesn't go anywhere. The Boy is nice, as is Believe. Nice is a great word to describe them. Even the last track, Set the Ray to Jerry, is nice. But they are unfortunately just nice and nothing more.

5 out of 10

115. Smashing Pumpkins - thirty three

115.SPthirtythree
115.SPthirtythree,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
A quiet set, with the exception of The Aeroplane Flies High (which I forgot to mention is the name of the boxed set that I got all of these singles from) and Transformer. It is also the most inconsistent musically of the bunch. Not bad, not great, not worth getting if you don’t have it.

4.5 out of 10

114. Smashing Pumpkins - zero

114.SPzero
114.SPzero,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Overall the songs sort of fall flat on this one. They are heavier but not as dynamic. God isn't bad and I love Pennies, easily the best song on here. The most interesting and equally annoying track is Pastichio Medley, a 25 minute long medley of songs pieced together from all sorts of sessions, mainly instrumentals. Each sound bite is no more than 10 seconds; pretty amazing to see how much material these guys wrote and recorded. In the end though the medley just gets annoying, they would have been better off just picking a couple of the best tracks and adding them in their entirety.

6 out of 10

quarta-feira, novembro 03, 2004

113. Smashing Pumpkins - bullet with butterfly wings

113.SPbulletwithbutterflywings
113.SPbulletwithbutterflywings,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
More than a single, this thing is an e.p. with seven tracks. 'Said sadly' is a great track a duet between D'arcy and James Iha I believe. 'You're all I've got' is a Cars track, James sings the Cure's 'a night like this'. Overall great b-sides, worth the money if you are a fan.

8 out of 10

112. Smashing Pumpkins - mellon collie and the infinite sadness

This is a great album but it suffers from being too long and too varied. Going from something that sounds like death metal to a harp is interesting but not really pleasant. I am not sure if the answer wold have been to release just one longer album and cut some tracks or release them seperately. But there are a handful of tracks that don't do much for me. Still, they had good intentions. I think it is the best selling double album ever... you can't deny how great it is to hear 'and god is empty... just like me'.

8.5 out of 10

segunda-feira, novembro 01, 2004

111. Smashing Pumpkins - pisces iscariot

111.SPpiscesiscariot
111.SPpiscesiscariot,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Not a proper follow up to Siamese Dream, but a collection of b-sides, rarities and such, annoying all those who collected all of the singles and bringing joy to anyone who is more economically sensible and stayed away from the $10 imports. This band has always had a surplus of songs and this album, although pulled together from many sources, plays very well together as one piece. Landslide is a great cover, we hear James sing for the first time on Blew Away and Obscured is brilliant.

8.5 out of 10

110. Smashing Pumpkins - siamese dream

110.SPsiamesedream
110.SPsiamesedream,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I got this while spending part of the summer in Miami and NJ. I automatically thought it was inferior to Gish. If I heard Today or Disarm again I was going to puke. But while listening to it again I have amazing fond memories of my life back then, with Today and other songs. Secondly the album to put it simply rocks. It maintains the trek that Gish had established, just replacing some of the psychedelic aspects of that previous album with thicker, more soiled riffs. But it does also contain the Pumpkin's lighter side, which became a staple in all of their albums afterwards. Blah, blah, blah. The album is very good, a departure from Gish but in a solid direction. Silverfuck is a loud furious song.

9 out of 10

109. Smashing Pumpkins - gish

109.SPgish
109.SPgish,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I am one has to be one the best songs ever written, it just has so much balls, even when Billy plays it, this tall skinny lanky guy, seems like a master of the universe. The album bludgeons its way through each track involving, engulfing and revolving the listener up right to the sun break that is Daydream and back into the underworld that Billy preaches in the end 'I'm going motherfucking crazy…'. A great album that will always be great.

9 out of 10

108. Smashing Pumpkins - lull

108.SPlull
108.SPlull,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
A great sampler of the band; put out prior to Gish I believe. All by now classic tracks. Slunk is a great song that is even better live. Again, a good indication of what was yet to come from the band.

7 out of 10