Smashing Pumpkins - Earphoria

The Smashing Pumpkins were always hailed as demagogues of something left untapped by the ferocity of other 90's artists, or, more specifically, Billy Corgan was painted as the patron saint of lost children, lost ethos, lost...hair? See, I never really got it, the whole Pumpkins thing, because I thought of Corgan as obnoxious- Smart, yes, but obnoxious and pompous. A more sensitve Liam Gallagher. And, lucky for you, I put that aside for this (second year in a row, yo) best-of collection, which is understood to be a companion for the Pumpkins' "Viewphoria" DVD. Basically, Earphoria is the Smashing Pumpkins' answer to Nirvana's Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, without the burdens of posthumus reverance or sighs of "what could have been." This is straight up pat on the back, "1993 was a good year for us" CD, and rightly so, as there was nothing the Pumpkins could have done to ressurect themselves after the horror that was Adore, but I promised... So here's the positives This album was not made for me, the non-fan. It was made for you, the long-suffering devotee. And with extras like "Bugg Superstarr", "Sinfony", and "French Movie Theme", the CD attains the feel of non-bootleg, which is always nice. "Today", performed live in Chicago in 1993, is notable for Corgan's vitriolic whine over the crowd, who rebounds his pain and throws it right back at him, so thus no Tom Petty sing-for-the-singer allowed: Billy has to do this 'cause he wrote the song, not you, dammit. (That was a reference to "Break Down", btw.) Why mention this? It serves to remind us of the separation between audience and band that was always present with the Smashing Pumpkins: Pain was the product, you were the consumer, and you were perverse yet gratifying to the band. Anyway- "Disarm" sounded better with the violins, but here takes on a tattered pleasantry, and "Cherub Rock" gets less seraphim and more demons, while "Soma" gets an anthemic makeover. The best track on the album is "I Am One", taken live in Barcelona, Spain, in 1993. Corgan is his best starred kitten, his mew of "gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-gimmie-NOTHIN'!" fierce and the opposite of cum grano salis: That, I guess was the majesty of the Smashing Pumpkins- they weren't faking. The armored wall of noise from D'Arcy, Iha, and Chamberlin stands firm and unwavering against Corgan's howl, and the defiance of the song, along with it's unapologetic victim cry, make me realize that this band was probably a pretty good live act... Too bad now, eh? The soaring, sprawling 15-minute opus of "Why Am I So Tired", the last track, is a perfect ending to a CD that highlights the rise of the Hero that was Zero. If you're a fan, get it and revel- If you're not, skip it. Billy Corgan won't care. [smashingpumpkins.com]