Siamese Dream Review

"Siamese Dream" is the second studio album from 90's rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.  Coming off the heels of their highly successful debut album "Gish", the pumpkins lived up to the lofty expectations that were garnered from their debut by delivering one of the more memorable albums of the 90's.  The group had such a unique sound for the time and the album was widely anticipated because of it.  The influences are more profound compared to "Gish" but the album is anything from ordinary as the dream sequence of in your face rock tracks to more airy, delicate ballads makes "Siamese Dream" a well-balanced pariah of an album.

Songs such as "Cherub Rock" and "Geek U.S.A." smack you in the face with gritty, distorted rock and roll while "Disarm" and "Mayonaise" bring the tempo of the album down a notch for balance.  But out of all the songs on "Siamese Dream", none have gotten more air play than "Today".  The song is simple in the fact that it is an upbeat, positive sounding song but it's foundation is based on some extremely dark lyrics as the song was written by Billy Corgan while he was having suicidal thoughts.  Masking those dark emotions through upbeat rock music truly is an art form and the pumpkins were always unique as they weren't afraid to hide those types of emotions.

Aside from the dark lyrics, alternative rock/grunge displayed the direction that music was headed in.  Bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana led the way in the early 90's with their distorted guitars and angst to break the mold that the 70's and 80's abided by. But at the end of day, you can't deny the attention to detail placed on every single track as well as the straight up solid track list giving you a full platter of what The Smashing Pumpkins are all about.

Final Summary:

For an album to remain just as potent as the first time you heard it over 20 years ago, you must have a timeless record on your hands.  "Siamese Dream" embodies the elements that make The Smashing Pumpkins organically an excellent rock band and one that will forever be remembered for their timeless music.  I could get amped up listening to "Cherub Rock", I could take a breather with "Mayonaise", "Soma", or the highly underrated "Spaceboy", or you could enjoy the album as a whole and I believe that's the best way to go about it.

Rating: 8.9/10

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