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Smashing Pumpkins | Greatest Hits (Rotten Apples/Judas O)

The career-spanning compilation reviewed.
CD, Hut/Virgin

Tekst: Sven Schlijper

Publicatiedatum: 05 december 2001

The latest releases by Chicago-based, multi-platinum rock band The Smashing Pumpkins are the single 'Untitled' and the greatest hits release 'Rotten Apples' (The first pressing contains the bonus CD 'Judas O'.). Almost a year after the last performance at the Metro club in Chicago, these releases coincide with the release of a DVD/VHS compilation of the videos and live material. 'Untitled' is The Smashing Pumpkins' last song, recorded in the weeks before the farewell shows late 2000. While the United Center in Chicago was filling up in expectance of the penultimate show, local radio station Q101 was given a CDR with this song; that night 'Untitled' made its debut on the airwaves. Finally, the song has been released on this three-track single (b/w 'Try (Alternate Version)' and 'Age of I** (Early Version)'. 'Untitled' is a very light pop-rock song; The casual listerner might not even recognize the tune as a Smashing Pumpkins original. The typical Pumpkins sound is omnipresent though. Blending Jimmy Chamberlin's amazingly fluent drumming with the electro-acoustic riff and the James Iha leads and solos, this song could very well turn out to be one of the biggest airplay hits for The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the possible hit single, The Smashing Pumpkins released the greatest hits compilation called 'Rotten Apples'. The first pressing contains the bonus disc 'Judas O', the follow-up to 1994's b-sides and outtakes compilation album 'Pisces Iscariot'. 'Rotten Apples' features nearly all expected tracks from 1991-2000, strangely omitting 'I Am One' and 'Rocket'. Slightly surprising, however, is the inclusion of 'Drown', a song The Smashing Pumpkins contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 'Singles'. Another soundtrack song is the electro-tune 'Eye' from David Lynch's 'Lost Highway'. Completing the set of songs culled from singles and soundtracks, the greatest hits has two bonus tracks tagged onto it, 'Real Love' and the single 'Untitled'. All in all, 'Rotten Apples' reflects the band's history in songwriting rather well, combining psychedelic rock ('Rhinocerous') with all-out Pumpkin-rock ('Zero', 'The Everlasting Gaze') and big hits ('Today', '1979') with not so well-known tracks ('Eye', 'Drown'). This CD will bring someone new to the music of The Smashing Pumpkins a nice overview, and it will certainly raise appetite for the albums these tracks were taken from. For the fans of The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Rotten Apples' brings nothing new. Therefore, 'Judas O' is included with the first pressing. This CD (made to look like a CDR), a collection of b-sides and "rarities", is a disappointment. Apart from the brilliant 'Adore'-version of 'Saturnine' (The track can also be found on the self-released album 'Machina II'.), there are little to no highlights on this disc. The b-sides are well known and were widely available because of the release of the box set 'The Aeroplane Flies High'. And for the outtakes, these are either boring Billy Corgan acoustic demos ('Sparrow', 'My Mistake', 'Winterlong') or songs that obviously miss the quality to make it to an album ('Because You Are', 'Waiting'), and a live-at-soundcheck recording of 'Rock On' isn't half as exciting as the same song live during a show. This way, the compilation lacks the quality to match up to 'Pisces Iscariot'. It leaves the fans with a sense of a bummer. Knowing there have to be so many good-quality recordings left in the band's archives, it is a pity 'Judas O' keeps it at this level. Where 'Pisces Iscariot' brought some tunes of The Smashing Pumpkins at their best ('Frail and Bedazzled', 'Whir'), 'Judas O' is like a plate of bad left-overs with only one new tasty bite left.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/smashing-pumpkins/greatest-hits-rotten-apples-judas-o/922/
Meer Smashing Pumpkins op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/smashing-pumpkins