Zeitgeist : Smashing Pumpkins : Review : Rolling Stone

Zero: That is the exact number of doubts singer-guitarist-songwriter Billy Corgan has about this controversial resurrection of his old band. "I never felt so right and good. . . . You'll never need another sound," he crows in that bleating voice against the titanic fuzz of "Bring the Light." It is classic Corgan bravado, but the cumulative effect of his distortion-orchestra guitar and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's pinpoint thunder is impressive and convincing, a return to the big pop-wise din of 1993's Siamese Dream. Original members James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky are not part of this reunion, but they were hardly on Siamese Dream – Corgan played their guitar and bass parts.

By that standard, Zeitgeist, performed entirely by Corgan and Chamberlin, is a Pumpkins record – and a good one. Lyrically, Zeitgeist is the least self-absorbed record Corgan has ever written, although not quite the electric newspaper some song titles suggest. There is more fear of frying than actual fight and social remedy in "Doomsday Clock" and "For God and Country," the latter sounding more like Corgan's pledge of allegiance to the Cure. The closest thing to victory over Dick Cheney is the promise in "Starz" – "We cannot die. . . . We are stars/We are" – which rocks better than it reads, with Robert Fripp-like snakes of guitar and a closing frenzy of staccato power chords and Chamberlin pummeling his cymbals into splinters.

The best thing about Zeitgeist is that Corgan is back to what he does best: hard-rock architecture. His wall-of-guitars overdubs are exhilarating in their details: the harmonized squeals in "7 Shades of Black"; the creeping buzz of "Tarantula"; the long, howling solo, sinking in echo, in "United States." The Pumpkins were never more exciting in the Nineties than when Corgan unleashed his inner Tony Iommi all over his inner Robert Smith. That is what happens on Zeitgeist, which makes it a strong new start for Corgan and Chamberlin, no matter what they call themselves.

DAVID FRICKE

(Posted: Jul 18, 2007)

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Review 1 of 36

4of 5 Stars

I think the main problem with this album is the legacy of the Pumpkins. If this were a band of newly formed 20-year-olds with slick production and marketing, we would be amazed with the music. But it's the Pumpkins...we compare everything to Gish, SD, and Mellon Collie, and really that's too hard to reproduce. I like the album though. Nice loud guitar, good drums, good lyrics. And it's great driving, working out, head-phone music. Is it a classic like Mellon Collie? Not even close...but still not bad.

Jul 1, 2008 22:54:58

Review 2 of 36

5of 5 Stars

In my oppinion, Zeitgeist is the Pumpkins' finest work yet. I found that every single track on the album was awesome and deserves better reviews. The best song on the album is definetly Tarantula, with its insain guitar solos and awesome lyrics, it's easily the best song they've ever written. So to anyone who thought this album sucked, you just got shown up by Crow Feathers!

May 1, 2008 19:43:23

Review 3 of 36

1of 5 Stars

this proves 1.) that rolling stone will give any dogpuke album four stars and 2.) billy corgan should retire and/or die

Apr 17, 2008 12:15:14

Review 4 of 36

5of 5 Stars

im not into this heavy metal music, but this new album is a good exception.

Apr 11, 2008 16:17:05

Review 5 of 36

5of 5 Stars

This album kicked ass. Plain and simple.

Good Lord, just crank the volume knob before you even pop the disc into the car CD player; Billy and company have that kind of clout, after their years of brilliance (Adore being the exception that proves the rule).

"Doomsday Clock" should have everyone playing air-drums over the steering wheel. "Bleed the Orchid" should have everyone singing at the top of their lungs out the moon roof.

Zeitgeist passes the acid test--if you listen to it all the way through more than once without wanting to rip it out of the car CD player, it's gold. By that standard, it passed the test with flying colors.

Dec 27, 2007 19:58:12

Review 6 of 36

3of 5 Stars

Big fan of the Pumpkins first 3 records (Gish, SD, MCIS). I heard the single, Tarantula and to be honest, it sounded like shit at first. That alone made me not buy the album. Well, I just heard That's The Way on MTV the other day, and was like, wow, it's actually good. So I bought the newly released special edition at Best Buy today, gave it a listen, and here's my thoughts. Not the best album ever, definitely not their best. But, hey, compared to this emo shit nowadays, it's very good. Keep in mind these guys haven't been in their SP element for 7 years. Give 'em a break on their first venture back into the music scene. Now, the actual songs aren't that bad. Some of them actually stand out pretty well. Some of these are Doomsday Clock, That's The Way, Starz, Neverlost, and, upon further listening, Tarantula. That's The Way and Tarantula especially have avery Pumpkin-esque sound to them. The other songs aren't too memorable, but blow most shitty modern rock out of the water. Too bad these guys won't see much success in the mainstream now, what with My Chemical Gaylords and Fall Out Boy dominating the rock scene. A tip for Billy: re-recruit Iha and D'Arcy, then put some actual emotion into the next album, because I saw none on any track with the exception of That's The Way.

Nov 9, 2007 18:24:53

Review 7 of 36

4of 5 Stars

The pumpkins were one of my favorite bands back in high
school (Bullet With Butterfly Wings was the anthem of my
angst!), but I haven't really been following this type of music,
so I didn't even realize they had a new album out until I read
about ithe tour on that site JuliB. This is never going to be MY
SMashing Pumpkins album, but then Melo Collie was mine,
and Siamese dreams was the definitive one for my older
sister, so maybe this will be THE pumpkns album for a
teenager today. I think that's the charm of Billy Corrigan, his
eternal ability to speak to teen angst.

Nov 2, 2007 07:30:15

Review 8 of 36

5of 5 Stars

The best album I've heard this year. I've heard of the Smashing Pumpkins over the years but never took them seriously. However after finding this album accidently while searching for a doc called Zeitgeist I came across this masterpiece. I love the video on Youtube for "Doomsday Clock" great stuff.

peace
Earle

Sep 1, 2007 19:39:14

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