Ugly Chord

OK, so this is obviously unintentional…but I again couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review the Smashing Pumpkins’s latest release, “Widow Wake My Mind.” With the Melissa auf der Maur post, it seems appropriate. As you may or may not know, Billy Corgan (and others…although not Jimmy Chamberlain, unfortunately…which is not to say that 19 year old Mike Byrne is not a solid drummer in his own right.) have been working on a 44 song quasi-concept album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. The idea is that the album will be released piecemeal over the course of 2-3 years. It will be available for download entirely free. (The nicest thing about this is that Corgan has stated it will not require e-mail or any sort of form, you just download…and that is indeed the case!) For the fans, the Pumpkins will also make each release available for purchase in some very limited EP format. Before getting to the music (2 songs have already been released, with the latest, “Widow Make My Mind” having been released yesterday), it seems worthwhile to comment on how entirely commendable the whole idea is. Rolling Stone asked Corgan whether he could “afford” to do this and he responded with the following:

“I can’t afford it!!” he says. “But I would rather be free than rich. The [major] labels are dead ghosts walking, and they know it. They never should have left this mystic free, because I am way more of a pied piper than they could ever fathom.”

While we also here witness Corgan’s characteristic egomania, the impetus behind this is really commendable. Corgan continued, adding that: “I was never comfortable with the album format…it always felt so forced and was obviously an economic decision made by others and not an artistic decision made by creators.” On the whole, I think this is an excellent experiment and I am curious to see what sort of ramifications it will have for the industry (I suspect, unfortunately, minimal).

To get back to the music. I won’t say much about the first song, “A Song for a Son,” since it has been talked about to death already (it was released in December 7, 2009 — so much for Corgan’s idea to release 4 songs a month!). The new one, “Widow Wake My Mind” (download link here) is an interesting track that continues the quasi-psychedelia that seems to be present on the whole album. Although some reviewers are comparing it to the Beatles, I think the sonic influence is rather the Rolling Stones. In fact, we have Corgan trying his best to sound like Jagger…to somewhat uncanny results! The song is good…but it isn’t a great song by any means. The highlights: the arrangement, the bass, and the guitar sound. The lows: the durmming, the lyrics, the vocals. I’ll start with the former. The arrangement is excellent–there is actually a lot going on: keys, guitars, vocals, and it all fits well. Especially prominent and well done is the bass (presumably played by Mark Tulin). Likewise, the guitars sound great…not only the actual riffs, and the typical awesome Corgan phrasing, but the tone…which is quite different from earlier Pumpkins efforts. (Corgan, I believe is so underrated as a truly masterful guitarist who not only has some of the most distinctive phrasing anywhere, but who also always achieves wonderful tone.) With that said, the drumming on this track, while absolutely solid is entirely boring. Generally, this isn’t an issue, but it is here because the guitars and bass are doing so many interesting things. This is a case, however, of where very standard, solid, in the pocket drumming doesn’t work…the drums could have benefitted from more going on (more Mitch Mitchell, less Phil Rudd). The vocals, if they actually had been sung by Jagger probably would have made this song truly excellent, but with Corgan at the helm it stays just in the realm of “very solid” (and do not get me wrong–I like Corgan’s vocals.) Some are saying that this song could work in the context of an album, but by itself it fails. I don’t agree–I really do support Corgan’s idea here to release the songs in this fashion and to form an album…this just isn’t one of his best finished products and it’s a shame he wasn’t able to realize that with a few tweaks (e.g. improved drum parts and a few layers vis-a-vis vocals and guitars) the track could have been excellent. I am still eagerly awaiting the rest of the album!

On the whole, I think the album is off to a great start–between the two songs, the Pumpkins have a very fresh sound that certainly does hearken back to certain psychedelic elements that Corgan seems to be a fan of. The album also features interesting arrangements, takes risks with structure, and just generally seems inspired, although, surprisingly, not always entirely polished (which is a shame given that the songs are being released one by one…)

So to speak with Corgan on “Widow Wake My Mind,” ultimately, I’m still “looking for a love that I’ll call mine…”

Lastly, check out the Pumpkins studio blog.

(Actual album review coming next–I promise!)

UPDATE (9:59AM): OK…having just listened to this track significantly more times, I have to say I really like this song. I stand by earlier comments…it could still be better, but I am really getting more and more into this song. Especially the guitar sound that Corgan gets here. Totally awesome and I love the process of this album…