Performer Notes
- This edition of SIAMESE DREAM contains the original 20-page booklet.
- Smashing Pumpkins: Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar, Mellotron); D'Arcy (vocals, bass); James Iha (guitar); Jimmy Chamberlin (drums).
- Additional personnel: David Ragsdale (violin); Eric Remschneider (cello); Mike Mills (piano).
- Engineers: Mark Richardson, Jeff Tomei, Butch Vig.
- Recorded at Triclops Sound Studios, Atlanta, Georgia.
- Smashing Pumpkins: Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar, Mellotron); D'Arcy (vocals, bass); James Iha (guitar); Jimmy Chamberlin (drums).
- Additional personnel: David Ragsdale (violin); Eric Remschneider (cello); Mike Mills (piano).
- Engineers: Mark Richardson, Jeff Tomei, Butch Vig.
- Recorded at Triclops Sound Studios, Atlanta, Georgia.
- When SIAMESE DREAM was initially released in the summer of 1993 it was hailed as alternative rock's first great post-NEVERMIND hope. And while it has gone on to become an overwhelming commercial success, it has also helped further re-draw the artistic borders of "alternative" music.
- By combining neo-psychedelic AOR guitars (band-members proudly claim Boston as an influence) with Pumpkin auteur Billy Corgan's "outsider" lyrical stance, SIAMESE DREAM creates a rebel image; but one with a wandering eye towards mainstream acceptance as well. Consequently, Smashing Pumpkins are equally successful relating to young lollapaloozers and to classic rock radio.
- The album's immediate attraction is plain to see. Corgan and co-producer Butch Vig have sculpted a sonic wall of guitars--in some cases, using up to 32 separate guitar tracks on a single song--that is electrifying in its sheer scope and power. Along with Jimmy Chamberlin's powerhouse drumming, guitarists Corgan and James Iha's thick sound endows SIAMESE DREAM with a fresh feel that holds up even on repeated listens--and how many other "top ten" albums can you say that about?
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[Corgan] didn't smash guitars, he stroked them into ecstatic swells of heaviosity as he cooed composition-book poetry."
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.48) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (9/16/93, p.67) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...rarely a bum note in this tidy wash of styles....SIAMESE DREAM is a strong, multidimensional extension of GISH that confirms that Smashing Pumpkins are neither sellouts nor one-offs..."
Rolling Stone (9/16/93, p.67) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...rarely a bum note in this tidy wash of styles...SIAMESE DREAM is a strong, multidimensional extension of GISH that confirms that Smashing Pumpkins are neither sellouts nor one-offs..."
Spin (9/99, p.131) - Ranked #23 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (8/93, p.82) - Highly Recommended - "...SIAMESE DREAM takes up and expands nicely where 1991's impressive GISH left off; it's got all the feisty, fuzzy passion of that record and even more inventiveness. Smashing Pumpkins have an enormous bag of tricks..."
Spin (8/93, p.82) - Highly Recommended - "...SIAMESE DREAM takes up and expands nicely where 1991's impressive GISH left off; it's got all the feisty, fuzzy passion of that record and even more inventiveness. Smashing Pumpkins have an enormous bag of tricks..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/6/93, p.54) - "...If anyone will be burdened with the dreaded mantle of `next Nirvana,' it'll be this Chicago band....the great lost link between alternative, pop and metal....may have stumbled upon a whole new stance: slackers with a vision..." Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (8/6/93, p.54) - "...If anyone will be burdened with the dreaded mantle of 'next Nirvana,' it'll be this Chicago band....the great lost link between alternative, pop and metal....may have stumbled upon a whole new stance: slackers with a vision..." Rating: B
Q (12/99, p.76) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (1/94, p.87) - Included on Q's list of `The 50 Best Albums Of 1993.'
Q (8/93, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...SIAMESE DREAM is something of a white-knuckle, rollercoaster ride, leavened by moments of sometimes quite staggering beauty....Smashing Pumpkins are so exciting, it's patently obvious that they're a (if not the) Next Big Thing..."
Q (12/99, p.76) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (1/94, p.87) - Included on Q's list of 'The 50 Best Albums Of 1993.'
Q (8/93, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...SIAMESE DREAM is something of a white-knuckle, rollercoaster ride, leavened by moments of sometimes quite staggering beauty....Smashing Pumpkins are so exciting, it's patently obvious that they're a (if not the) Next Big Thing..."
Melody Maker (1/1/94, p.77) - Ranked #32 in Melody Maker's list of the `Albums Of The Year' for 1993 - "...there's no denying the Pumpkins injected a peculiarly fluid, febrile grace into their brand of neo-psychedelic rock..."
Melody Maker (1/1/94, p.77) - Ranked #32 in Melody Maker's list of the 'Albums Of The Year' for 1993 - "...there's no denying the Pumpkins injected a peculiarly fluid, febrile grace into their brand of neo-psychedelic rock..."
Musician (9/93, p.74) - "...the 13 tracks ring out as a triumph of dynamics and atmosphere, and serve as gold settings for the fragile charm of [Billy] Corgan's emotive vocals..."
Musician (9/93, p.74) - "...the 13 tracks ring out as a triumph of dynamics and atmosphere, and serve as gold settings for the fragile charm of [Billy] Corgan's emotive vocals..."
Village Voice (3/1/94) - Ranked #11 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Village Voice (3/1/94) - Ranked #11 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.51) - "[With] guitar solos from heaven, wall upon wall of lushly textured sound, and grand, epic vision."
Q (Magazine) (p.122) - "[A]n album that draped its influences -- Cheap Trick, Led Zeppelin, New Order -- in a fuzzy haze, suggesting heavy metal played by a group coming down from an acid trip. It's a high-water mark from the era."
NME (Magazine) (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked #6 in NME's list of `The Top 50 LPs of 1993' - "...The rediscovery of the guitar as motorbike and also one of the year's most emotionally punishing efforts..."
NME (Magazine) (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked #6 in NME's list of 'The Top 50 LPs of 1993' - "...The rediscovery of the guitar as motorbike and also one of the year's most emotionally punishing efforts..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.93) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[The songs] mark out Corgan's genius capabilities as a songwriter....A truly stunning album."
Uncut (magazine) (p.97) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Two booming anthems, 'Cherub Rock' and 'Today', are equal parts earnestness and irony..."
