Zeitgeist, SP Options

[PillarOfDavidson]

Anyone here have the album? Reviews?

[YourFaceSucks]

On my third spin, and I'm loving it. Hard to put Pumpkins' albums in a box because each one is so different, but it's like a Machina/Zwanish combination of sound to me (Bring the Light and (Come On) Let's Go especially).

Favorite songs on the album are United States (my personal favorite, I think this will become a live favorite in the vein of Silverf*ck), That's The Way (My Love Is), Neverlost, Starz, Tarantula (lyrics are amazing, and sounds like it's about James and D'arcy), and Death From Above.

3.5 out of 5 stars I'd give it.

[PillarOfDavidson]

I have to go on a song by song basis. And, since I don't have the attention span to go through the entire album (and considering that rare is the album that inspires me enough to sit through an entire album), I haven't given every song a thorough listen. But, of the songs I have given a good listening two more than once... here's my verdict:

01 Doomsday Clock

Sucks! No further commentary needed... no, actually... I really can't stand this song.... but maybe it'll grow on me.... that's a slight maybe, though.

02 7 Shades of Black

Sucks almost as bad as Doomsday Clock, but not quite as much. The vocal harmonies at the start are interesting... that's about all I can say positive about this song. Oh, and the drum work during the second verse.

03 Bleeding the Orchid

By the end of 7 Shades of Black I was bracing to be sadly disappointed the rest of the way, but then this song starts up and pisses on my sadness. THIS is the song that should've kicked the album off. I love the chord progressions and the vocals to start the song off are awesome.

04 That's The Way (My Love Is)

This song is a little monotonous. The bridges could've stood to be more sparse, with maybe just vocals, bass and drums. But it's a good song.

05 Tarantula

A lot of people don't like this song, but I think it's a very good reintroduction to the Pumpkins. The little lead in the middle of the song is very sweet. It's a good first single.

06 Starz

This song is probably one of the best on the album, along with Bleeding the Orchid.

07 United States

Hadn't had the guts to get into this song until today... totally. freaking. rocks! Let any of the Fall Out Boys or My Chemical Romance-types attempt something like this.

... will have to wait until I can get more into the last few songs. But so far, 5 out of 7 ain't bad.

My overall opinion at this point is predictable in that this album isn't nearly as good as Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie... but I'm starting to think that was the point. People say this sounds like Siamese Dream the sequel, but I'm thinking of this album more in the vein of Gish. Considering how calculating Billy Corgan is, I wouldn't be shocked if that's not how Corgan thinks of this album as well. It's just got the same feel as Gish to me, as if Zeitgeist is the Pumpkins first major release all over again. I expect the next Pumpkins album, if there is a next one, to actually be more like Siamese Dream was, at least in complexity if not in sound.

[PillarOfDavidson]

Zeitgeist review continued...

08 Neverlost

This is a neat little shift of pace from United States. It's a very sparse song coming on the heels of the wall of utter bombast that the song before it was. It would've been better if the rest of the album after it could've followed the lead of this song, but alas... it was not to be.

09 Bring The Light

The song starts out cool... and then quickly devolves into this drudge of lyrical cliche' and non-sense. The music also follows the same pattern, as do the vocals. The second half of the song has more interesting music, and the lead parts are pretty awesome. But the song, as a whole sounds like a Zwan outtake.

10 (Come On) Let's Go!

Speaking of Zwan outtakes... this song flat out sucks, and it sucks from the start. It's just a three minute and nineteen second piece of wanna-be-rockin' crap.

11 For God and Country

This song sounds like it was a reject from Corgan's solo album.... and that is NOT a good thing at all. And that's all I will say about that.

12 Pomp and Circumstance

I know that it wouldn't be a Pumpkins record without some kind of off-the-wall, out of left field tune, and this is apparently supposed to fill that void. But it's no "We Only Come Out At Night" or "By Starlight". The guitar work near the end is cool, but the song is disappointing overall.

As a first album for a band just breaking out of the unknown, this album would be pretty freaking awesome. But this is Billy Corgan, and this was supposed to be the resurrection of the Smashing Pumpkins. In the massive shadow cast by Siamese Dream, and more importantly Mellon Collie, this album is just pitifully weak. There are some pretty good moments in the album, such as tracks 3 through 8, but tracks 1, 2, and 9 through 12 could've been replaced by much better songs. And I know Corgan has better songs. Half a decent album is not what you want to reintroduce yourself to the world with, especially considering your prior discography. I have to rate this album as a 2 out of 5.

Side note: Corgan would've done much better by himself and SP fans to never have released Machina II to the public via the internet, re-recorded those tracks with better production, and then released THAT (albeit under a different title) as the new album. Because, in spite of the good moments on this album, it's just way below standards.

HOWEVER.... having said all that, I'd still rather buy ten copies of this than to download a single pirated copy of a Fall Out Boy album for free.

This post has been edited by pho3nixtar: Jul 16 2007, 7:34 pm

[YourFaceSucks]

^Lol, were your expectations really that high? I never expected it to be on the same level as Siamese Dream or MCIS. Or even Adore (I actually think Adore is a stronger album than MCIS). Maybe because I went in with lower expectations is why it got a higher rating for me.

I agree though. The strongest part of the album is songs 3-8. However, I think songs 1-2 are still decent. And so is songs 9-10 (but that's probably because I loved Zwan). Song 11 I can absolutely not stand though. And Song 12 I can't get into either.

This album has really grown on me though, and I much prefer it to Machina.

Btw, you left out "Death From Above" from your review. You didn't get the one with this extra track?

[PillarOfDavidson]

Apparently not, but they're releasing multiple versions with different tracks. I don't really want to buy the same album multiple times just to get two or three extra songs.

I didn't really know what to expect with this Pumpkins record. I'm sure I'll like it more as time goes on.

This post has been edited by pho3nixtar: Jul 18 2007, 2:15 am

[YourFaceSucks]

True, I wasn't going to get multiple albums just to get the extra tracks either, but I did get one of them with an extra track, which was Death From Above. You should d/l that one. It's pretty good.

And now that you mention it, yeah, I do see some hints of Gish in this record along with Machina/Zwan.

I'm going to see them at the Virgin Festival in August. Can't wait.