Smashing Pumpkins Songs That Didn't Make The Cut - Obscured & La Dolly Vita
I've been on a low key 90's kick since reading the Nirvana article by @neilstrauss. And my fellow steemian @minar213 got me binging on Smashing Pumpkins again when he brought up their album Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness. The tracks I'm sharing today were released on their B-sides album, Pisces Iscarioit, through Virgin Records in 1994. It was certified platinum that same year!
(From Left): D'arcy Wretzky (bass), Jimmy Chamberlain (drums), Billy Corgan (guitar/vocals), James Iha(guitar)
Source
The warm, blissful expression on Billy Corgan's face in the picture above is how I feel listening to the song. If I could magically learn how to play guitar and have the same voice as the famous rockstar just for a few minutes, this is the song I'd play. It perplexes me why this song was considered a B-side and they chose not to include it on a studio album at that point. It was included on the Today EP that featured one of the bands' smash hits from Siamese Dream. It's just so dreamy and wistful on its own, but maybe the band thought for some reason it didn't fit with the mood of their albums. It was originally supposed to be on their debut album Gish which is a personal favorite from the 90s rock era. I think I'll do another article on just that album soon.
Smashing Pumpkins - Obscured
The second one is an easygoing, numbing rhythm with hints of psychedelia. It makes me feel like I'm kind of high traveling through a desert terrain in some huge, lumbering mechanism with a bunch of people. Like something out of Mad Max, but not intense as fuck. It was released on one of their first EP's titled Tristessa that kick started a bidding war among record labels for the band. The first studio album it was featured on was Pisces Iscariot.
Smashing Pumpkins - La Dolly Vita
I've listened to the Smashing Pumpkins new material but I definitely didn't feel as much magic as I did when listening to the classics. Billy Corgan's voice sounds drastically different from his younger self, but definitely still sounds like him. Even with his new voice, I would still love to see them if they had a reunion tour. However I don't think the relationships between the original bandmates are that good, so I'll just keep listening to the old favorites and keep daydreaming. If you're a fan of 90's rock and the Smashing Pumpkins, but haven't heard this underrated album check it out below through the Spotify link
Pisces Iscariot Full Album
https://open.spotify.com/album/0WMWadJs4xUOIv5bmgR79W?si=3lht4LDnR4ikqJKxRdT6fA
B sides are magic dude. Looking forward to the Gish review!!
Their b-sides really are solid. yea i'll be writing that up soon!