Like many
alt-rock
bands,
the Smashing Pumpkins
sound better than expected as a singles band -- probably because their high points were singles, no matter how carefully created their albums were.
The Smashing Pumpkins
fit this bill particularly well for two reasons. For one, they rose up through the ranks in
indie rock
circles, where limited-edition singles on
Sub Pop
meant as much as a full-lengths on
Caroline
. Then, after they made it through the
indie
jungle, they had to fight their way onto
MTV
airwaves with songs and videos that sold their intricate albums. This was a good, even prosperous, situation when
the Pumpkins
(OK, when their leader,
Billy Corgan
) could balance their knack for great singles with their desire to make sweeping neo-concept albums like
Siamese Dream
and
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
. They did for a few years, conquering the
pack after
Nirvana
imploded, but the group itself eventually turned in on itself -- either because of
Corgan
's own hubris or the group's complacency. They had more than enough great material for a good compilation, and
Greatest Hits
almost fits the bill, although it gives too much credence to the music made after the group's peak. Essentially, anything that most listeners will want to hear wraps up 11 tracks into the 18-track album, when the collection dives into material from
Adore
MACHINA
-- although even these two albums aren't embarrassments. Still, it does have many of the cuts that fans will want on one disc, including the non-LP
"Drown"
"Landslide."
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine