Track Listing

1. Soothe
2. Frail And Bedazzled
3. Plume
4. Whir
5. Blew Away
6. Pissant
7. Hello Kitty Kat
8. Obscured
9. Landslide
10. Starla
11. Blue
12. Girl Named Sandoz
13. La Dolly Vita
14. Spaced

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21532 in Music
• Released on: 1996-10-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

From Amazon.com
The Smashing Pumpkins are a big rock band, molded by leader Billy Corgan after stadium and progressive rock giants from the Seventies. As such it's only fitting that after only two albums they would release a collection of B-sides. The result, Pisces Iscariot, is not only a good compendium to their other work, but it's a very good record in its own right. Most of the 14 tracks follow the Pumpkins' blueprint, traveling sonically from soft to loud and back again. Among the slew of originals previously available on singles and imports is a hauntingly beautiful cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide." Surprisingly there's less fat here than on 1995's bloated Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. --Greg Emmanuel

CD Description
Billy Corgan probably never smashed a pumpkin in his life. He was too busy making fun of the macho oafs who fueled their teen angst with power chords and cheap beer. Corgan is much more the type to hide in his room and write sweet songs orbash out manic sludgefests with tricky titles. "Plume", being the perfect example, finds Corgan boasting "my boredom outshines the sun".
Boasting aside, Corgan's boredom is notcontagious or completely self-serving. PISCES ISCARIOT is acollection of B-sides and rarities that, even more than GISH or SIAMESE DREAM, offers insight into the workings of one of alternative rock's most sought-after songwriters.
Corgan's introspective quiet side is exemplified by his cover ofFleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and the Corgan original "Soothe", which, in the spirit of lo-fi, he recorded in his apartment. The other side of the Smashing Pumpkins' sound is James Iha's driving guitar, a psychedelic sonic blast that is quickly distinguishable from the ranks of AOR and typical grungyalterna-rock. If you're a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins' sound, PISCES ISCARIOT will show you where it all came from.

Customer Reviews

A+ Sides
Most bands with genuine rock creation going on end up with some B-sides, and the Smashing Pumpkins were no exception. While it has no internal cohesion, "Pisces Iscariot" is a solid album in its own right, with the mix of bombastic and balladic that the Pumpkins did so very, very well.

With a few exceptions like Broken Social Scene, B-side albums usually have a few enchanting songs, surrounded by half-formed songs that might be good when they grow up. "Pisces Iscariot".... is not one such album. Virtually all of these songs are worthy of being A-sides.

The Pumpkins were one of those rare bands that did both quiet and loud songs equally well. There are mellower, beautiful songs like "Soothe," the beautiful cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," or the rather wispy "Whir." On the other hand, there is the rock side: frenetic "Frail and Bedazzled," steady "Plume" and jagged "Pissant." Then there's the center jewel of the album, the steadily built-up "Starla," which starts soft and turns into pure sonic insanity.

The instrumentation has a raw quality -- it doesn't sound unpolished, but it does have a lot of unbridled power and enthusiasm. Billy Corgan was in good form during each recorded track, including the one from his apartment, be it fuzz-rock, distorted jams or his acoustic guitar, with James Iha quietly and exceptionally backing him up. And as the finishing touch, there's outstanding drumming by Jimmy Chamberlin.

Corgan's voice is a bit off in "Landslide," but otherwise his high vocals fit in as well as always. James Iha also gets to shine in "Blew Away." And the songwriting is a bit more simplistic ("You hear a lot of visions/you can't even stop/can't see what you're missing/spinning like a top") than the usual Corgan fare, but still quite pretty to listen to.

"Pisces Iscariot" is a rare beast among B-side albums -- the B-side album that is better than many regular rock releases. And whether you're a Pumpkins fan or a newbie, it's a solid listen.

The album of B-sides that beats many bands best efforts
It is very tempting to give this album 5 stars because I am such a huge admirer of The Smashing Pumpkins, but it is not what I would consider a 'true classic' that full marks would suggest (it is only a B-sides album afterall), but that means in no way it is a bad album. Many of the tracks are taken from the early days of the Smashing Pumpkins, songs that have been lost and then found, and some that were before now, very very rare.

The album sleeve is also a great piece of Pumpkins history because inside is a long passage written by Billy Corgan himself, describing how each song was recorded and how the ideas of each song came about, which is fascinating when listening to the album.

If this is the first Smashing pumpkins album you are thinking of buying, then I suggest to get their recent best hits album 'Rotten Apples' or the legendary 'Siamese Dream' or 'Melon Collie...' to get familiar with their more accesible songs, and then move on to this album along with other later albums such as 'Adore'.

This is a beautiful album to really listen to, it is definitely not background music if that is what you are thinking of buying it for. The songs range from loud to quiet, with intricate guitar work and pounding drums. If you are already a fan of the band then do not hesitate in buying this gem of an album, it is a collection of B-sides that easily betters many bands studio recordings.

A band who cared about music...
You can't help but complement the pumpkins for the fact that they cared so much about their fans that they always made sure that their B-sides were always as good as most of the songs on their great albums and this is strongly evident of that. Many of the songs featured were made round about Siamese Dream, and as a result, this compilation is in league with the album. I'd point out Whir and Landslide as being the highlights although there really isn't one bad song on this.