Product 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.

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: #44649 in Music
• Released on: 1996-10-21
• Number of discs: 1

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

Customer Reviews

Genious
i will keep this short. Pieces has some beautiful songs on it, showing the quieter side of the pumpkins, its all about emotion this album, the perfect accompliment to mellon collie...amazing 10/10

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.

(bizkitrulz@hotmail.com) b sides?
Pices Iscariot was first released in 1994, a year after their break through album Siamese Dream, and comprises of 14 songs that were recorded during the sessions for Siamese Dream as well as their first album Gish yet were never included in the final cut. In most cases, b side albums are often scrappy, disjointed and all round lacking coherence. However, Pices Iscariot is different. This is an amazing album and a rare instance where the majority of tracks sound nothing at all like b sides, the quality of the song writing is simply too strong. The album opens with a surprisingly sombre 'Soothe' recorded with just Billy and an acoustic guitar. 'Frail and Bedazzled' is straight up Siamese Dream rock, energetic and catchy. 'Plume' is another Siamese Dream outake, where fuzzy distorion takes the primal focus of the song, yet in complete contrast 'Whir' is a beautiful and touching acoustic song with Billy's trademark vocal performance, 'Blew Away' is another great song written and sung entirely by James, which is always great to hear as he is a very talented song writer which is often overlooked by many jaded fans. 'Pissant' is a rare live performance cut with its roaring guitars and amazing drumming from Jimmy, which is further demonstarted in the upbeat 'Hello Kitty Kat'. 'Obscured' is another gorgeous acoustic track, however it is the stunning Stevie Nicks cover of 'Landslide' that remains my favourite track on the album. The next track 'Starla' is an 11 minute epic with begins with a beautiful guitar riff which out of nowhere launches into full on distorion and dazzling solo work from Billy and James. 'Blue' is a Gish outake which includes one of my favourite bass lines from Darcy, simple yet effective. Next comes the albums second cover courtesey of 'A Girl Named Sandoz' by The Animals taken from the Gish sessions, a dirty and visceral performance. 'La Dolly Vita' is another great Siamese Dream outake, and the album closer 'Spaced' is a weird psychedelic aura or echoing spacy tones, a weird yet effective end to the album. I would definatly recommend Pices Iscariot to anyone who's just started getting into the Pumpkins, and also anyone who likes melodic rock music. Dont let the fact that this is a b side album fool you, this is a superb album and a fascinating insight into the dynamics of the Pumpkins early material.