Product Description

In the wake of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's departure, the Pumpkins have taken a giant step away from the grunge-flavoured, turbo-powered alt-rock anthems that made them famous. On ADORE, Billy Corgan and company opt instead for a more scaled-down approach that relies heavily on acoustic instruments and ballads of love and longing. Corgan may still be expressing angst here, but he does it in an understated, romantic way, addressing matters of the heart with subtlety and maturity on tunes like "Shame" and "To Sheila".
Don't take all this acoustic-based balladry (a path also explored by James Iha on his solo debut) as a sign that the band is out of touch with contemporary production trends, though. Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb is on hand to add a sprinkling of electronica to the proceedings via his programming talents. His contributions, like much of ADORE itself, remains modestly unobtrusive, providing just the right underpinning for some of the tunes. As the album ends with a solo piano instrumental, we're reminded that Smashing Pumpkins are a band who refuse to ossify, constantly changing and evolving. ADORE is just one more leg of their continuing journey.

Track Listing

1. Pug
2. Tear
3. Blank Page
4. Tale Of Dusty And Pistol Pete
5. Daphne Descends
6. Shame
7. Ava Adore
8. Behold The Nightmare
9. Once Upon Time
10. For Martha
11. Appels And Oranjes
12. Annie Dog
13. Perfect
14. 17
15. To Sheila
16. Crestfallen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8007 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
With Adore, Smashing Pumpkins return to the forefront of rock to do a dance with a new partner. Trading white-noise vocals and guitars for caramel crooning and dense synthesizers, frontman Billy Corgan drives bandmates James Iha and D'Arcy to a lush aural plateau. The darkness is still there--evidenced in the techno throb of the single "Ava Adore"--but the Pumpkins also tinker with Lennonesque lullabies ("Behold! The Night Mare"), midtempo electronica ("Appels and Oranjes") and tender calliope music ("Once Upon a Time"). Smartly, Corgan rarely upstages the watery sounds going on behind him; the trademark mid-song blowouts are almost completely absent. Adore will strike your ears and heart in a way you didn't think the Smashing Pumpkins could. --Jason Josephes

Customer Reviews

Must Have Album
Can't be bothered writing a review but if you had to take 20 albums away on an island, this would always be one of them.

Dark, electronic follow up to Mellon Collie and the Infinite...
This is a strange album, and as a result of that strangeness I'm not entirely sure if it will still appeal to new listeners, or whether it really is just a throwback to the end of the late 90's alternative scene. It's certainly no way to follow up a huge, successful, double-album like Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness, with the band rejecting straight rock in favour of extended compositions drawing heavily on languid pianos, anachronistic 80's style synthesisers and lyrics that are shot through with a sense of bitterness and defeat. Listening to it today, for the first time in years, I was surprised at how highly a younger incarnation of myself must have rated this; especially given that it is (or was at the time) one of the priciest 'strange' albums ever to be released.

The band had garnered great critical and commercial success from their previous albums, Siamese Dream and the abovementioned Meloncollie. Being something of the dictator, Billy Corgan obviously decided that this success was a cementation of his ruler ship and decided that the band should create an album that dealt almost specifically with the break-up of his marriage and the loss of his mother. Secondly, drummer Jimmy Chamberlain had been kicked out of the band during a subsequent tour for heroin addiction and - with not enough time to replace him before the start of this recording - the band instead brought in a drum machine until a replacement drummer could be found (Matt Walker provides actual drumming on some of the tracks). Because of this, the album sounds like a throwback to Depech Mode's Violator LP with synths and drum loops all over the place, coupled with over-earnest lyrics that look at heartbreak & death (I suppose comparisons to the Cure could be made, circa Head on the Door and The Top).

Finally, the strain of the band under Corgan's dictatorship was becoming more and more apparent, with remaining members James Iha and Darcy contributing very little to the recording, whilst Corgan himself is rumoured to have played all the instruments himself. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, what with Corgan's standing one of the better musicians to emerge from the so-called 'grunge'/alternative scene, but it does occasionally gives the album a stagnant, limited sound. It's also highly repetitive, with all the songs bleeding into one another until the point where they cease to hold any nuance of character or originality. As a result of this, the album ends up sounding, at times, as if it is just one long, repetitive, bleak 70-minute composition spread, out over one CD (or maybe this was the point).

Some of it is great; tracks like To Sheila, Ava Adore, Perfect, Crestfallen, Appels + Oranjes, Shame, For Martha and Blank Page, which, despite being terribly gloomy, represent Corgan at his very best. But did we really need songs like Pug, Once Upon a Time, The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete and Daphne Descends? In the early days, these tracks wouldn't have even been deemed worthy for their b-side compilations and yet here they are, mostly clocking in at 5 minutes + and featuring a style that never seems to change one little bit during their entirety. As others have said, there's a lot here to admire, for example, many of the stripped down lyrics that brim with emotion, the production and mixing; even Corgan's voice seems warmer and more human than ever before, but there isn't too much you can get behind and enjoy and come back to on a regular basis and feel transformed by.

A lot of Pumpkin fans hated this at the time because it was so stylistically different from the albums that came before, but for me, that's not the problem. The problem is simply: 'too long and too repetitive'. Like that old saying, when it's good it's very good... but when it's bad it's rotten might be something of an overstatement, but it seems to fit. And of course, it's nice to see a band experiment with their trademark sound, even if the results are far from groundbreaking. Because of songs like For Martha, Blank Page, Tear and Crestfallen, three stars really seems too low a rating. Then again, four seems to high. If anything, this album is a low-four/three and ½. Some will love it, others may feel indifferent towards it. At this current price it still seems a little steep. My advice is to try and seek it out in a bargain bin somewhere or failing that, borrow it from a friend.

Adoring Comfort
After the phenomenal success of "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness"
the Pumpkins returned in 1998 with this fantastic record "Adore". The album was a totally different sound from their previous work with a more a quieter and more electronic influenced sound, incorporating drum machines and synthesizers some might say their most accessable work.

1.To Sheila - Starts off the album with one of my favourite songs of their whole career, a much more softer sound almost heartbreaking, think it just makes you think deeply about your life.This song was supposed to be included on the 'Cruel Intentions' soundtrack but because of clearance it wasn't which is a shame 'coz listening to it, it would have fit perfectly.The song never really takes off it stays at the same beautiful tempo, reminded me alot of a Mazzy Star song, and also a perfect addition to a '4am soundtrack' 10/10

2.Ava Adore - Another great song the distorted drums at the start reminded me of something from Bjork's earlier albums,I love Corgans vocals on this,Personally, I think this song is about someone that's completely screwed up. I think the whole song implies a really messed up relationship and it just seems like an obsessive love song can't live without the person but you hate them at the same time. 10/10

3.Perfect - A bit more upbeat than the rest of the songs.The song's subject is about a relationship that has broken up.Corgan admits that it has been some time since the demise of the relationship, and that he does not pretend that it ended for a reason. But then he thinks that if things started up again then it would be 'Perfect'. It's a really good song but not one i listen to alot 8/10

4.Daphne Decends - This song is so beautiful, it has this meloncholy, strange sound to it and Billy's voice is almost androgynous it's a really Beautiful atmospheric song with it's brooding chords and generally just an amazing arrangement. I got the impression that it is a tale of unrequited love instead of her love him shes in love with someone else..bless 10/10

5.Once Upon A Time - One of the albums highlights, as Corgan's mother died just before the recording of the album alot of the subject matter is about the pain and grief that comes with losing someone so dear to you. This is a very touching song beautiful and sad at the same time, it's almost like hes seeking solace in the comfort of this song 10/10

6.Tear - Very sad indeed, another song about Corgan's mothers death. I think one of the more darker songs which i felt is a song that reflects the difficulties dealing with death and the whole greiving process which can be painful and unnerving. I listened to it a few times now and i've realised that people looking for comfort might find it listening to this I a way.The break in the middle is just sheer genius the song is one of the more superior in terms of the percussive side, a highlight. 10/10

7.Crestfallen - I love emotive music like this I listen to alot of it I feel a really deep connection it gives me comfort and this song when I first heard it reduced me to tears. I think Billy portrays someone with low self esteem and when they finally get to be with someone they don't really see why and try to question the person "why are u with me" and so on, for anyone who has ever had identity issues this song is definately for you heartbreaking and honest at the same time 10/10

8.Appel + Oranjes - A brash electronic song with a hard beat which funnily reminded me of the Pet Shop Boys!. I was never really a fan of this song and i'm still not it just doesn't reach out to me by the neck like the others i feel it's the onlt duff track the lyrics are really cool there is no denying that but i felt it was the wrong type of sound for something that could of been really beautiful. 5/10

9.Pug - It's actually pretty sexy the beat is intoxicating. To me, I feel it's about loving and desiring somebody so much that you want them to almost 'abuse' you in a way for you to get as close to them as possible. It's very sexy, sensual and raw. Definately a favourite of mine 10/10

10.The Tale Of Dusty And Pistol Pete - A song I listened to alot not that i was massive fan of it but i just really liked the story of it a murderous tale of love so intense that it causes them to want to kill each other which i felt was very disturbing another one i'm not overly keen on but i like to listen to it now and then the story is quite good 7/10

11.Annie-Dog - The song is very cryptic i feel it reminds me of a drug addict in some ways, but overall a girl who has no home. she has stories about where she's been what she's done, and somehow ends up with a boy who knows hes not supposed to hang around her, (is it wrong to be swallowed how) boy finds girl's odd habits intriguing, but the girl is still nuts. the prostitute thing defintaly makes alot of sense. I like the mysterious that surrounds this song very hard to decyfer 9/10

12.Shame - This is an excellent build-up song meaning it seems to build up the entire song to some dramatic climax.The guitar part on the album sounds like it was played slightly out of tune. It's about getting over someone and not knowing your right from your left because at first you feel lost when you loose someone you love-the shame part describes the wrongs both you your lost love put on eachother a really great song one of the best i feel 10/10

13.For Martha - The 8 minute song is such a beautiful song a real love letter to his mother. Billy wrote this song for his mother. actually most of 'Adore' was written for her. I just think it's so touching "if you have to go don't you cry" them words, when he sang them i got goosebumps, this is one of the most heartfelt songs they have ever recorded without a doubt a love from a mother can never, ever be replaced and this song sheds light on how special mothers are...I know mine is 10/10

14.Blank Page - To me, this song seems to be about being in love with someone who no longer loves you, or maybe never did in the first place. He wants to forget about the person the song was written about,but he can't, she's a part of him, as much as it tears him up. It's about the misery, the sadness of losing someone, the desperateness very beautiful song great way to end the album 10/10

15.17 - The song does sound very...archaic...a perfectly disquieting way to end a haunting album. The song sounds old, with an air of sadness, coldness, and loneliness conveyed by an ancient-sounding piano over a short 17 seconds. Beautiful 10/10

Top 5
1.To Sheila
2.Crestfallen
3.Pug
4.Shame
5.For Martha/Daphne Decends

Nothing else needs to be said.