New-Noise Review

[tomthum81]

http://www.new-noise.net/album-revie...eist_2135.html

Billy Corgan's back and the knives are out as fast as you can say 'egomaniac'

"There's a good three or four songs that will bother MTV and which you can add to your 'Best Of The Pumpkins' playlist. Who seriously expected more than that?"

NN is pissed. Not pissed because people are knocking this record – Billy Corgan has always polarised people, be it with his nasal whine of a voice or his ego the size of the Chelsea FC playing staff combined; that’s how it should be. Forever and ever, amen. No, we're pissed because people are knocking this record for the wrong reasons.

Right, let’s cull these misconceptions for a start:

1) This isn’t really a Smashing Pumpkins album, as only Billy and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have been invited to the party. WRONG! It’s well documented that Corgan pretty much did ‘Siamese Dream’ on his lonesome, getting Jimmy in to do his parts but locking the rest of the band out of the studio as he overdubbed til his heart was content. That’s their best album by a fucking mile. Therefore, we're saying ‘Zeitgeist’ is a proper Pumpkins record. And, yes, we know James Iha wrote most of 'Mayonaise'. That's one bloody song.

2) Billy’s lyrics are now cringe-inducingly angsty. WRONG! His lyrics have always been cringe-inducingly angsty. Yes, he slipped in the odd corker of subtlety by accident, but are you telling me that a guy who wrote, “Cause you're all whores and I'm a fag / And I've got no mother and I've got no dad” in his pomp is suddenly going to change tack? Come on! He’s like Trent Reznor – you either love him for his pomposity, or you change the record. Deal with it.

3) Oh god, he’s only gone all political on us… OK, we'll kind of give them that one, but then he’s now a 40-year-old man living in the fear-mongering US, that stuff’s kind of going to come up, no? Isn’t it nice that he isn’t so self-absorbed anymore that he can actually see outside his own massive head for a change? But granted, the ‘Planet Of The Apes’-aping album artwork is mawkish beyond belief.

OK, now that we’ve got that out the way (and removed the only two sticks that NME found to beat Corgan with), we can get some proper analysis underway. First of all, let’s face facts: ‘Zeitgeist’ rocks. After the horrendous solo detour that was 'TheFutureEmbrace' and the so-so Zwan record, it was right to fear that Billy Corgan was drifting off into a world where amps no longer needed dials that went above five. But at least half of the 12 tracks here are real humdingers of noise, featuring that relentless fuzz that they perfected between ‘Siamese Dream’ and ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’. Let's not get too picky, that's reason for celebration in itself.

Riff-heavy single 'Tarantula' is a highlight due to its sheer bullishness, but it's by no means the best track – you only need hold it up to the light alongside 'Zero', or even 'The Everlasting Gaze', to see that it's paperthin compared to their finest stompers. The 'best in show' title probably falls to opener 'Doomsday Clock', which has also been nicked for the Transformers movie soundtrack, and which gets the album off to such a storming start that you think all your Christmases have come at once. They haven’t, but enjoy shaking your presents and guessing what’s inside while it lasts.

Unfortunately, after the initial 'I feel 14 again' euphoria subsides, you realise it’s not all rosy in the house of Corgan. The production is pretty damn shabby, with the vocals way too high in the mix, taking the edge off pretty much everything else. Seeing as Corgan is listed as the main producer, once again the seven-foot megalomaniac can blame no one but himself (he must have been hearing that since the third grade). The 10-minute dirge of 'United States' has fleetingly fine moments, as it does live, but stripped of any finesse behind the controls, it comes across lumpen and turgid, when it should be radical and vital. In fact, 'For God And Country' is one of the few tracks that sounds in any way professionally mastered, and this is one of the handful that Terry ‘Deftones/Soundgarden’ Date helps out on. It shows. Billy, know your limits.

But just as the Civilian demos sounded much better than the finished Audioslave album, there’s something inherently appealing about the demo-ish feel. ‘Marquis In Spades’ off the ‘Zero EP’ was always a personal favourite Pumpkins track of NN's and the quality of that is atrocious, but it’s almost as if the rough and ready feel gave you a direct line into the creative process. ‘Zeitgeist’ isn’t anywhere near as hard to listen to, but has a similar effect. Contrary to what some would have you believe, this doesn’t sound in any way contrived. In fact, it sounds under-worked, uneven, almost jam-like. It’s their ‘Californication’, with all the strengths and faults that suggests.

As comebacks go, there really is little to get too angry about – it hits hard, it hits frequently and it hits in a way that is very typically Pumpkins, while never really reaching their heady heights too often. There's a good three or four songs that will bother MTV and which you can add to your 'Best Of The Pumpkins' playlist. Who seriously expected more than that? Most importantly, it never once feels like a cash-in, and it’s certainly far more consistent than 'Machina', even if it lacks a killer app like ‘Stand Inside Your Love’.

The biggest question it poses, though, is: where to now? Sporadic three-hour gigs and big girly tunics are all well and good, but is this to be a resurrection or just a brief reunion? To go back to the Chilis comparison for a second, despite much hype, ‘Californication’ actually isn’t a great album (trust us, go back and listen to it) – but it did the ground work and got the creative juices flowing again so that we could get ‘By The Way’, the true pinnacle of The Chili Peppers: The Middle-Age Dinner-Party Years.

Likewise, Corgan needs to build on 'Zeitgeist's goodwill gesture with something special if he really wants to prove he’s the best again. Right now, all he’s done is show that he’s still got it. And while that’s enough for Pumpkins obsessives, many others seem to be a little harder to convince.

[Martyr]

And, yes, we know James Iha wrote most of 'Mayonaise'.

.

[if there is a llama]

I like the review. It seems knowledgable and fair.

Props to the reviewer for mentioning Marquis In Spades.

[theFoulLasagna]

nice review. detailed......good job. this is the first review i have read that does the pumpkins justice.

[GeekUSA86]

Finally, a review that gets it right! I pretty much feel the same way about the album and I especially agree about the fact the next album is really where things are going to get good. It's also nice that he outlines the crap that others are using to bash this album. I'm relieved to see that at least one reviewer gets it.

[hnibos]

yea, finally a review that does a good job of reviewing the music, not in a song by song analysis, and taking all of that extra baggage bc carries with him out of the influence on how the music sounds. you can tell hes kind of a pumpkin fan though. maybe hes a netphorian.

[astrosfan719]

What a great review. It addresses all the great things about Zeitgeist and all the problems. I just enjoyed how he bashed the things bashers are using to...well, bash.

He did bring up a good point about Red Hot Chili Peppers though, as Californication was the groundwork for By The Way and Stadium Arcadium.

[Endar]

seemed fair and accurate

[ratking17]

OUTSTANDING REVIEW. finally someone that doesn't get all cunty that the original members are not there and thus the record must suck. He reviews it for what it is worth. I agree with the idea that this is just a stepping stone to potential badassness with the next record. Hopefully...

[theghostchild]

This is a good and fair review. I really enjoy the new record...it doesn't feel fake....it feels like a band returning to their roots, but expanding into another sound. Each Pumpkins album except Machina II, for the obvious reasons, has a different sound. And though this is a wink at their old work, this is new and needed today. I am now interested in how the next album will take shape....and I do hope Ginger and Jeff have band contributions in the studio.

[Banana]

Probably best review I've read, which really doesn't say much for all of the other reviews I read.

[suncrashesdown]

This reviewer pretty much perfectly sums up exactly how I feel about Zeitgeist and the reunion in general. Zeitgeist is good, but Billy's gotta pull something amazing out of his ass for Zeitgeist II: Electric Boogaloo to keep me excited.

[Quiet CD]

Saying that "Doomsday Clock" is the best in show of the album invalidates anything sensible he might have said.

[yourbedhead]

It "COOL" to bash Billy now days. It's BS!

[Gossamer]

At least this guy knows what he's talking about.

[mpp]

i actually think DC might be the best song on there

it's crazy to say that after how much i hated it at first, but damn it's so catchy


the kafka name drop is cool too

[Banana]

DC is probably the worst song on the record.

[SpFission]

Originally Posted by Banana03

DC is probably the worst song on the record.

It's in the bottom 5 for me.

[Phoenix Down]

Good read, but that guy doesn't mention the vocal layering once, arguably one of its' main characteristics!

[tcm]

THAT"S WHAT IU"M SAYING" PHOENIX DOW"N. and Doomsday Clock is definitely a contender for favorite on my list, but i strongly doubt this guy truly "gets" the song so nuts to him.

[Kilredstar30]

Decent review. I'ts good that he focused on the music instead taking shots at Billy.

[reprise85]

I agree, DC is bottom three... worst to best in the bottom:

DC
Bring the Light
(Come On) Let's Go

Still, the review is at least somewhat fair... his view of BC's production limitations seems pretty accurate, and he doesn't downright bash the production, he just says it could be better. It's still half bullshit: Zeitgeist isn't really political except the artwork, and BC deserves a bit more credit as a lyricist than 'Yes, he slipped in the odd corker of subtlety by accident', and his lyrics aren't so angsty these days. Also TFE is better than MSOTS. Obviously, these are all just my opinions...

I think the fact that people have such varying views of the album shows it's at least decent...

[wpc33]

I am intrigued how evrybody has different favorite songs. That is the single best thing I've gauged from the Zeitgeist response.

[Banana]

Bring The Light is the best song on the album

[r_eg]

I like this review, he points out the bad with the good and then goes onto to say the album rocks. Rather than just saying it's shit like most others I've read. And I particularly enjoyed the 'Fuck You' to NME.

[RenewRevive]

worth reading. i liked DC on the first listen and haven't changed my mind yet. it is one of the better songs on the record, but i've only listened to the whole thing 3 times.

[Ronnie Eagle]

i liked how they waited a bit for their review and played off the fact so many reviewers out there just suck and pointed out why.

and they put it in context vis-a-vis the other albums and also where things can go from here. they might actually even be decent blokes...for critics that is.

[Effloresce]

Riff-heavy single 'Tarantula' is a highlight due to its sheer bullishness, but it's by no means the best track – you only need hold it up to the light alongside 'Zero', or even 'The Everlasting Gaze', to see that it's paperthin compared to their finest stompers.

Tarantula is a lot better than TEG, and dare I say it, Zero.

[Phoenix Down]

the outro riff of TEG alone owns tarantula

[Effloresce]

Naw.