June 2, 1998 - Adore

Three weeks after my last release and over two and a half years since the amazing "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness", The Smashing Pumpkins released their fourth album "Adore" on June 2, 1998. After the massive success of their last album and a year-long tour supporting it, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was fired from the band. This is a huge blow, not just because of his excellent drumming, but because of the cohesion he had with the whole band. This especially affected Billy Corgan, who was also going through a divorce at the time. Jimmy isn't officially replaced, but most of the drums on this album are done by session drummer Matt Walker. The style on this album has a lot less of the hard-rock style the Pumpkins had become known for and instead is either electronica-inspired (including a drum machine) or simpler, acoustic songs. These are some really big changes for the Pumpkins that i'm not sure I like! Let's have a listen! The album begins with "To Sheila" and it's led by a quiet acoustic guitar riff and Corgan sings softly overtop to match the mood in this decent but very light main riff. D'arcy Wretzky backs Corgan in the chorus with some female vocals that also match this light mood pretty well. James Iha plays the guitar while Corgan adds some keyboards to the background and this love-y dove-y song seems like an odd choice to open the album. It's done well, just not my kind of Punpkins. Up next is the big hit single off the album "Ava Adore" and Wretzky plays some nice low bass while Corgan plays an electronic-y keyboard note that is the hook of this song, but it's pretty simple and unexciting. Corgan's vocals are solid and the chorus is fairly smooth, but also not all that exciting. There's a guitar break that isn't really a solo, just a short bit that matches the mood well, and then it's back to the repetitive and (only slightly) catchy main riff. This was a much different style than the first song, and it's also decent, but once again not really what I want from the Pumpkins. Track 3 is the other single "Perfect" and it has such a made-for-radio sound to it and it would be hard for it to be less heavy, while still being rock. Walker's drum beat is pretty catchy actually, and Corgan sounds alright singing, but the guitars and bass are all so light and fluffy and happy-go-lucky.  There were some lighter songs on all their albums, but this just seems like such a shift towards a more basic and accessible sound. The next track is "Daphne Descends" and it has another electronica tinged main riff with some computer-y bass carrying things and Corgan playing some keyboards as well. It's slow, but it's space-y and even though it's also pretty simple it doesn't sound so pop-y and fluffy at least. It is really repetitive though and nothing so far has anywhere near the energy of their earlier stuff. Track 5 is "Once Upon A Time" and it's led by another acoustic guitar riff and what sounds kind of like whistling in another very light and fluffy main riff. Corgan sounds decent, but it continues the trend of lesser Pumpkins material and it's honestly a pretty forgettable dreamy main riff. Up next is "Tear" and Walker plays a solid drum beat and Corgan plays an interesting keyboard riff that sounds kinda haunting and kinda epic. It's just Corgan and some percussion noises for a whole verse in another interesting twist and I think this is an early favourite for me, simply because it's not light and fluffy and it actually makes you move your head a bit! It's nearly six minutes long, but I was entertained enough the whole way through; still not anything close to their good stuff, but good for this album! Track 7 is "Crestfallen" and Corgan plays a light piano riff that drives things along and an electronic rhythm section joins in for an interesting combo. Corgan's vocals are light but solid and the piano is alright, but I'm not a fan of the electronic side and overall things are still very light. It's an alright song, but it's definitely not exciting or upbeat at all. The next track is "Appels + Oranjes" and it has an electronic-y drum beat and some droning synths that are the backbone of things, and it's not the strongest.  It's alright, but it's really repetitive and even Corgan's vocals can't make it jump off the page as it's another pretty toned down version of the Pumpkins. I'm not a fan of Billy's new direction: all this light and strange stuff is such a disappointment after their last album. Track 9 is "Pug" and the Corgan and James Iha sync up with the same riff on keyboards and guitar for another light but this time interesting main riff. Corgan's vocals are solid and I like Iha's guitar, I think it stands out amongst the other not-so-great music. The keyboards aren't anything amazing and I just don't see what Billy's obsession with them is all about. This was par for the course: not bad, but light and not a whole lot happening. Up next is "The Tale Of Dusty And Pistol Pete" and it has a drum machine playing a light and simple beat that sounds pretty bad honestly. The guitars are once again light and fluffy but Corgan and Iha both play their own stuff and together it sounds pretty good. Out of the light and fluffy songs this is a decent one at least, it just sucks that there are so many of them; this would be a way better song if it were one of just a couple throughout the album, because it's not bad. Track 11 is called "Annie-Dog" and Corgan plays a dark sounding piano and sings nicely overtook in this stilp very different, but much more interesting main riff. I like the piano leading the way and things are pretty catchy! This is one of the better songs off the album for me, and that shows you how low the bar is. The next track is "Shame" and it has a slow and pretty dreary main riff with some light guitars and some droning keyboards. Corgan sounds solid singing overtop and this is just par for the course on this album: it's not a bad main riff, but there's nothing really exciting happening as they seem happy to just drift along, which is alright, it's just not what I want from the Pumpkins. And for a song with not a whole lot going on, over six and a half minutes was way too long. Track 13 is "Behold! The Night Mare" and it has a weird echo-y noise in the background while another very light acoustic guitar riff leads the way. The soft and sad piano matches the mood and these guys have just completely shifted gears and are content to roll with the light and fluffy songs. Iha provides backing vocals throughout this song and there's one part where it's just Billy and James that sounds alright, but most of it is barely enough to make me move a finger, let alone some headbanging. Up next is the longest song on the album at over eight minutes, "For Martha". Corgan drives the song on piano, and even though this riff is also light, I like it a lot more than the synths and the piano aounds pretty good. Corgan leads a couple solid verses on vocals and piano and after a few minutes the piano gets louder and the guitars and bass finally show up with a pretty solid new riff led by some nice guitar (something I haven't really said this album)! They return to the quiet piano main riff one last time and things slowly fade out around 7 minutes, but some keyboards persist as the main riff ends and the last minute is some interesting keyboards that are okay, but it seems weird to just throw them here at the end of the song. Track 15 is "Blank Page" and Corgan plays another light piano riff to lead the way and it's just him alone playing piano and singing and it sounds solid, better than most of the album honestly! When the synths come in I don't think they add that much, but it's still a solid song for this album. The final track on the album is called "17" and it's length is one second shorter at just 16 seconds! We hear some echo-y piano but then the song is over pretty quickly. A strange way to end the album.

That is the end of "Adore" and I thought it was a pretty light and fluffy album by The Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan went from writing a great variety of songs on their last album, to writing a bunch of blander and lighter songs, none of which even begin to jump out at you. It wasn't terrible, but honestly it's pretty disappointing. It's easily their worst album, not even coming anywhere close to "Gish" or even "Pisces Iscariot". Will the Pumpkins continue with this same style? We'll have to wait and find out!