Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins

"Siamese Dream" is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, classic heavy metal, and progressive rock. Despite recording sessions fraught with difficulties and tensions, "Siamese Dream" debuted at number ten on the Billboard charts, sold over four million copies in the U.S. and over six million worldwide, cementing The Smashing Pumpkins as a major force in the alternative rock movement. "Siamese Dream" released four hit singles including "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Disarm", and "Rocket". The Smashing Pumpkins formed in Chicago in 1988. Their debut album "Gish" was released on Caroline Records in 1991 to unexpected success and acclaim. After the release of "Nevermind" later that year, The Smashing Pumpkins were hyped as "the next Nirvana". The band was signed to Caroline Records parent Virgin Records and began recording a follow-up album. Frontman Billy Corgan felt "this great pressure to make the next album set the world on fire." The immense pressure to succeed intensified an already problematic situation: drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was undergoing an increasingly severe addiction to heroin, guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzky had recently ended their romantic relationship, and Corgan, aside from battles with weight gain and suicidal depression, was suffering from his worst-ever bout of writer's block. "Siamese Dream" was recorded mainly between December 1992 and March 1993. The band relocated to Triclops Studios in Marietta, Georgia for the album sessions, so they could avoid local friends and distractions, and to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. Butch Vig reprised his role as producer after working on their debut album "Gish". After he suffered a nervous breakdown, Corgan began visiting a therapist. Consequently his lyrics became more explicit about his troubled past and his insecurities. "Today" was the first song written by Corgan for "Siamese Dream". He played the self-recorded demo to Vig, and received a positive reaction. Soon afterward, executives from Virgin Records came to observe the band after hearing about their problems, but were pleased with the demo and did not soon return to the studio. The reaction from the executives only served to put more stress on Corgan. Corgan worked overtime, practically living in the studio for the recording of "Siamese Dream"—he and Vig would sometimes work on a 45-second section of music for two days, working 16-hour days for weeks at a time to achieve the sound Corgan wanted. Corgan's desire for musical perfection put further strain on the already-frayed relationships between the band members. Vig later recalled, "D'arcy would lock herself in the bathroom, James wouldn't say anything, or Billy would lock himself in the control room." Corgan often overdubbed Iha's and Wretzky's parts with his own playing. Wretzky stated that Corgan only performed most of the guitar and bass parts because he could lay them down in recording easier and with far fewer takes. While Chamberlin performed all drum parts on the album, he would disappear for days on drug benders that caused everyone to fear for his life. After one incident where the drummer had disappeared for two or three days, Corgan "put the hammer down", according to Vig, and had Chamberlin perform the drum part for "Cherub Rock" until his hands bled. Due to Corgan's urging, Chamberlin checked into a rehab clinic. Corgan told Spin later that year, "You know, I gave them a year and a half to prepare for this record... I'm surrounded by these people who I care about very much, yet they continue to keep failing me." Corgan explained that he began to take the actions of others personally; he said, "If you really think about it, of course, someone doesn't do the job because they're lazy, or they don't think it's important. But I took it as, 'You're not worth going home and working on the song.'" Virgin began to grow impatient with the album's recording as it went over budget and became behind schedule. The band, however, would not let the company cut corners if it meant compromising the sound. By the time recording was completed, Corgan and Vig felt too emotionally exhausted to mix the record. Corgan suggested that engineer Alan Moulder mix the album, due to his work on "Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine. Moulder booked two weeks in a studio to mix the album; the mix ended up taking 36 days to complete. Eventually, the album was finished after four months and $250,000 over budget. "Siamese Dream" was released on July 27, 1993. The following week it debuted at number ten on the Billboard charts. Stories of the album's recording had circulated in the music press. Corgan admitted there was some truth to accusations of tyrannical behavior, though he felt the press misunderstood the situation. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B" rating; reviewer David Browne praised the band for living up to industry expectations of being the "next Nirvana" and compared "Siamese Dream" favorably to Nirvana's "Nevermind". Browne concluded, "In aiming for more than just another alternative guitar record, Smashing Pumpkins may have stumbled upon a whole new stance: slackers with a vision." Critic Simon Reynolds disagreed; he wrote in his review for The New York Times that "fuzzed-up riffs and angst-wracked vocals are quite the norm these days, and Smashing Pumpkins lacks the zeitgeist-defining edge that made Nirvana's breakthrough so thrilling and resonant." Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave the album a three star honorable mention, selecting "Geek U.S.A." and "Today" as highlights. "Siamese Dream" earned The Smashing Pumpkins their first Grammy Award nominations. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, and the group was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 1994. The album is frequently included in lists of the best albums of the 1990s — the Alternative Press ranked it fourth, Pitchfork Media ranked it 18th, and Spin ranked it 23rd. In 2003, the album was ranked number 360 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The artwork for the album was initially going to be created by an outsider artist, but after a series of disagreements with the label, Corgan was forced to step in at the last minute. The album booklet, composed of old photographs of both strangers and Corgan's family members with lyrics handwritten on top, was assembled by Corgan and his wife the day after their wedding. Corgan was not satisfied with the results. The first pressing of the CD contained a 20-page booklet, with a separate page devoted to each song's lyrics and accompanying photograph; later pressings contained a four-panel fold-out liner with thumbnails of each picture. In 1999, Virgin records reissued the album with the original 20-page booklet. Shortly after the Pumpkins reformed in 2007, Corgan posted a message to the band's blog saying that they were "looking for girls from "Siamese Dream" album cover... As you all know, they were quite young when the photo was taken. They are not conjoined anymore, as far as we know." In 2018, the band revealed the girls were Ali Laenger and Lysandra Roberts with a picture posted to social media and an accompanying video featuring the now 32 year old women. The album was also released as a shaped wooden box set (aka Siamese Dream Collectors Edition) with metal hinges limited to only 1,000 copies which contains the UK HUT CD album housed in a recess with individually-numbered silver metal embossed plate at the side and a 20-page booklet housed in a similar recess in the lid. Though the CD itself and the booklet are official and genuine, the wooden box is not an official Virgin (US) or HUT (UK) release. ℗ 2012 Virgin Records America, Inc.