Sure,
it wasn't as anticipated a reunion as, say, The Police, but that's only
because Billy Corgan drew out the whole goddamn affair — the newspaper
ads, the MySpace teasers, the expected failure of Zwan — to the point
where there was no choice but a full-on Smashing Pumpkins reunion. The
Pumpkins purists, however, are still waiting. SP circa 2007 contain
only two of the originals, Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain, and the
entirety of
Zeitgeist is in their post-post-grunge hands. Out of the 12
tracks, "That's The Way (My Love Is)" comes closest to capturing SP in
their heyday, notwithstanding the shit-kicking "Doomsday Clock" that,
although seemingly tailor-made for the Live Earth crowd, is leaps and
bounds better than boring first single "Tarantula." The rest of
Zeitgeist is as varied as the Bald One's moods, swinging from ragers
("7 Shades Of Black") to snorefests (the nine-minute "United States"),
and most often striding the median between the two. They don't reinvent
the mold they created more than a decade ago, but they fill it quite
nicely, proving that this is Corgan's best outlet and not just Smashing
Pumpkins in name only.
Get it from
Billy Corgan's "Gothageddon" Doll Battle Available To Watch Online
If you're really bored and in a serious need for some laughs, you can