Oceania by

I’m not into song by song reviews; but reviews of albums as a whole. One, two, etc. songs do not define a band or an album (IMO). Oceania was not promoted as promised by the band. I attended an SPRC meeting before a concert in which the band did a Q&A session. The band announced that Oceania would be a turning point for the band depending on record sales and may in fact determine the future of SP. I almost saw zero promotion for the album prior to its release. My own anticipation kept me interested as an SP fan as there was a lack of commercialization. As important as this album is to the band, they did nothing to promote it; not smart. However, as a fan, I of course made the purchase.

I have to say that Oceania is a breath of fresh air after having forced the utter disappointment of Zeitgeist upon myself. Zeitgeist was one of the worst comeback albums of all time (IMO). The album was the equivalent to Metallica’s St. Anger album…terrible (luckily Metallica came back with Death Magnetic). The music videos that followed did not portray SP in any way, shape, or form. One of the videos looked too much Zwan-ish. This led to misconceptions that the band going under the SP name was only a revamped Zwan. With the exception of a few songs (mostly the bonus songs attached to every version of the album) the album was terrible, drawn-out and a disappointment. Oceania IS THE ALBUM that Zeitgeist should have been. Oceania IS SP. Oceania takes all the years of SP sounds and rolls them up into this fantastic album.

The last track of Oceania,” Wildflower,” is the only negative I see for the album. The song is OK; however, it doesn’t belong with the rest of the album…an oddball of sorts. I give the album a 9/10 for this point alone. I agree with others that it would have been nice to hear real strings versus a synth. There are songs on Oceania that remind me of other SP albums prior to Zeitgeist and therefore give the album the classic SP feel. Gish to Machina II to me is classic SP. I enjoyed every album to include Oceania except Zeitgeist. I do have to say I have enjoyed most of the Teargarden By Kaleidyscope songs as well.

In business, especially the music business, promotion is essential to success. SP has failed at this once again thus far (Zeitgeist had more promotion). Believe it or not, radio can save the day. Call in to your local radio stations and request songs from Oceania because that is the only promotion the album is going to get. I remember when Melancholy came out, “Tonight, tonight,” along with the other singles were on radio and TV constantly and in your face. Look how well the album was received. “Tonight, tonight,” was the first SP song I ever heard. The music video and the song just grabbed me; I was hooked. Radio play may in fact aid Oceania to its rightful level of popularity. Also, those that have remorse feelings towards the band line-up can get over it. The present line-up that has outputted Oceania is obviously the right choice because the album actually feels like an SP album. Billy does not support drug addicts (his former SP band mates) it seems as a personal policy. I for one stand by that. They are the reason for SP’s failure in 2000, all except probably Melissa (IMO). Even if you own Oceania, do the band a favor and call in radio requests anyhow. “The Celestials,” would make a good radio single. SP believes in the album as a whole and therefore did not release any singles. I get that, but every album needs a single to succeed. For all we know, the future of SP may be determined upon how well Oceania is received.

Già avuto in cd, la versione in vivile suona alla grande. Rispetto al cd all’interno ci sono anche i testi. Gli Smashing Pumpkins non sono più quelli di una volta, lo sappiamo tutti e questo disco è stato molto sottovalutato ma consiglio di ascoltare con calma più volte.

First, I should make it clear that I’m probably a little biased when it comes to the Smashing Pumpkins. I have loved them ever since I heard the first notes of Mellon Collie back in high school, and I’ve been downright obsessed with them since 2000 when I heard they were about to break up and so I started to make up for lost time. Since 1988, Billy Corgan has released over 400 original songs, and I can honestly say I love every single one of them. That probably isn’t normal. Yet, I do feel I am capable of being objective about the guy, so here goes…

I don’t need to tell you whether or not the album is good because, of course it’s good. But, how good? After four listens, I can already say it’s easily the best body of work they’ve put together since the band’s return in 2007 (“Owata” is probably their best individual song). Where it ranks amongst their highest-regarded albums from the 90s probably can’t be determined for another several months, if not years, but this is a very good album. It’s certainly the best-produced album Billy has ever made. Every SP album has little production quirks that separate it from the others, but this one is fairly straight-forward and just beautiful to listen to. As much as I love the risks Billy has always taken in the studio, this is what I’ve wanted from him for a long time. The band is so tight and it’s great to be able to hear everything that’s going on. My favorite version of the band was just before the breakup with Billy, James, Jimmy and Melissa Auf der Maur, but Jeff and Nicole are the best musicians to ever play with Billy at their respective instruments, and they both make their presence felt on the album, especially Nicole. Her bass playing is distinctive and melodic, but I really have to give her props for her backing vocals. The fact that she does away with the need for a “choir of Billys” makes her worth every cent she’s being paid and more. I guess the only thing I miss a little bit are Jimmy’s flourishes that I know would have been a part of these songs, but Mike is a great drummer. It’s just hard to follow the likes of Jimmy Chamberlin.

One thing I complain about with a lot of bands I have liked over the years is how they started off young and angry, and 20 years later they are old and still angry. I can’t understand how people don’t evolve a bit more in that amount of time. But Billy is not one of those artists stuck in the past and still drawing inspiration from the same places he found it when he was 18. He seems to be a happy guy now…he’s comfortable in his own skin, and that shows in his music. In “Oceania” he has created a truly meaningful piece of work nearly 20 years after perhaps the most important album of his career, and not many artists can claim that.