Iconoclastic Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, never one for subtlety or restraint, is continuing the ongoing Smashing Pumpkins reissue campaign this holiday season with a humongous six-disc edition of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
The Pumpkins' most ambitious project at the time, the double-album Mellon Collie was described by Corgan as "The Wall for Generation X." Produced Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, Mellon Collie attempted to showcase the band closer to how they were heard live. Songs were more thoroughly rehearsed before recording, and guitarist James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky had a greater role in the recording process. Despite the sprawling nature of the album, Corgan has resisted calling it a conceptual piece, and the diversity of styles and sounds on the record, from straightforward rock to baroque orchestral stylings, does a good job of letting the album elude characterization.
Critics and fans loved it, though; the album topped the Billboard charts and spawned four Top 40 hits, including the band's highest-charting single, "1979." The LP was also nominated for seven Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOG3eus4ZSo]
For the deluxe Mellon Collie - following in the footsteps of expanded presentations of studio albums Gish and Siamese Dream and rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot - Corgan has raided the vaults to present three extra discs of almost entirely unreleased material, including the first-time release of Corgan's oft-bootlegged demos recorded at his home ("Sadlands") in Chicago. Additionally, two European shows from 1996 will be featured on an accompanying DVD. All tracks have been remastered by Bob Ludwig.
The package features a 12" x 12" lidded box featuring newly-redesigned cover art, a decoupage kit to create your own Mellon Collie album art scene and two booklets. For vinyl enthusiasts who missed the original triple-disc pressing of the album, a 180-gram quadruple vinyl remaster of the original album will be made available, as well. The whole thing is ready to go December 3.
Hit the jump for a look at the exhaustive track list!
Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness (2CD remaster / 5CD+1DVD deluxe edition / 4LP vinyl edition - Virgin/EMI, 2012)
Disc 1: "Dawn to Dusk"
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
- Tonight, Tonight
- Jellybelly
- Zero
- Here is No Why
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings
- To Forgive
- An Ode to No One
- Love
- Cupid de Locke
- Galapogos
- Muzzle
- Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
- Take Me Down
Disc 2: "Twilight to Starlight"
- Where Boys Fear to Tread
- Bodies
- Thirty-Three
- In The Arms of Sleep
- 1979
- Tales of a Scorched Earth
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby
- Stumbleine
- X.Y.U.
- We Only Come Out At Night
- Beautiful
- Lily (My One and Only)
- By Starlight
- Farewell and Goodnight
Disc 3: "Morning Tea"
- Tonight, Tonight (Strings Alone Mix)
- Methusela (Sadlands Demo)
- X.Y.U. (Take #11)
- Zero (Synth Mix)
- Feelium (Sadlands Demo)
- Autumn Nocturne (Sadlands Demo)
- Beautiful (Loop Version)
- Ugly (Sadlands Demo)
- Ascending Guitars (Sadlands Demo)
- By Starlight (Flood Rough Mix)
- Medellia of the Gray Skies (Take #1)
- Lover (Arrangement #1 - Demo)
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Take 7)
- In the Arms of Sleep (Early Live Demo)
- Lily (My One and Only) (Sadlands Demo)
- 1979 (Sadlands Demo)
- Glamey Glamey (Sadlands Demo)
- Meladori Magpie
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (Home Piano Version)
- Galapagos (Sadlands Demo Instrumental)
- To Forgive (Sadlands Demo)
Disc 4: "High Tea"
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Sadlands Demo)
- Set the Ray to Jerry (Vocal Rough Mix)
- Thirty-Three (Sadlands Demo)
- Cupid de Locke (BT 2012 Mix)
- Porcelina of the Vast Oceans (Live Studio Rough Mix)
- Jellybelly (Instrumental/Pit Mix #3)
- The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)
- Jupiter’s Lament (Barbershop Version)
- Bagpipes Drone (Sadlands Demo)
- Tonight, Tonight (Band Version - No Strings)
- Knuckles (Studio Outtake)
- Pennies
- Here Is No Why (Pumpkinland Demo)
- Blast (Fuzz Version)
- Towers of Rabble (Live)
- Rotten Apples
- Fun Time (Sadlands Demo)
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Acoustic)
- Chinoise (Sadlands Demo)
- Speed
Disc 5: "Special Tea"
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (Nighttime Version #1)
- Galapagos (Sadlands Demo)
- Cherry (BT 2012 Mix)
- Love (Flood Rough Mix)
- New Waver (Sadlands Demo)
- Fuck You (An Ode to No One) (Production Master Rough)
- Isolation (BT 2012 Mix)
- Transformer (Early Mix)
- Dizzle (Sadlands Demo)
- Goodnight (Basic Vocal Rough Mix)
- Eye (Soundworks Demo)
- Blank (Sadlands Demo)
- Beautiful (Instrumental - Middle 8)
- My Blue Heaven (BT 2012 Mix)
- One and Two
- Zoom (7 i.p.s. Master)
- Pastichio Medley (Reversed Extras)
- Marquis in Spades (BT 2012 Mix)
- Tales of a Scorched Earth (Guitar Overdub Mix)
- Tonite Reprise (Version #1)
- Wishing You Were Real (Home Demo)
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Pit Mix #3)
- Phang (Sadlands Demo)
Disc 6: DVD - "Special Tea"
- Tonight, Tonight (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- 1979 (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Zero (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Here is No Why (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Porcelina of the Vast Oceans (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Jellybelly (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Silverfuck (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Disarm (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Live @ Brixton Academy, London - 5/15/1996)
- Fuck You (An Ode to No One) (Live on Rockpalast - 4/7/1996)
- Muzzle (Live on Rockpalast - 4/7/1996)
- Cherub Rock (Live on Rockpalast - 4/7/1996)
- X.Y.U. (Live on Rockpalast - 4/7/1996)
Discs 1-2 released as original LP - Virgin 72438 40861 2 1, 1996
Disc 3, Track 18 and Disc 4, Track 16 released on "Tonight, Tonight" CD single - Virgin 72438 38547 2 1, 1996
Disc 4, Track 7 released on "Thirty-Three" CD single - Virgin 72438 38574 2 5, 1996
All other versions previously unreleased
Megatof says
It was a good opportunity to include the two tracks from the LP version (Tonite Reprise and Infinite Sadness)... Too bad.
JG says
I know! 🙁 And if it's true that the Aeroplane b-sides box will also be part of the reissue campaign, then it's annoying that some of those tracks are popping up here as well.
Bill B says
Wow, $150 for the 6 cd/1dvd set. That's a tough sell. Even PF's The Wall Immersion set wasn't that pricey. I like this album but it's not The Wall. I can't remember the last time I listened to Mellon Collie. Maybe the price will come down when it doesn't sell. Get it down to under $100 and I'm in.
Luca Paron says
Ok, a lot of material. But to get a well-done-job they should have included "infinite Sadness" and "Tonite Reprise" from the original LP version of "MCATIS"
jonathantneal says
I'm a huge, huge fan of the vinyl ordering. On the new remaster, you'll find "Tonight Reprise" on Disc 5, Track 19. To our benefit (and due to it not being part of the CD canon), the remastering greatly improved the atmosphere of this track, and it sounds much more in harmony with the rest of the album. Even if you play just the first few seconds of the original and then the remaster, the improvement is extremely noticeable.
As for "Infinite Sadness", we're stuck using Rarities and B-Sides' track 28 "Infinite Sadness (Instrumental)".