When back in the early 90’s the grunge scene started to explode mainly with the successful hitmaker album by Nirvana, Nevermind (1991), The Pumpkins were still a young band from Chicago which, after releasing their promising debut album Gish (1991), were unfortunately eclipsed by Cobain’s masterpiece. It wasn’t until 1993 when The Pumpkins really broke into the mainstream with their commercially and critically acclaimed album Siamese Dream.

The recording of the album was not an easy job. On one hand, leader of the band, Billy Corgan, was obsessed with the idea of making its ideal recording. This led Corgan to record practically most of the guitar and bass lines due to his better skills as musician compared to his bandmates; because of this internal fracture of the band started to happen.

On the other hand, the drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who would be later fired from the band due to his drug problems, disappeared for days from the studio probably in search of drugs. Even if The Pumpkins decided to record in Atlanta, far away from their natal city, to prevent Chamberlin from his drug circles, the drummer dealt to get new contacts in the city.

The final result of the recording, which took half a year to complete, was a real masterpiece and the emblem of the 90’s alternative scene, composed of 13 tracks, where each track can be considered a single due to the high quality and talent of the songs. Lyrics of the songs represent the psychological weakness that Corgan suffered at that period, single of the album „Today” speaks ironically about Corgan’s suicide attempts, treating these feelings as his greatest day.

The astonishing performance of the drummer Chamberlin makes the songs get at their best, and the incredible production and recording of the album held by Butch Vig, also producer of Nirvana’s Nevermind, makes Siamese Dream nowadays still sound fresh and actual, and remain a real sign of the 90’s alternative rock scene’s spirit and sound.

Ander Uribarri

fot. Schnékert/commons.wikimedia.org