Siamese Dream

Siamese Dream was the breakthrough success for and second album by The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993. It is rumoured that due to constant fighting within the band, Billy Corgan played all the guitar and bass parts. The band generally denies this, but Corgan did say he played the majority of the guitar parts. Alongside the Pumpkins' subsequent album, 1995's Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Siamese Dream is generally considered to represent their best work. Entering and peaking in the U.S. charts at #10, Siamese Dream - as of May 2005 - stands at 4.6 million copies sold in the U.S.

Related Topics:
The Smashing Pumpkins - July 27 - 1993 - Billy Corgan - 1995 - Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

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In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Siamese Dream the 67th greatest album of all time.

Related Topics:
1998 - ''Q'' magazine

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The fighting within the band at the time of recording was caused by a number of factors. The first was the dissolution of a relationship between guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy, although since the recording and release of the album, the band generally doesn't discuss the incident. To add to this already-tense situation, Corgan had begun to lead the band in a direction much different from that of Gish. The driving minds behind Gish were those belonging to Corgan as well as James Iha, but all of the band contributed to the creation of the album in one way or another. Siamese Dream, however, was written and visualized solely in the mind of Billy Corgan, and the band was reluctant to allow themselves to be lead by one mind. Corgan once said that, if Siamese Dream was not a success, the band would have broken up. Luckily, it was a huge success, and to date remains the band's most popular work. The band's problems did not end with their success, unfortunately, and the band finally broke apart in 2001 after the bassist had already been replaced.

Related Topics:
James Iha - D'arcy - Gish

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Corgan has said that he experienced massive writer's block during the recording, and wrote the song "Hummer" during this lack of inspiration. He went on to say that some executives from Virgin Records were coming to the studio to check on the progress of recording the album, and panicked without any substantial material. He wrote and recorded a rough demo of the song "Today" before they arrived. After hearing the new recording, the executives were so delighted that they cancelled any future visits to the studio.

Related Topics:
Writer's block - Virgin Records - Today

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The album's unique recording sound is due, in most part, to Butch Vig, the producer of the album. For the album, the guitars were layered multiple times - sometimes as much as 50. "Layering" is a technique in which a sound is recorded multiple times and the sounds are "layered" on top of one another so that they are played at the same time. This technique is extremely tedious and time-consuming, but, as one who listens to the album can instantly tell, it is well worth it as it creates a very slick, full sound that cannot be achieved through other means.

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