Siamese Dream
by The Smashing Pumpkins

From Graeme2 08/08/2026 22:29 | #315601

I bought this circa 94 when I was 20/21. Listened once and wasn’t keen other than the singles. Thought it was more metal than grunge . So I never listened again. Listening to the CD again now and it’s the classic it’s been lauded as. And not metal. And it actually sounds nice aurally, like dynamics and things. Fancy that. Bands were weird then, making product that was nice to listen to. (Edited)

Don’t get me wrong there are some excellent songs on this album, but Smashing Pumpkins are just a not very good album artist. The stand out tracks here- Cherub Rock, Today, Soma, Mayonaise are great but this album begins to become a bit of a slog to get through. There’s not enough variation and every song begins to morph into the next. I love coming back to the tracks I love and no track on this is ‘bad’ to say, but I simply do not enjoy the overall listening experience of this album as a whole. I think if this were simply an EP or if maybe they had put more into some of the stand out tracks (e.g. lengthened them Pink Floyd style) this would be a phenomenal piece, but as it is I would rather just queue up the songs I like and forget about the rest. Still a solid 7/10 though and some awesome songs here worth listening to. (Edited)

I was struck by the heavyness of the playing in the first half - possibly the most sonically impactful music made up to this point, if played very loud as it should be to get the full effect. In that way it's quite a unique album. The variety of sounds Billy Corgan is able to get out of guitars is amazing, even including something resembling sitar on "Luna". And the melodies are so good. Best shoegaze ever, has just the right amount of noise. Phenomenal album and kind of shockingly good at times, in the sense that we've never heard anything quite like this before. (Edited)

A flawless album, the Pumpkins' masterpiece, and easily one of the very best rock and roll records, from top to bottom, ever. For a few short years in the early '90s, Billy Corgan and co were absolutely on fire. The singles have aged like wine, and the deep cuts are just as good as the singles. (Edited)

Me encanta el estilo de este álbum, es una mezcla entre grunge, shoegaze y rock alternativo. Realmente amo casi todas las canciones a excepción de "Silverfuck" la cual me parece innecesariamente larga y un tanto aburrida, pero la razón principal por la que amo este álbum es por "Mayonaise" ¡por el amor de dios! que gran canción... pasé semanas reproduciéndola en bucle y no me ha cansado en absoluto.

English review:
I love the style of this album, it's a mix between grunge, shoegaze and alternative rock. I really love almost all the songs except for "Silverfuck" which I find unnecessarily long and kind of boring, but the main reason I love this album is because of "Mayonaise" for god's sake! what a great song... I spent weeks playing it on loop and it hasn't tired me at all. (Edited)

This is peak of early 90s alternative rock, very good songwriting and compositions with some of the best songs in this band's career - Mayonaise, Disarm, Today, Soma, Cherub Rock are all great examples. (Edited)

This is a brilliant display from The Smashing Pumpkins as they showcase their instrumental talents as well as their experimentation. On the surface this looks like your typical grunge record when in reality there is a lot more depth to it than what people give it credit for. In terms of instrumentation they are explorative and add depth to the music on here by implementing violins and cellos amongst other varied string instruments. In result of this, we get an exciting listen that can twist and turn in loads of different direction keeping the listener firmly engaged in the experience. They also experiment with song style and structure on here which leads to a unique listen as almost every song stands out as being different. The 4 track run from 8-11 emphasises this brilliantly with there being the soft Spaceboy, the heavier Geek U.S.A., the progressive Silverfuck and the phenomenal Mayonaise. The constant changing can be polarising on lower quality records but with how well they maintain their unique grunge/alternative style it gives us something to anchor us to the music which holds everything together. I do also think Billy Corgan deserves a mention as his vocals are fantastic and his lyrics are well worth exploring. Overall, this might be just behind Mellon Collie in terms of quality but it is very close as this record is full of so many outstanding songs.

Solid album

Quite possibly the best alternative rock album of this era. An incredibly talented band that were able to showcase different sides to their style and sound. Many bands have taken on an aspect from the album and based a whole career on it; this band could do it all. (Edited)

Some brilliant tracks on this album - Rocket (one of my all-time favourites), Hummer, Today and the beautiful Mayonaise. The other half of the album leaves a lot to be desired though, with Geek USA and Silverfuck (14 mins in total) especially not really hitting the mark. But overall a very enjoyable album by a brilliant band, despite its inconsistency. (Edited)