Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Siva
2. Rhinoceros
3. Drown
4. Cherub Rock
5. Today
6. Disarm
7. Landslide
8. Bullet with Butterfly Wings
9. 1979
10. Zero
11. Tonight, Tonight
12. Eye
13. Eva Adore
14. Perfect
15. Everlasting Gaze
16. Stand Inside Your Love
17. Real Love [#]

Disc 2:

1. Lucky 13 [#][*]
2. Aeroplane Flies High [*]
3. Because You Are [#][*]
4. Slow Dawn [#][*]
5. Believe [*]
6. My Mistake [#][*]
7. Marquis in Spades [*]
8. Here's to the Atom Bomb [*]
9. Sparrow [#][*]
10. Waiting [#][*]
11. Saturnine [#][*]
12. Rock On [#][*]
13. Set the Ray to Jerry [*]
14. Winterlong [#][*]
15. Soot and Stars [#][*]
16. Blissed and Gone [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89380 in Music
• Released on: 2001-11-20
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, Limited Edition

Album Description
Limited edition Japanese version of their 2001 'Greatest Hits' collection includes one track unavailable on the US edition, 'Try, Try, Try'. 18 tracks on the first disc and the bonus B-sides & rarities disc carries the same tracks (16) as every other terr

Amazon.com
Taken alone, the Smashing Pumpkins' greatest-hits album, Rotten Apples, is really for the fans that appreciate both the band's early albums and their foray into over the top, radio-friendly alt rock. For those who miss the band's more artfully aggressive sound, though, a second included CD, subtitled Judas O, delivers what Apples lacks because it adds yet another dimension to the Pumpkins' sound. Judas O, a collection of B- sides and outtakes, is the follow-up to 1994's B-sides album, Pisces Iscariot. Although the songs on this latest set of unreleased material came from the recording sessions for Adore, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and Machina/The Machines of God, the tracks show a depth lacking in these more commercially accessible releases. From the art metal of "Marquis in Spades" to "Sparrow"'s acoustic melodies to the velvety dream pop of "Set the Ray" and "Winterlong," Judas sheds new light on this multifaceted band. Of course, Judas also has its share of duds (such as the industrial, heavy "Saturnine" and the uncomfortably whiny cover of "Rock On"). Overall, though, combine Rotten Apples with Judas Oand you have a pretty broad survey of the Pumpkins' music with something for fans at all points along their sonic evolution. --Jennifer Maerz

Customer Reviews

Most of the "Greatest"
The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the greatest bands of the 90s, a mixture of dreamy pop and stark grungey metal, set against Billy Corgan's poem-like songwriting. And "The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits" almost lives up to its name -- there are one or two songs that don't quite fit here, but most of them are indeed the "Greatest" that the band produced.

The songs are pretty much arranged in chronological order, starting off with the hard-rocker "Siva" and heading off into the mixture of hard rock/metal, and eerie dreampop, climaxing with the rich offerings from "Mellon Collie And the Infinite Sadness." With the songs of "Adore," there's an obvious shift in tone, becoming a bit more gothic and less rockish, only to swing back in the slow-burning songs from "Machina," their swan song.

There is also a bonus disc here: "Judas O," the follow-up to B-sides collection "Pisces Iscariot." Like its predecessor, "Judas O" is a collection so solid that it outshines many proper albums, containing B-sides to "Machina/The Machines of God," "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," and the rare "Machina II," as well as some truly outstanding new songs. They range from gentle acoustics to explosive guitars, and reaffirm that even the discards from the Pumpkins are of excellent quality.

Long after disbanding, the Smashing Pumpkins are still a towering presence in rock -- they debuted in the era of Nirvana, but with a very different kind of music. Their creative use of basic instruments and Billy Corgan's rich songwriting made them much more complex and deeper than almost all rock bands of the time. And "Greatest Hits" follows them through the band's entire lifetime -- from their surprisingly polished debut to the panoramic "Mellon Collie" to their gothic art-rock.

The songs included on "Greatest Hits" are not just the most commercially known, but also several of the best -- "Ava Adore," "Siva," "1979" and "Tonight Tonight." An additional track is stuck on, "Real Love," but somehow it just isn't up to the standards of the other songs. It's nice, but not up to the level of the "Greatest" Smashing Pumpkins songs. For that, "Judas O" takes over.

Corgan was without a doubt the creative center of the Pumpkins -- he wrote the songs, filling them with doubts, anger and anguish, and also provided some mind-blowing guitar riffs and his vocals. His high, reedy voice is woven well into the music, giving his poetic lyrics an unusually heartfelt quality. He's singing about love, death, bombs, loneliness in a metaphorical wasteland.

The guitar and bass provide sizzling soundscapes and dense walls of sound, while the percussion is complex and lightning-fast. At the same time, we get the sweeping dreampop -- like the haunting "Rhinoceros" -- and gentler songs, where Corgan slows his guitar down to a gentle acoustic strum. That versatility is one of the things that made the Pumpkins so outstanding.

Rock doesn't get much more original than the Smashing Pumpkins, and several of their greatest hits -- both among fans and critics -- are compiled in "The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits." The best-of disc is a good look at their work, but it's "Judas O" which makes this a must-have.

A Smashing CD
I was more than happy when the Smashing Pumpkins came out with a greatest hits record. The CD "Rotten Apples" comes complete with all of the classic Pumpkins songs from over the years.

From their first CD "Gish", you have the songs Siva and Rhinoceros.
From "Siamese Dream", you've got Cherub Rock, Today, and Disarm.
From the disc of B-Sides, "Pisces Iscariot", there is the cover of the Fleetwood Mac song, Landslide.
From "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness", there is Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight, 1979, and Zero.
From "Adore", you have Ava Adore and Perfect.
From "Machina/The Machines of God", there is The Everlasting Gaze and Stand Inside your Love
And two songs not released on Pumpkins CD's in the past but put on other soundtrack albums are Drown and Eye.

Some other bright spots are the two previously unreleased tracks that close the album, Real Love and Untitled. Real Love sounds much like the version put on the Machina II album, and internet release that many fans never got to hear. Untitled is a very strong track and a good closing track that has the radio-friendly sound the band masters at.

If you were lucky to get the Bonus CD of rarities and b-sides also known as Judas-O with your Rotten Apples disc, you will most definately enjoy the over 15 previously unreleased songs, that is just as good as the greatest hits disc and is sure to be a hit itself.

The Smashing Pumpkins have come a long way since their first album, and you can listen to the growth and change in sound over the years throughout this disc. It is well worth the money and even if you're not a Pumpkins fan yet or are thinking of giving them a listen, go with this CD, it is sure to be a favorite in your collection for years to come.

I'm Satisfied - It Won't Get Better Than This, I Guess
When making a Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits collection, the question isn't what to include, it is what you are forced to leave off. The Pumpkins have one of the most diverse portfolios in the history of music, especially considering that the band was only around for about nine years. On one end, you have the grunge-and-punk influenced sounds of Gish, to the acid-rock of Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie, and the electronica of the Chamberlain-free Adore. Add to that several singles from movie soundtracks and the real gems in the Pumpkins' crown - their incredible b-sides - and compiling a Greatest Hits collection becomes a Herculean task.

Thankfully for die-hards and casual fans like, this collection manages to get it just about right. A two-disc set that's rumored to have a limited run, Greatest Hits features all the major singles on its first disc, Rotten Apples, and a healthy dose of b-sides and unreleased stuff on the second, Judas-O. The so-called "radio singles" make up most of Rotten Apples, and these are the songs that most people will instantly recognize - the songs that, rightly, made the Pumpkins famous. There aren't any major, glaring omissions here, although I can hear the fanboys from here yelling, "Why didn't they include x?"

Perhaps the fanboys should take note of the second disc, which collects some of the best b-sides stuff the Pumpkins put out. I've been telling people ever since I first heard the band right before Siamese Dream that the Pumpkins really are a b-side band; some of their very best stuff is also some of their hardest-to-locate stuff. I have my own complaints about omissions - as far as I'm concerned, the entire Zero single could have been included here - but, all in all, it's a satisfying helping. There are several unreleased tracks on here that will probably become nothing but a footnote to Pumpkins history, but they should be given their due.

I have a feeling that, as time progresses, Rotten Apples and Judas-O well become to the Pumpkins what Hot Rocks! was to the Rolling Stones: the summary collection that people of future generations will turn to when they want to add the band to their music collection. Although diehards will shake their heads and proudly spin their copies of Bullet Train to Osaka, the bottom line is that we couldn't ask for a much better representation of one of the greatest musical acts of all time. If, one day, your kid comes home with this album firmly tucked under arm and you still have a complaint about something missing, remember, that's what CD burners are for.