Mike76

What can I say, Blackdog, for me the best of this album is in "Swing The Heartache," "Exquisite Corpse," "All We Ever Wanted," and "In The Night." The rest is decent, except for "Spirit," which is a throwaway.

With the same speed with which he lost his hair, Billy Corgan transforms from a typical American rocker into Uncle Fester of the dark, suddenly discovering that he has fallen in love with the sounds of English bands like the Cure and Depeche Mode. A change almost in antithesis to his previous work, and indeed a good portion of the millions of people who bought "Mellon Collie" did not purchase "Adore".
This is the standout point of Adore; for the rest, the only connection to its predecessor lies in the cumbersome presence of the usual pathetic overlong ballads, such as the opening "To Sheila," which risks putting the listener to sleep before the album really starts. The tracks of this new direction, however, are more engaging as they take ownership of less clichéd sounds compared to their standards, though they are executed with the originality of a cover band that has just begun to write their own songs. Hearing the beginning of "Ava Adore" makes you want to start singing "Do you mean this horny creep...". "Perfect" is a perfect pop tune in the style of the Cure: the same guitar style, the same use of keyboards. Not satisfied with that, Billy also copies the lyrical style of the Cure; just read the poetry in the booklet commenting on the instrumental "17": "Seventeen Seconds of compassion..........Seventeen Seconds of Faith....". And after reading that last line, many Cure fans might chuckle.

"Adore is undoubtedly the most cryptic, controversial, and underrated album by The Smashing Pumpkins." Underrated? It’s better to say it’s the only one evaluated appropriately.

Aside from the (plagiarized or not) catchy tune of "Bitter Sweet Symphony," the rest of the album is flat-flat, bland-bland. If music history remembers The Verve, it will be as a band like The Knack, The Buggles, or Visage, groups that are remembered for just ONE song.

Indeed, a record very different from the one that made them a small brit-pop phenomenon of a season. Curiously, at least a couple of tracks can be noted that are in pure Cocteau Twins style, where plagiarism is strikingly close (like in "Already There"). However, Ashcroft is not Frazer. The rest is psychedelic rock of little appeal (for my tastes), even though a few sections are not bad.

The only track I hate from this album is "Spirit," with those backing vocals that sound like Queen... the rest ranges from good to respectable. The covers are pleasant but add little to the original songs; "Exquisite Corpse" is the most experimental and grotesque track, and also one of the most successful. "Silent Hedges" isn't bad, but... in this case, I prefer the Cure! In this album, there's already a noticeable decline in inspiration compared to the first two, in my humble opinion.

Well, it seems to me that considering Punk, New Wave, and Progressive, the bands that have fallen the most into oblivion are precisely those belonging to the latter genre, or am I wrong?

I wonder why I rated this album so low; it deserves at least one more point.

"notable musical knowledge that you don't want to show off." I correct myself first so I spare you a post.

OK, from your 90s discography, I've understood your difficult condition, so I absolve you FROM all your sins! But don't fool me; deep down you hide a remarkable musical knowledge that you don't want to flaunt to avoid seeming too cocky (do you happen to have "Squerez?" by the unforgettable Lunapop? and "The Rhythm Of The Night" by the legendary Corona?).