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Rating:
"Gish" is the excellent and underrated debut of the Smashing Pumpkins, dated 1991 (a truly blessed year!). An initial success that, as often observed with other talented bands of the period, was overshadowed by the equally groundbreaking "Nevermind" by Nirvana.
"Gish" takes its title from the surname of the famous silent film actress Lilian Gish, whom Corgan had heard mentioned by his grandmother. The album is evidently a child of the 70s sound, including Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, as well as the alternative scene that was forming in the late 80s. The sound and lyrics, not yet fully matured, have a scent of the ancient, the sad, the dry, and the primordial, in the sweetest and angriest sense. The style of the Pumpkins is hinted at from the very beginning and will be confirmed in a more dreamy way in Siamese Dream until reaching the highest peak in the monumental Mellon Collie!
The album opens with the straightforward I am one, a single on 45 rpm labeled SUB POP, then moves to the psychedelic Siva, a track to listen to and listen to again, before passing to the melancholic Rhinocerous with a video shot in a famous London park, as dreamy and surreal as that of the first single Siva, featuring a similarly long-haired Corgan among shocking pink water pools, floating flowers, and the rebellious platinum blonde locks of the historic bassist D'Arcy, along with the astonishing and dry drum rolls and guitar riffs by Chamberlin and Iha, respectively. This is followed by a scorching Bury me with a captivating sound between the acid and the otherworldly. Crush is languid and dragging yet compact overall, as it continues with other robust thrusts between Suffer and Snail to catapult in just a few minutes into another potential single: Tristessa, engaging, warm, and rocking. Windowpaine is just a finale and a splendid hint of that dreamy melody that would then characterize the Pumpkins in the future; in Daydream, on the other hand, a title that seems to pay homage to "Daydream Nation" by Sonic Youth as much as the candle in the Siva video seems to recall the cover of the 1988 masterpiece, the impactful vocals are by D'Arcy, too bad her voice could later only be heard in a hint in Mellon Collie. The end of the track closes with an echo of the ever-present Corgan saying "I'm going crazy!" It’s all directed by the legendary Butch Vig, who would gain even more credibility with Nirvana obviously, Sonic Youth, L7, and again Smashing Pumpkins before forming his own group, Garbage.
Overall, in my opinion, an excellent work, absolutely primordial... in these desolate 2000s, I still haven’t found a debut album that conveys to me the same passion combined with equal quality of the tracks... but I feel it will happen, it’s been too long that music has been trapped in this current stagnation!
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 I Am One (04:06)
I am one as you are three.
Try to find a messiah in your trinity.
Your city to burn, your city to burn.
Try to look for something in your city to burn, you'll burn.
Am I as I seem?
I'm down, down, so down.
Time is right for a guiding light.
Try to turn to reasons in your bitter life.
Your city to burn, your city to burn.
Try to look for something in your city to burn, you'll burn.
See you, don't you just want to.
See you, I am one.
See you, don't you just want to.
See you.
See you, don't you just want to.
See you, I am one.
See you, don't you just want to.
See you, I am one.
02 Siva (04:23)
I spin off and lose my head,
Throwing stray a spark instead.
Gather strength down in my heel,
And dig it in the world I peel.
Way down deep within my heart,
Lies a soul that's torn apart.
Tell me, tell me what you're after.
I just want to get there faster.
I don't live - I inhale.
I don't give - I unveil.
Don't want to live in your misery.
I don't live - I inhale.
Sprinkle all my kisses on your head.
Stars full of wishes fill our beds.
She said, "I'm dead."
All this pain smothers me,
Like a bomb that you can't see.
Tell me, tell me what you're after.
I just want to get there faster.
I don't live - I inhale.
I don't give - I unveil.
I don't live - I inhale.
I don't live.
03 Rhinoceros (06:30)
Planned a show.
Trees and balloons.
Ice cream snow.
See you in June.
Could have known.
I would reveal.
Should have known.
I would conceal your way.
She knows, she knows, she knows.
She knows, she knows, she knows.
How's it?
She knows, she knows, she knows.
Colors show,
After the moon.
I should go.
See you in June.
Your way.
Open your eyes.
To these must I lie?
04 Bury Me (04:48)
(boys, let's do it)
Bury me in love
Bury me in love
Shared your kisses, take your heart
Buried me and it hurts
I love my sister so
She don't smother me
I played the spades I know
I'm a Jack of all trades
Would you bury me?
Once you see her
One inside (hide, hide)
Some things you just can't hide
If you see her
Tell me why (why, why)
Why won't she come outside?
Once you see her
One inside (hide, hide)
Some things you just can't hide
If you see her
Tell me why (why, why)
Why won't she come outside?
She will bury me
She will bury me
05 Crush (03:34)
You wrap your arms around
A feeling that surrounds
Like liquid peppermint
Just taste the drinks that she served
And this feeling shivers down your spine
Love comes in colors I can't deny
All that matters is love, love, your love
You're sleeping in your bed
Just rest your weary head
Maybe you shouldn't care
Throw away those dreams and dare
And I wonder if it matters to me?
Love comes in colors I can't deny
All that shimmers is love, love, your love
06 Suffer (05:11)
all that you suffer is all that you are
all that you smother is all that you are
and you're seeing, you're seeing
you're seeing who you are
what takes meaning is cleaning
the meaning of who you are
on this scene
i will dream
on this scene
all of your struggles beneath your disguise
drink from the reasons that hold you alive
to ascend from the words of desire and pain
you must rise from the mounds of desire and change
too late to discover peace of mind
too late to recover me
all you see and all you breathe and
all you cease to be
take him down your only son and
what he means to be
your dream will be
to dream with me
will you wait, yes i'll wait
i will wait for you
will you wait, yes i'll wait
i will wait for you
to cleanse your life
takes more than time
take what you want
take all of me
too late to discover peace of mind
[have no peace of mind]
too late to recover
07 Snail (05:11)
All your seven dreams
Look closer than you'll believe
As your things come undone
See you are the only one
Flower, seize the hour I did
I wait
Waiting, waiting for your wake
I'll wait
When you wake up you're all weak
Throwing your life away
Someday, sorry coming home
Sorry snail
What you wait for
Flower, the pain will wash away, away
When the sun shines
Climbs through your window into your bed
When you wake up you're all weak
Throwing your life away
Someday, sorry coming home
Sorry snail
Down in my heart
Flower save the hours
Flower away
What you wait for
Flower chase the sunshine
Flower chase the sunshine
Flower
08 Tristessa (03:33)
Pledged your faith
my heart embraced
struggle to renew
Blurry mind
so hypnotized
fast enough who
Wonder where you are
Tristessa
Soul takes soul
as I take eye
I will wait for you
What you believe
you'll wish to receive
I won't believe in you
Hang on to your life
Tristessa
I love you true
Surely I do
I love you true
Surely I do
Surely I do
Surely I do (no)
Do you ever wake up and find yourself alone?
Do you ever wake up far from home?
What you believe
you'll wish to receive
I won't believe in you
Tristessa
Tristessa
Tristessa
09 Window Paine (05:51)
Window paine
Around my heart
Shadows streak
Around my heart
Do what you got to do
And say what you got to say
Do what you got to do
Yes, start today
Start today
Wind blow shame
Around my heart
Shadows scream
Around my heart
What are you coming to
Stripped down to the bone?
Laughing, living on your own
All alone
Do what you got to do
And say what you got to say
Do what you got to do
Yes, start today
Start today
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Other reviews
By Asjklf
"Gish is the explosive debut of the greatest band from Chicago (and beyond)."
"It feels like a star has been born destined never to set."
By PortoFolio
"I AM ONE, a spectacular intro with bass and guitars at their limit that promises a crazy CD."
"Really a good debut... as a debut for the greatest band of Chicago it’s acceptable."
