I'll start with the premise that in my opinion, this album is not up to the Smashing Pumpkins' standards, but that doesn't mean it should be discarded...
It's not up to par simply because the "Pumpkins" spoiled us with albums (which I won't even bother to mention here) from another world that made '90s rock history...
There's a good mix of ballads ("The Sacred And Profane," "Try, Try, Try," "This Time," "Stand Inside Your Love") and somewhat rougher and heavier episodes ("Everlasting Gaze," "The Imploding Voice").
There's also room for a bit of psychedelia, found in track no. 10, "Glass And The Ghost Children," which lasts 9'56"...
As you continue listening, you realize that Corgan & Co. have a certain lack of ideas and that they have reached the end of the line... however, overall it's still an album that can be listened to without particular boredom.
Perhaps the length (73'22") is a bit excessive given the inclusion of some tracks like "Heavy Metal Machine" and "The Crying Tree Of Mercury," which the "Pumpkins" could have easily done without... But for Mr. Corgan, who churned out masterpiece albums in the decade of 91/2000, this can be forgiven.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 The Everlasting Gaze (04:01)
You know I'm not dead [x3]
Now you know where I've been
As you sleep
Torn I am
Weighted down
Patiently
Born of love
You know I'm not dead
I'm just living in my head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And thru it all
Into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
You know I'm not dead [x3]
Found below
The creatures scream
Stranglehold
A God machine
Begging to
Tear us out
Worn as hope
You know I'm not dead
I'm just the tears inside your head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And thru it all
Into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
You know I'm not dead
We all want to hold in the everlasting gaze
Enchanted in the rapture of his sentimental sway
But underneath the wheels lie the skulls of every cog
The fickle fascination of an everlasting god
You know I'm not dead
I'm just living in my head
Forever waiting
Forever waiting on cruel death
You know I'm not dead
I'm just living for myself
Forever waiting
You know I'm not dead [x4]
02 Raindrops + Sunshowers (04:39)
Rain falls on everyone
The same old rain
And I'm just trying to
Walk with you
Between the raindrops
I send my echo out
To get your love without
Obscured reflections of
My love
Rain falls on everyone
The same old rain
And I'm just trying to
Walk with you
Between the raindrops
I'll save a prayer for you
So lost and longing to
Be dragged thru dirty streets
Wrapped up in clean white sheets
And if you think they'll watch you now
You should know they won't
Rain falls on everyone
The same old rain
And I'm just trying to
Walk with you
Between the raindrops
And I'm just trying to
Walk with you between the raindrops
I send my echo out
To get your love without
Obscured reflections of
Of my secret love
Force down the words about
To get your love without
Obscured reflections of my love
And I'm just trying to talk to you between the raindrops
03 Stand Inside Your Love (04:14)
You and me
Meant to be
Immutable
Impossible
It's destiny
Pure lunacy
Incalculable
Insufferable
And for the last time
You're everything
That I want and ask for
You're all that I'd
Dreamed
Who wouldn't be the one you love?
Who wouldn't stand inside your love?
Protected and the lover of
A pure soul
And beautiful
You
Don't understand
Don't feel me now
I will breathe
For the both of us
Travel the world
Traverse the skies
You're home is here
Within my heart
And for the first time
I feel as though I am
Reborn in my mind
Recast as child and mystic son
Who wouldn't be the one you love?
Who wouldn't stand inside your love?
And for the first time
I'm telling you how much I
Need and bleed for
Your every move and waking sound
In my time I'll wrap my wire
around your heart and your mind
You're mine forever now
Who wouldn't be the one you love and live for?
Who wouldn't stand inside your love and die for?
Who wouldn't be the one you love?
04 I of the Mourning (04:37)
Radio play my favorite song
Radio, radio
Radio I'm alone
Radio
Radio please don't go
Radio
I peer through curtains on empty streets
Behind a wall of caller ID
No one's out there
To hear if I care
About the troubles in the air
'Cause I of the morning now go
Pick up where my thoughts left off
'Cause I'm home to die on my own
As my radio plays my favorite song
Radio, radio
Radio, don't you know
Radio, radio
Radio, I'm alone
I've blown the dust off my guitar
In the attic with the stars
I read your letters to feel better
My tears upon the faded ink
'Cause I of the morning now go
Pick up where my thoughts left off
'Cause I'm home to die on my own
As my radio plays my favorite song
Radio, radio
Radio, I'm alone
Radio, radio
Radio, please don't go
I sit in the dark light
To wait for the ghost night
To bring the past to life
To make a toast to life
'Cause I have survived
What is it you want?
What is it you want to change?
What is it you want?
What is it you want to change?
What is it you want to change?
Radio, radio, radio, radio
Radio, radio, radio, radio
Radio, radio, radio, radio
What is it you want?
What is it you want to change?
What is it you want?
What is it you want to change?
What is it you want to change?
05 The Sacred and Profane (04:22)
Give me tears
Give me love
Let me rest
Lord above
Send the bored
Your restless
The feedback scarred
Devotionless
You're all a part of me now
And if I fall
You're all a part of me now
In the sun
You're all a part of me now
You're all a part of me now
Will our love ever be enough
Just in time to prove
Will our words ever be enough
Just in time to lose
Give me sight
And barren breast
Pure snow and happiness
Give me time
Give me peace
And I will prove
My release
You're all a part of me now
And if I fall
You're all a part of me now
Trapped in the sun
You're all a part of me now
You're all a part of me now
Will our love ever be enough
Just in time to prove
Will our time ever be enough
Will out love ever be enough
You're all a part of me now
And if I fall
You're all a part of me now
In the sun
You're all a part of me now
You're all a part of me now
You're all a part of me now
And if I fall
You're all a part of me now
Trapped in the sun
You're all a part of me now
Will our love ever be enough
Just in time to prove
06 Try, Try, Try (05:09)
Pop tart, what's our mission?
Do we know but never listen?
For too long they held me under
But I hear it's almost over
In Detroit, on a Memphis train
Like you said it's
Down in the heat and the summer rain of
The automatic gauze of your memories
Down in the sleep at the airplane races
Try to hold on
To this heart
A little bit longer
Try to hold on
To this love aloud
Try to hold on
For this heart's
A little bit colder
Try to hold on
To this love
Paperback scrawl your hidden poems
Written around the dried out flowers
Here we are still trading places
To try to hold on
Pop tart, can you envision
A free world of clear division?
For too long they held us under
But I know we're getting over
In Detroit with the Nashville tears
Like you said it's
Down in the heat with the broken numbers
Down in the gaze of solemnity
Down in the way you've held together
To try to hold on
To this heart
A little bit closer
Try to hold on
To this love aloud
Try to hold on
For this heart's
A little bit older
Try to hold on
To this love aloud
And we are still alive
Try to hold on
And we have survived
Try to hold on
And no one should deny
We tried to hold onto the pulse of the feedback current
Into the flow of encrypted movement
Slapback kills the ancient remnants
That try to hold on
Try to hold on
To this heart alive
Try to hold on
To this love aloud
Try to hold on
And we are still alive
Try to hold on
And we have survived
Try to hold on
Pop tart
You never listen
Skinned knees
Try to hold on
Stop start
What's our mission
Skinned knees
Try to hold on
10 Glass and the Ghost Children (09:56)
To the center of the earth
Or anywhere god decides
Full of fever pulling forth
We hear our call as all
To the center of the earth
As if written in
DNA is reaching out
To your frequency
I want to live
Don't want to die
I want to live
I want to try
All in prayer
Prayer in all
All are scared
Scared of all
Black rooms are calling
To men in leather coats
White labs are cooking up the silver ghost
The glass migrates under her translucent skin
And all the spiders wonder what we've got us in
All is you
You are all
All with you
You in all
I want to live
I don't want to die
I want to live
I want to try
So beats the final coda
Of a vintl storm
One more cherry cola to lift up her dead arms
A dream of sot focus sunsets filters thru the din
We are losing contact as she dials it in
She can hear glass calling
Or is it someone that looks like him
She eyes tv reflection and nods a knowing look
She says it doesn't matter
She never liked her looks
I have seen a thousand fractures
I have seen everything
Cause knowing is it's own answer
Love something in a book
There's not much left to ponder
Not much left to cook
As she counted the spiders
As they crawled up inside her
As she counted the spiders
As they crawled up inside her
11 Wound (03:58)
There you are
As you always were
In bathing light
And naked blur
You're a part of me
Eternal One
By grand design
And setting sun
If you wait I will wait
Taste I will taste
If you love I will love
Run I will run
To my last breath
Last night I turned around and thought I saw myself turning
Inside the strangest dream of life unloved and cities burning
Awake in my arms
You cry unharmed
Our age of the hours
While they still devour all
So take it all
I doubt if we
Will know it's gone
Cause we've been here
Since time began
Begged god awake and make these plans
Wound opens
Reveal this broken man
And soon there's notions of blood on his hands
If you wait I will wait
Taste I will taste
If you love I will love
Run I will run
To my last breath
Last night I turned around I thought I saw myself turning
Last night I turned around and thought I watched the world ending
Inside the crushing down I felt a pang the tide was turning
Destroyed in the wake
The jealous ingrates
Who'll tear this world down
To spite god above
With his own love
With his own love
If you wait
If you wait
If you wait I will wait
Taste I will taste
If you love I will Love
Run I will run
To my last breathe
12 The Crying Tree of Mercury (03:44)
This is the song I've been singing my whole life
I've been waiting like a knife
To cut open your heart
And bleed my soul to you
I did it all for you
You and you and you and you
This is the sound I've been making my whole life
I've been waiting for this night
To clear up all the talk
Althought I'm selfish to a fault
Is it selfish it's you I want
You I did it all for you
This love will stand as long as you
There's really no excuse
I did it all for you
These are the tears I've been crying my whole life
Like an ocean of desire
I'm reaching thru the noise
Across the dusk of time
Within the lilting lies
I am singing out to you
13 Speed Kills (03:25)
Speed kills, but beauty lives forever
Speed thrills, but beauty knows your name
I fell ill inside eternal winter, winter
And stood still beside eternal flame
And when I ride
With you tonight
We can move
At the speed of light
With all I'd asked
And all I'd pray
The last rose of summer would stay
First time that I ever saw you
Crashing hard thru days of pain
You were one of god's children
Left to cry out in the rain
Waiting to be saved again
'Cause when I ride
With you tonight
We can move
At the speed of light
And all I'd ask
And all I pray
The last rose of summer
The last rose of summer
The last rose of summer is gone
Long gone, gone
The last rose of summer is gone
When I ride
With you tonight
We can move
At the speed of light
Forever young
Forever blind
Into the stars
We rock tonight
Last rose of summer is gone
The last rose of summer is gone
The last rose of summer is gone
The last rose of summer is gone
The last rose of summer
The last rose of summer
The last rose of summer is gone
14 Age of Innocence (03:53)
We dismiss the back roads
To ride these streets unafraid
Resigned to scraping paint
From our bones unashamed
No more the eye upon you
No more the simple man
Desolation yes, hesitation no
Desolation yes, hesitation no
As you might have guessed all is never shown
Desolation yes, hesitation no
And in my prayers I dream alone
A silent speech to deaf ear
If you want love you must be love
But if you bleed love you will die loved
No more the lie upon you
Cast into stone and autumn shade
Desolation yes, hesitation no
Desolation yes, hesitation no
As you might have sensed we won't make it home
Desolation yes, hesitation no
Before the rites of spring - Come to mean all things
A little taste of what may come - A mere glimpse of what has gone
Cause for the moment we are free - We seek to bind our release
Too young to die too rich to care too fucked to swear that I was there
Desolation yes, hesitation no
Desolation yes, hesitation no
As you might have guessed we won't make it home
Desolation yes, hesitation no
15 With Every Light (03:56)
Taking over
We're taking over
Throw the weight up off you shoulders now
That we can show our love
It's almost over it's almost over
No more war and no more soldiers
To stand against his love
Away with all the troubles that you've made
Away with waiting for another day
Away
Look ma the sun is shining on me
Impatient, in love and aching to be
Could you believe in heaven
If heaven was all you had
We're taking over we're taking over
Throw away your four leafed clovers
And stand beside this love
Away with everything you've grown to hate
Away with anything that holds you safe
Away
And every light I've found
Is every light that's shining down on me
I'm never alone
Look ma the sun is shining on me
Taking my time to do as I please
Could you believe in heaven
If heaven was all you had
The sun is beaming, radiating
All the love we are creating
We are creating
And every light I've found
Is every light that's shining down on me
I'm never alone
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