‘Gish’ planted seeds of Pumpkins

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 12, 2004 | 8:58 a.m.

Billy Corgan doesn't play well with others.

Virtually every musician who has served in a band with the rock frontman has either quit or been fired, and few have had nice things to say about the experience afterward.

However, that revolving-door policy doesn't change the fact that Corgan has been able to squeeze quality music out of every lineup he has led, be it the Smashing Pumpkins' various configurations or short-lived supergroup Zwan.

Corgan came to the attention of most music fans with the Pumpkins' second album, 1993's "Siamese Dream," a disc that helped propel "alternative" rock into the mainstream with such hits as "Today" and "Disarm."

Follow-up "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" -- 1995's mighty two-disc affair -- confirmed the Chicago-based quartet's superstar status, sending single after single onto modern rock radio and MTV.

While millions of rock devotees own those two albums, though, far fewer have picked up the Smashing Pumpkins' story at the beginning, with excellent full-length debut "Gish."

Released in 1991, "Gish" laid out all of Corgan's familiar ingredients: fist-pumping rockers balanced with mellow psychedelic pieces, fiery guitar work and nebulous, gloomy lyrics.

Opening cut "I Am One" rocks the hardest, bridging the gap between the metallic excesses of the late 1980s and the crunchier grunge sounds of the early 1990s.

During "Siva," another standout upbeat number, Corgan sings, "Way down deep within my heart / Lies a soul that's torn apart," setting an introspective, dark present on all Pumpkins' releases.

Amid all that darkness, however, lies a lighter approach, represented best by third track "Rhinoceros." The trippy tune -- one of the band's all-time greats -- features atmospheric guitar work by Corgan and James Iha atop the forceful backbeat laid down by bassist D'Arcy and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

D'Arcy also takes the microphone briefly for the airy "Daydream," a song that established another Pumpkins tradition by employing strings.

Mostly, though, "Gish" is a Corgan-centered affair, as his projects always tend to be. And while that approach may not promote band unity, it's tough to argue with the harmony of the results.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins.

Title: "Gish."

Year of release: 1991 (reissued 1994, Virgin Records).

Tracklisting: "I Am One," "Siva," "Rhinoceros," "Bury Me," "Crush," "Suffer," "Snail," "Tristessa," "Window Paine," "Daydream."