DVD Josh

I used to be one of the biggest SP collectors in the world back in their heyday. Among the gems I have:

Original copies of the SP and Moon demos
Direct from Vinyl copy of Machina II
The 7" vinyl singles set from Siamese Dream
Compilation of MP tracks (from about 1998-99, years before it was leaked)

SpaceBoy

I'm always watching ebay thinking a real vinyl copy of Machina II will go forsale but I don't believe I've seen it yet. There were a few hundred weren't there, given out to friends, radio stations etc?

starseed1981

There were 25 I believe.

DVD Josh

I was lucky enough to win a contest where the prize was a CDR of the remastered vinyl copy of Machina II. Never compressed at any point.

I don't think you'll ever see the original vinyl copies for sale. They were given to close friends. If you do, I imagine the bidding will be several thousand dollars.

I cannot believe that I found the original SP and Moon demos on cassette. I actually had to buy a cassette player to listen to them!! I also found the Rocket CDS in a Tower Records bargain bin for $2.99.

Come to think of it, I didn't pay any real money for most of my SP collection. Probably should have sold it long ago, but they are good memories.

superdeluxe

There we're 25 copies made, most of these went to band members, manager, Owner of the metro, and a couple of the higher up pumpkin fans.

These will 99% most likely never go on ebay.

starseed1981

I wonder if they sound better than the mp3's (sorry, don't know anything about vinyl) ?

Chad

Picked up the Target version and really dug it. With all the grinding guitar riffs, precision drumming and raw vocals, it reminds me of the earlier Gish era Pumpkins. And it seems to get better with each listen. I give it a solid B overall.

SpaceBoy

Interesting I always thought there were more. If I recall correctly at the time a few were shared to "friends" that then converted them and put them up for download. I was thinking of those guys would have bailed on them years ago for money.

I remember seeing pics of that, and it looked incredible the sleeves, liners etc.

I do see copies of the metro cdrs with the covers drawn by James maybe?, and posters etc. that were given out to "friends" at the final metro show on ebay time to time.

al_tag

Those 'Live at the Metro' CDs with the Iha-drawn covers were given out to fans at the 'final' concert back in '00. Limited edition, sure - but not impossible to find.

superdeluxe

Yup. Billy was pissed off at the label..so he gave 3-4 to the top members of the community..and told them to do whatever they wanted with them..which meant...Rip em and load em up on the net.

DamingR

The Q101 copy of the vinyl was sold at a benefit auction for $250. The guy who bought it then later put it on Ebay. When bidding reached $10,000 he pulled the auction.

Unless you want a second mortgage on your house, your better bet would be to hope they re-release M2 on proper CD with no vinyl lineage and full artwork.

SpaceBoy

Oh I would never buy one because of cost I just always watch for it. Wasn't there an official cd release also very limited that had a booklet containing all liner notes etc. maybe it was a fan project. I just thought I remembered a cd version released almost looking the exact same as the vinyl.

DamingR

There has never been an official CD release. Q101 did a promo run as a contest give away, and those go for over $100 on Ebay. There are also tons of bootleg copies. There are supposed Virgin in-house promo copies as well, but they also sound vinyl sourced.

All I know is that it would be nice if they would round up all this material that has leaked out over the years and give it all official releases so I could just buy the 10 or 20 CDs worth of stuff and know that I have it all in the best quality possible. Not 128kbps AAC.

superdeluxe

That would be great, but it would most likely never happen because A) cds are going out like the dinosaur and B)Only hardcore fans would pick up the demos/Bsides.

As most people know Itunes has raritieries and Bsides, I think thats the closest you will be to get.

auto

starseed1981

Congrats to them!

Hollowgen

yeah, congrats to billy corgan. but too bad the album + recent live shows seem to be universally panned.

krazykat72

The live shows have been pretty great.....and frankly, there have been lots of good reviews of the album as well.


-Paul Jacobi-

DamingR

With the exception of the first San Fran show and one of the Asheville shows, all the live shows so far have been excellent.

They have taken a jam band turn for some reason, however, which many reviewers are not enjoying. I personally think it's pretty awesome.

DamingR

Rolling Stone - 4*s

Zero: That is the exact number of doubts singer-guitarist-songwriter Billy Corgan has about this controversial resurrection of his old band. "I never felt so right and good. . . . You'll never need another sound," he crows in that bleating voice against the titanic fuzz of "Bring the Light." It is classic Corgan bravado, but the cumulative effect of his distortion-orchestra guitar and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's pinpoint thunder is impressive and convincing, a return to the big pop-wise din of 1993's Siamese Dream. Original members James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky are not part of this reunion, but they were hardly on Siamese Dream – Corgan played their guitar and bass parts.

By that standard, Zeitgeist, performed entirely by Corgan and Chamberlin, is a Pumpkins record – and a good one. Lyrically, Zeitgeist is the least self-absorbed record Corgan has ever written, although not quite the electric newspaper some song titles suggest. There is more fear of frying than actual fight and social remedy in "Doomsday Clock" and "For God and Country," the latter sounding more like Corgan's pledge of allegiance to the Cure. The closest thing to victory over Dick Cheney is the promise in "Starz" – "We cannot die. . . . We are stars/We are" – which rocks better than it reads, with Robert Fripp-like snakes of guitar and a closing frenzy of staccato power chords and Chamberlin pummeling his cymbals into splinters.

The best thing about Zeitgeist is that Corgan is back to what he does best: hard-rock architecture. His wall-of-guitars overdubs are exhilarating in their details: the harmonized squeals in "7 Shades of Black"; the creeping buzz of "Tarantula"; the long, howling solo, sinking in echo, in "United States." The Pumpkins were never more exciting in the Nineties than when Corgan unleashed his inner Tony Iommi all over his inner Robert Smith. That is what happens on Zeitgeist, which makes it a strong new start for Corgan and Chamberlin, no matter what they call themselves.


DAVID FRICKE

DVD Josh

Not even remotely "universal". RS gave it high marks, as did Blender and Spin. If you want to listen to a bunch of pretentious newspaper reviewers who think that Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse are cool because someone told them they were (note - I like both these bands) instead of the fans and respected music magazines, go right ahead.

superdeluxe

Uhh panned by reviewers who reviewed billy's career work/attitude. And not the actual music.

And also the shows have been great..and the only time they are panned is when the reviewer has no clue what he is talking about (for example at one of the residency shows, a reviewer complained about the pumpkins not playing enough hits, and bitching about how the pumpkins we're putting new music on them and jam fests...EVEN though, in the presser for these 2 residiences, they specifcally said that they would be doing this!)

pazsky

I think United States is great vintage Pumpkins. Too long? Maybe "Short Attention Span"?

Hollowgen

i wouldn't even pay attention to a review that wasn't about the music. but based on what you're saying, it seems like even if it was strictly about the music, you'd ignore it anyway by claiming the reviewer(s) don't know what they're talking about.

i like the smashing pumpkins. like all of their work. except this album. it's garbage. and based on what reviews i've read so far (not spin, not rollling stone, etc.) it's been panned.

we all have a right to disagree with one another, that's perfectly fine! i just don't see the logic in insulting those who don't see things the way you do, or blowing them off as being unqualified to voice their opinions.

DVD Josh

I'd love to know the "sources" of this "universal panning" of which you speak.