Dynamic artwork continues to be an integral component of the Smashing Pumpkins experience. The graphics range from commissioned professional artistry, hand-drawn stick figures, to blurry Polaroids. The visual component of the band has consistently provided a complement to the main element of the Smashing Pumpkins; the music. Musicians gracing album covers is certainly not a groundbreaking idea, and as such, will not be discussed in great detail. However, Smashing Pumpkins members have quietly, and sometimes downright secretively, displayed themselves on numerous releases throughout their catalog that go unnoticed if not paying attention. Here are some notable occasions when Smashing Pumpkins band members, family, and friends furtively morphed into artistic rock-athanasia. […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt (Part of the) Tanah Lot Temple Complex, Bali (Indonesia) Holiday in Indonesia So here I was last month, on a well deserved holiday with my family of three, visiting our son’s grandparents in Malaysia, and spending a week with my wife in Indonesia. I will not bore you with the tourist spots like temples, palaces, hot springs, volcanoes, a coffee farm, and other interesting places that we visited. Instead, this article will highlight a certain aspect of the music industry in this part of Asia that I was finally able to experience firsthand. Between the […]
Article by Debby Rosin Smashing Pumpkins have released music in several different formats: vinyl, cassette, CD, mini-disc, and, more recently, in multiple digital formats. With these releases we have seen some stunning artwork, booklets, box-sets and other creative packaging. On a few occasions there have been additional items to promote a release in a record store or added by the band/artist to make the release more unique and collectable. This article will discuss some of these items. If you have a unique item that was part of an official release and it is not described here, please let the SPfreaks […]
Article by Geo Folkers Considered by many to be one of the best albums ever made, The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream was released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide and continues to influence many bands and dreamers alike. During 1995-1996, a limited edition Siamese Dream wooden box appeared on the market. The box was limited to 1000 copies and was sold at Tower Records in Chicago, amongst other record shops. The item was a big hit, with eBay auctions routinely selling in the $400 range; for hard core collectors it […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt and Vaughn Bayley We have reached episode 10 of this series focusing on the rare and unique. Still enjoying it, dear readers? Because we are! There is so much to find in the worldwide memorabilia archives of Smashing Pumpkins, it is almost unbelievable. And when it comes to describing it and giving it context in the musical history of an alternative rock band that has already been around for 25 years, it is a great honor. Wait! Did we say 25 years? We did, didn’t we? Why didn’t we see a celebration of that remarkable feat? […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt, Derek Miller, and Sophie Dartois CD sleeve (front) Adore Attention Événement! Smashing Pumpkins performed many concerts categorized under ‘special and remarkable shows’. One of these occasions was in the summer of 1998 when the band visited Europe to promote the release of their latest album, Adore. The tour began May 12th in the United Kingdom, and after 21 solid shows in less than a month, ended on June 9th in Greece. In the last week of the European leg of the world tour, Smashing Pumpkins arrived in sunny Paris, France for the Bercy gig after […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt Welcome back, dear Smashing Pumpkins fans and collectors, to the ‘extreme collecting’ series! Let’s continue our journey in 2013 with even more rarities and highly sought after memorabilia from our favorite band. This episode will take us back to the first full album Smashing Pumpkins released. Indeed, the commercial release of the album itself is not rare… But wait until you have seen all the rare artwork from all the CD pressings come together… With an extremely rare pressing to top it off! Gish, the worldwide releases from the 1990s Now, who thought all those different […]
Article by Derek Miller In 1996, after the highly awarded and critically acclaimed release of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the Smashing Pumpkins released a companion box set titled The Aeroplane Flies High. The box set contains each of the five singles released from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness to include all the b-sides that accompany them. One disc in particular contains exclusive cover songs made available only within the box set. The purpose of this article is to give some clarity to the numerous pressings, release dates, promo versions, and even bootleg versions associated with the release. […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt Additional research by Geo Folkers Last week we ended in Mexico. We will head back there now to look at an Adore-era live promo CD. Afterwards, we will journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom to take a look at a rare set of remixes of the Adore singles, “Ava Adore” and “Perfect”. En Concierto en Mexico (limited Mexican-radio promo CD) This is another Mexican promotional release, which is said to have been released in a very low quantity – only 10 examples (according to one source; read his story below), or 30 […]
Article by Arthur van Pelt This episode in the ‘Collecting to the Extreme’ series, as well as the two upcoming episodes, is all about very rare Smashing Pumpkins CDs pressed in very limited numbers. Or, in the case of the combined Gish album releases from the 1990s, to be discussed later, they represent parts of rare CD collections from around the world. We included this set of Gish CDs as an example of Extreme Collecting, since such a complete set of Gish CD releases is very hard to match for any serious Smashing Pumpkins collector. But prior to that, let’s […]