In an attempt to reinvent the Pumpkin-wheel, Billy Corgan has really come up short. Subscribing to the point of view that negative comments should be kept to oneself, it’s still necessary to caution even the most rabid SP fan.
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Smashing Pumpkins
|  Entertainment
 Art
"Zeitgeist"
(Martha's Music/Reprise)
Released July 10, 2007
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The Cons
Press play on Zeitgeist (German for “time-spirit,” as in “the spirit of the time,” or “spirit characteristic of an age or generation” *) and you’re met with Corgan’s same old stylings. After seven years, it’s expected to hear something revolutionary. Unfortunately, Zeitgeist falls short.
Why does it fall short? Well, first off, this incarnation of Smashing Pumpkins only contains two original members: Corgan, the mouth of the operation, and Jimmy Chamberlin on drums. Recruiting musicians to fill in the gaps doesn’t recreate a magic that once was. The single “Tarantula” is fine, and so is the lead song “Doomsday Clock,” but this is not Gish or Siamese Dream.
The Pros
While sequence is rarely a necessary evil, it exists because the order in which songs appear in an album often helps listeners not get distracted and even helps transition the story the artist is trying to tell. Zeitgeist fails in this capacity.
Failure, in this instance, is actually a “pro” since the second half of Zeitgeist is actually quite beautiful. If you can get past Corgan’s false pain, you can actually hear some kind of sincerity in songs like “Starz” and “Neverlost.” It’s in the second half of Zeitgeist that you recall why you fell in love with Smashing Pumpkins in the first place. It’s the reason, you defend Siamese Dream with such fervor despite its commercial appeal.
The Conclusion
Download the necessary tracks instead of buying the entire album. Tracks 6 – 12 are a fine mini-album of Smashing Pumpkins triumphs. Look at it like this: seven tracks worth downloading can represent the seven years Corgan took off, and you can still remember SP the way you should, as one of the greatest bands ever.
* - Definition taken from Dictionary.com
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