Zeitgeist

Before I listened to this cd I read the reviews, which go from one extreme to the other. As a Smashing Pumpkins fan, I really like this body of work. Actually, I think it's Corgans finest work since Siamese Dream. It's totally and completely what rock and roll should be. There are no slow Sad Mellon Collie songs on the disk, which is a good thing (I absolutely HATE slow songs).

The music is just damn good. Chamberlin is one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. He's the power of Keith Moon, and the technique Neil Peart combined. There are no spaces in his drumming. Billy's guitar work is terrific, and what I hoped to here in this compilation. After I read that he did all of the guitar work, I thought perhaps James Aha would be missed, but evidently Billy redid not only D'Arcy's bass parts, but James as well in the past. Anyway, who needs them? Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin ARE the Smashing Pumpkins, and I think Billy realized that after he kicked James out of the band the first time.

The DVD is awesome. I was a little pissed that there were no liner notes or reading material inside the cd (I have the black and white cover one), but you don't need reading material when you have a package as thorough as the one Billy put together. Finally, someone understands what a CD/DVD package should be. I'm a huge fan of David Bowie. I have his Reality disk. Love the music, but the DVD totally sucks. I'm also a big Beatles fan. Bought the Love cd but the dvd is totally worthless. Any band that puts together a cd/dvd package should first preview the dvd that comes with Zeitgeist so that they can have an idea how it should be done. After listening to the cd three times thus far, I'm ready to view the dvd again. I only paid like $11.99 for the package, and it's the best $11.99 plus tax I ever paid for anything, especially something this good.

I started to rate this one 4 stars because the mix is somewhat muffled. I hope the next piece the SP put out has a clearer, cleaner sound, but the lyrics are great, the music is sonic, and the dvd is a fantastic extra, so I think it merits 5 stars.

If you are a Smashing Pumpkins fan, I mean a REAL fan, you should buy this cd because it is the Smashing Pumpkins at their best.

I'm not a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan or anything but i did really like their first 4 albums. Once they did Adore that's when they turned for the worst. After the break up Zwan was pathetic and lifeless. that band was never ment to go anywhere. In 07 Billy decides to get a new Pumpkins band together with founding member Jimmy Chamberlin and two new people. The result is a sloppy, weak mess. This album only has a 3 good songs. Doomsday Clock, Tarantula and Bring The Light. Other then that the album is just straight up garbage. Plus I agree with everyone who says this album was just a cash grab. It was evident when they made 4 different Zeitgeist albums with 4 different extra tracks at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, wherever the hell else. This is better then Adore or Machina but not by much. This is the Smashing Pumpkins sell out album.

I assume some of the low reviewers have some sort of agenda against Smashiong Pumpkins, or have their parties in a wad because it's Billy Corgan and a new band. Who cares??? This CD really really rocks! The choice tracks are when they go the hardest (the majority) - great drumming and guitar work. A few more mellow type songs, but none of the super slow stuff that the Pumpkins used to do (that I never liked much anyways). I also dig the retro feel to some of them. Keep up the good work.

Side note - how funny is it that this came out the same time as Linkin Park, and this one blows LP away!!! LP put out an emo CD and the Punpkins go hard!!!

Ok First off let's get this out of the way: The vocals are terrible. There's little to appreciate on this album, but when you do find something you like in the music, you'll undoubtedly be quickly disappointed with whatever song you were listening to once Billy's odd sounding vocals kick back in.

The strange unemotional tone of Billy Corgan's voice coupled with odd layering techniques will bother you. There's no doubt about this. They are a distraction and a nuisance through out, and this is something new for a Pumpkins album. I've always felt the emotion that Billy Corgan carried in his voice added something inherently accessible for your average listener to appreciate in every genre of music that he's attempted. But in every song on Zeitgeist his vocals are way too thin and never approach anything that might be considered "emotional" in any sense of the word.

The first single, Tarantula left me and a lot of other fans feeling very excited for this release. After listening to the album I have to say that while it's not a perfect song, I still think it's one of the most complete songs on the album and definitely one of the most satisfying.

Surprisingly, United States, the "epic" song on the album fails to deliver and might be the biggest disappointment overall. It feels like I'm listening to an unfinished version of this song every time I hear it. It seriously feels like there are missing guitar tracks on this song or something. United States finally starts to build promise around 8:10, but then it breaks down into something that sounds way too much like Jackboot and it all just comes off as lazy in the end. Also, the "whoo" that Billy does at 6:99 in this song may be the single strangest choice on an album full of strange choices.

(Come on) Let's Go feels to me like a bastardization of Zero. (Remember Zero, kids?) Not a terrible song through and through though. It is kind of catchy, and would probably serve as a better single than That's The Way (My Love Is) too, but this song (just like every other song on this album) has its problems. The vocals actually wouldn't be so bad on this song if it weren't for the fact that they sound flat at certain times. Also, Jimmy's cymbals sound way too splashy and don't mix into the song at all. If you had told me that a song on this album would sound somewhat like a mixture of White Spider, Zero, and Transformer I would have hugged you. But, somehow we wind up with something that sounds a little too "pop rock" for my taste when this song is done.

That's another problem with this album. With every track the listener is subjected to one of two things; you either get a misguided "pop rock" sound out of these songs or you get a watered down cliche rock tune. Take your pick because that's about all you have to choose from here, and either choice comes with the added bonus of strange production choices to boot.

The album doesn't even end on a good note. The last two tunes on this album strike me as throw away songs and their delivery is just boring. For God and Country should be acoustic and Pomp and Circumstance should just never ever be played again. These two songs don't really leave you wanting more or feeling like you've had a really great experience after sitting down and listening to this album. Overall not a great note to end the album on, and not really a great album to base your band's comeback on either.

My suggestion to you is that if you're a fan of the mid 90s Smashing Pumpkins music and are looking for a more updated modern rock sound, you should buy Machina I. Then download Machina II off the internet and mix all your favorites off the two albums together. In the end you'll have a modern rock album that no other band out there today can touch; not even Smashing Pumpkins.

I really wish people would (inevitably) stop comparing it to their older material.. in my opinion it was a different era of (far, far better) music, which i'm not sure the Pumpkins would fit into if they released it now. Zeitgeist is, to me, an amazing and diverse album, and while it doesn't give the same 'feel' as previous albums, if you give it a chance without throwing it off as a sub-par CD and let it grow, it will be one of your favorite albums for a while to come in a time of fairly tragic music everywhere else.

People forget your bias to the 'older' Pumpkins and pick up a copy, you won't regret it.