A 'Mellon Collie' day endures 30 years later

BILLY CORGAN OF THE SMASHING PUMPKINS RELIVES THE BAND'S THIRD ALBUM WITH AN OPERA AND A REISSUE FEATURING L.A. SETS

- BY KATERINA PORTELA

IT WAS EARLY 1996, and a young alternative band known as the Smashing Pumpkins was embarking on a worldwide tour for their newest album, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” One of the first stops of the tour was Los Angeles, for a sold-out show at the historic Palace Theatre packed with screaming fans. They began the set — contrary to the noisy atmosphere of the year prior characterized by distorted alternative rock — with a piano solo. It’s the album’s opening title track, a poignant, emotional tune woven with promise and the start of something new. It was written by then-28-year-old frontman Billy Corgan as he learned to play piano for the first time. ¢ It was like being caught in a dream, between the theater's velvet curtains, the sweet instrumental and the excited cheering audience, Corgan remembers. Then, the crashing, jagged sounds of drums and electric guitar filled the room, and the sonic experience of “Mellon Collie” unfolded.

Thirty years later, “Mellon Collie” is recognized as one of the most influential rock albums of the decade, cited as inspiration by later acts like Muse, My Chemical Romance and Silversun Pickups. Its release was a significant shift for the band, which had been known for dreamy prog-inspired rock on their previous hit 1993 album “Siamese Dream.” In contrast, “Mellon Collie” was an experimental concept double-album with lyrics following a journey that Corgan explains as “one day that can represent your entire life.”

In this concept, the day evolves through heavy, distorted explorations of identity and anger in “Muzzle,” “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” whimsical, twinkling memories in “Cupid De Locke” and “Thirty-Three,” and love and adolescence in “1979” and “Love.” The wide scope of the album, both in subject and sound, made it ambitious and unique among rock releases of the time, shedding the humble irony of the grunge movement for vulnerability and exploration.