Wilco released Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco

Released: September 18, 2001 Charted: May 4, 2002 Peak: 13 US, 40 UK, 43 AU Sales (in millions): 0.67 US Genre: alternative country rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Kamera Radio Cure War on War (5/21/02, --) Jesus, Etc. Ashes of American Flags Heavy Metal Drummer I’m the Man Who Loves You Pot Kettle Black Poor Places Reservations Total Running Time: 51:51 The Players: Jeff Tweedy (vocals, guitar) John Stirratt (bass) Leroy Bach (keyboards, guitar, bass, saxophone) Glenn Kotche (drums) Jay Bennett (mixing, multiple instruments)

Rating: 4.047 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Few bands can call themselves contemporaries of both the heartbreakingly earnest self-destruction of Whiskeytown and the alienating experimentation of Radiohead’s post-millennial releases, but on the painstaking Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco seem to have done just that. In early 2001, the Chicago-area band focused on recording their fourth album, which ultimately led to the departure of guitarist Jay Bennett and tensions with their record label.” AMG Wilco wouldn’t change the album and Reprise Records dropped them. Welco bought the studio tapes for $50,000, left the label, AMG and posted the album for free on the internet. RS’20 “Two-hundred-thousand downloads later, Nonesuch Records (owned by the same company as Reprise) released the album, and it became critical and commercial gold.” RS’20 “The turmoil surrounding the recording and distribution of the album in no way diminishes the sheer quality of the genre-spanning pop songs written by frontman Jeff Tweedy and his bandmates. After throwing off the limiting shackles of the alt-country tag that they had been saddled with through their 1996 double album Being There, Wilco experimented heavily with the elaborate constructs surrounding their simple melodies on Summerteeth. The long-anticipated Yankee Hotel Foxtrot continues their genre-jumping and worthwhile experimentation.” AMG “Its pretty acoustic-guitar melodies battled noise, skidded into dissonance, or got chopped off abruptly. Its lyrics pitted hope against doubt, with all bets off.” RS’20 “The sprawling, nonsensical I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is as charmingly bleak as anything Tweedy has written to date, while the positively joyous Heavy Metal Drummer jangles through bright choruses and summery reminiscences. Similarly, Kamera dispels the opening track’s gray with a warm acoustic guitar and mixer/multi-instrumentalist/ ‘fifth Beatle’ Jim O’Rourke’s unusual production.” AMG “The true high points of the album are when the songwriting is at its most introspective, as it is during the heartwrenching Ashes of American Flags, which takes on an eerie poignancy in the wake of the attacks at the World Trade Center. ‘All my lies are always wishes,’ Tweedy sings, ‘I know I would die if I could come back new.’” AMG “As is the case with many great artists, the evolution of the band can push the music into places that many listeners (and record companies for that matter) may not be comfortable with, but, in the case of Wilco, their growth has steadily led them into more progressive territory. While their songs still maintain the loose intimacy that was apparent on their debut A.M., the music has matured to reveal a complexity that is rare in pop music, yet showcased perfectly on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Wilco AMG All Music Guide review by Zac Johnson RS’20 Rolling Stone (9/22/2020). “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” WK Wikipedia First posted 3/29/2008; last updated 4/23/2022.

Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream released

Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins

Released: July 27, 1993 Peak: 10 US, 4 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU Sales (in millions): 4.9 US, 0.1 UK, 7.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Cherub Rock [4:58] (6/21/93, 23 AR, 7 MR, 31 UK, 91 CN, 87 AU, 12 DF) Quiet [3:41] Today [3:19] (9/13/93, 69 BA 28 AR, 4 MR, 44 UK, 82 CN, 57 AU, 6 DF) Hummer [6:57] Rocket [4:06] (7/16/94, 28 AR, 89 UK, 31 CN) Disarm [3:17] (9/11/93 48 BA 31 RR, 5 AR, 8 MR, 11 UK, 13 CN, 16 AU, 6 DF) Soma (Corgan/Iha) [6:39] Geek U.S.A. [5:13] Mayonaise (Corgan/Iha) [5:49] Spaceboy (Corgan/Iha) [4:28] (18 DF) Silverfuck [8:43] Sweet Sweet [1:38] Luna [3:20] Songs written by Billy Corgan unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 62:08 The Players: Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar, bass, etc.) James Iha (guitar) D’arcy Wretzky (bass, backing vocals) Jimmy Chamberlin (drums)

Rating: 4.244 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “One of the finest alt-rock albums of all time.” – Greg Prato, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Beginning The Smashing Pumpkins formed in Chicago in 1988. They released their debut album, Gish, in 1991. It marked the alternative-rock outfit "as a band of immense potential,” TB placing them “on the ‘most promising artist’ list for many.” AM Band Strife When it came time to record a follow-up album, “troubles were threatening to break the band apart. Singer/ guitarist/ leader Billy Corgan was battling a severe case of writer's block and was in a deep state of depression brought on by a relationship in turmoil; drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was addicted to hard drugs; and bassist D’Arcy and guitarist James Iha severed their romantic relationship. The sessions for their sophomore effort, Siamese Dream, were wrought with friction.” AM When the rest of the band “failed to buy into [his] ‘weird masterplan…to be the heaviest, meaniest, rockingest” RD album they could make, Corgan assumed sole responsibility for it, eventually playing practically all the instruments, except percussion, himself. AM It was ironic that the album title refers to “living in a dream state, an organic connection between people” RD given that the band were barely on speaking terms. RD “Some say strife and tension produces the best music, and it certainly helped make Siamese Dream one of the finest alt-rock albums of all time.” AM Grunge Adjacent “While most of their grunge contemporaries were inspired by 1970s punk and 1980s metal,” TB the Smashing Pumpkins “pushed further from Nineties alt-rock to a grander, orchestrated sound with multiple guitar parts, strings, and a Mellotron.” 500 They “drew more heavily on earlier psychedelic and progressive-rock groups as well as the dreamy, wall-of-sound productions of My Bloody Valentine.” TB The album “is a sonic planet of guitar manipulations, overblown effects and Corgan’s angsty wail that drowns you in the lush, melodramatic sorrows of a man who felt outcast from the ‘90s indie-rock community.” PM There are “guitar solos galore, layered walls of sound courtesy of the album’s producers (Butch Vig and Corgan), extended compositions that bordered on prog rock, plus often reflective and heartfelt lyrics.” AM As a result, it “stands out amongst its grunge contemporaries for its dreamy, otherworldly quality…and massive volume that still maintains a quiet delicacy.” PM Siamese Dream ends up being “an exorcism of childhood demons,” RD “a megalomaniac’s masterpiece,” RD and “a full hour of hard-rock humdingers.” RD It is “an accomplished, diverse work, both heavier and more melodic than much of the alternative rock of the early 1990s.” TB It includes some of “the strongest songs of [Corgan’s] career.” TB The Songs Here are insights into individual tracks on the album. “The four tracks that were selected as singles became alternative radio standards.” AM The album’s opening song and lead single, Cherub Rock, “is a powerful statement of intent, multitracked guitar and drums, with the rest of the album divided between spacious atmospherics and unrelenting heavy rock.” TB Alongside “the anthems ‘Cherub Rock’… and Rocket” AM are as the “ringing Today,” RD and the “string-driven” RD “symphonic ballad Disarm.” AM The “ironic ‘Today’…was promoted by a music video in which Corgan drove an ice cream van.” TB “’Disarm’ is among the album’s high points, an arresting blend of fiercely strummed acoustic guitar, bells, strings, and Corgan’s pleading vocal.” TB “As a whole, Siamese Dream proved to be an incredibly consistent album.” AM “Silverfuck “fulfills Corgan’s aim ‘to blend Black Sabbath power with Led Zeppelin dynamics with Pink Floyd psychedelia.” RD “Lyrically, Corgan confronts ghosts of the past on ‘Disarm’ (his parents) and Spaceboy (his handicapped brother), spins a poetic web on Mayonaise, and picks at wounds on Soma (whose subject later became his ex-wife).” RD There are also “red-hot rockers Quiet and Geek U.S.A.” AM “plus the soothing sounds” AM of “the lullaby Luna.” RD

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Greg Prato RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 706. PM PasteMagazine.com (6/3/2024). “The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time” 500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 268. Related DMDB Links: First posted 3/27/2011; last updated 11/28/2024.

The Cure released Disintegration released

Disintegration The Cure

Released: May 2, 1989 Peak: 12 US, 3 UK, 22 CN, 9 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 4.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: goth rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Plainsong [5:17] Pictures of You [7:28] (3/19/90, 71 BB, 67 CB, 19 MR, 24 UK, 12 DF) Closedown [4:18] Love Song [3:29] (7/1/89, 2 BB, 2 CB, 7 RR, 30 AR, 2 MR, 18 UK, 6 DF) Last Dance [4:45] * Lullaby [4:09] (4/10/89, 74 BB, 57 CB, 23 MR, 5 UK) Fascination Street [5:16] (4/18/89, 46 BB, 74 CB, 24 AR, 17 MR, 24 DF) Prayers for Rain [6:08] The Same Deep Water As You [9:22] Disintegration [8:19] Homesick * [7:07] Untitled [6:33] Lyrics by Robert Smith. Music by Smith, Gallup O’Donnell, Thompson, and Williams. * Bonus track not on original release Total Running Time: 72:11 The Players: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Porl Thompson (guitar) Simon Gallup (bass, keyboards) Roger O’Donnell (keyboards) Boris Williams (drums, percussion)

Rating: 4.386 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “The culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the ‘80s.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Cure at Their Peak? “Every classic band has that one album that presents them at their apogee” PM and “Disintegration is undeniably the one” PM for The Cure. They “were operating at some kind of peak level right about this time in their history.” AD They “perfected their vision” PM and “reached the peak of their popularity with the crawling, darkly seductive Disintegration.” AZ This “moody masterpiece is a gorgeous sonic bath of lush soundscapes and lovesick nostalgia.” EW’12 “It’s a hypnotic, mesmerizing record,” AMG “a pop album realized on an epic scale.” AZ Their “best and most ambitious record was created by Robert Smith in an attempt to distance himself away from the band’s more upbeat and pop-driven earlier numbers.” CQ “According to the kids on South Park, this is the best album ever made. According to many depressive Eighties-minded kids, it’s the only album ever made.” RS A Refinement of What Came Before Disintegration “is essentially a refinement of everything that preceded it,” TB “the culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the ‘80s.” AMG It retains “the gloomy lyricism that made The Cure one of the best-loved cult bands of the 1980s.” TB “Robert Smith’s voice shakes like milk as he makes adolescent angst sound so wonderfully, wonderfully pretty.” RS Other “Cure musical trademarks, such as the lengthy introductions, are taken to glorious extremes here.” AD The album is “as dark and icy as” PM “the band’s gloomier, darker sound” CQ on their fourth album, Pornography. However, it is also “as instantly memorable and immediate” CQ as Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by adding “a heightened pop sensibility” TB by “expanding the latent arena rock sensibilities” AZ that “peppered” that album. AZ Inspiration for the Writing Smith wrote Disintegration in a “psychedelic-fueled haze of depression.” CQ “It catapulted Robert Smith and his band to new levels of stardom and crystallized the core characteristics of their music: dark, emotional and meditative.” PM It “is an expansive and rich album that reflects the darkness of Smith’s mindset at the time, but still with a romantic core full of yearning about his longtime partner, Mary Poole, ever the subject of his most passionate songs.” CQ The Songs “Here are songs of remembrance that, through their deep candor, transcend the individual level to explore universal longings and fears…Anyone who has experienced the joy and sorrow – especially the sorrow – of love will find his or her deepest sentiments, noble and petty alike, echoed poetically here.” AZ “Each of the 12 songs is its own respective showcase for the group’s sprawling, meandering intros that induce a wistful haze before rewarding your patience with Smith’s unmistakable voice.” PM “The Cure’s gloomy soundscapes have rarely sounded so alluring.” AMG The album is “comprised almost entirely of epics like the soaring, icy Pictures of You,” AMG “a sprawling, eight-minute epic that epitomizes the band’s excellence with sparkling instrumentation accompanied with the passion of Smith’s lyrics.” CQ That and other “long mood pieces…develop slowly around the listener.” AZ Prayers for Rain and The Same Deep Water As You are “the sob-fests their titles suggest.” RD They are “rightly placed next to each other on the album, almost like a single fifteen minute long suite…The best movie soundtrack ever to a movie that’s yet to be made.” AD “On top of moody guitar tones courtesy of Porl Thompson and Smith, we also have a goth-rock album that features two of the best basslines in the history of recorded music: Simon Gallup’s melodic performance on” PM “the pulsating, ominous Fascination Street,” AMG “a classic Cure track if ever there was one.” AD That song “and the driving momentum of the title track stand among the Cure’s finest moments.” PM The “romantically ravaged” RD Plainsong is “an intense, atmospheric number that feels like the fall of a sonic monsoon.” CQ “Apart from subtly differing tempos and moods musically, it’s the lyrics that really hold this album together.” AD “The lyrical focus is intensely personal throughout, and, with the exception of” AZ “the concise and utterly charming Love Song” AMG, “the record’s most upbeat track,” CQ “the mood is overwhelmingly dark and brooding.” AZ “This is exactly what Goths called romance in the ‘80s.” AD The song was “a wedding gift from Smith to his fiancée Mary.” RD – “to the eerie, string-laced Lullaby – have rarely been so well-constructed and memorable.” AMG “Anchored by complex drum patterns, the layered guitars, soaring bass lines, and rich keyboards blend to create a lush, evocative soundscape that captures the ear immediately; and for all its length, the album is never boring.” AZ “On Closedown, Smith’s existential crisis at turning 30 seems the most apparent: ‘I’m running out of time/ I’m out of step and closing down/ And never sleep for wanting hours.’ If only we could all churn out a masterpiece like Disintegration whenever we’re faced with the horrors of mortality.” CQ Notes: In 2010, a deluxe three-CD edition of this album added a disc of outtakes and demos and another disc of a live performance of the entire album at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1989.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.com review by Al Massa CQ Consequence of Sound (9/15/2010). “Top 100 Albums Ever” AD Adrian Denning (3/30/2007). “Adrian’s Top 100 Albums, So Far” RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 621. EW’12 Entertainment Weekly (9/27/2012). “Top 100 Albums” PM PasteMagazine.com (6/3/2024). “The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time” RS Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 249. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/2/2012; last updated 8/26/2026.