Zeitgeist

On the day Billy Corgan released his first solo album, he took out full-page announcements in Chicago's two daily papers to announce that The Smashing Pumpkins were reuniting. It turned out he meant that he and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin were again working with one another. Rumors had flown since the band's early days that, in the studio, Corgan insisted on playing all parts other than drums. Whether or not that's true, things sound pretty Smashing Pumpkins–like throughout Zeitgeist, the seventh Smashing Pumpkins album. With Chamberlin being one of rock’s great drummers, it’s no surprise that these songs aim hard at the jugular. Legendary Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker worked hard with Corgan, Chamberlin, and hard rock/hip-hop producer Terry Date to give the tracks some unique definition, but Corgan wrote some of the most straightforward songs of his career. Tracks such as “Doomsday Clock,” “Tarantula," and “(Come On) Let’s Go!” benefit from their stripped-down arrangements and are among Corgan’s finer works under the Smashing Pumpkins name.