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Adore is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Virgin Records released the album on June 2, 1998 in the United States. Adore is the Pumpkins' only album not to feature original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Adore marked a change in sound for The Smashing Pumpkins; Greg Kot of Rolling Stone magazine noted that the album "isn't just a transitional record; it's a complete break with the past." Their previously layered, guitar-oriented sound was largely replaced by a quieter and more electronic influenced sound, and incorporated drum machines and synthesizers.
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Adore is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Virgin Records released the album on June 2, 1998 in the United States. Adore is the Pumpkins' only album not to feature original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Adore marked a change in sound for The Smashing Pumpkins; Greg Kot of Rolling Stone magazine noted that the album "isn't just a transitional record; it's a complete break with the past." Their previously layered, guitar-oriented sound was largely replaced by a quieter and more electronic influenced sound, and incorporated drum machines and synthesizers. For the release, the band shed their alternative hipster image for a more subdued Gothic look.
Despite being called "one of the most anticipated albums of 1998" by MTV, Adore sold only 1.1 million copies in the U.S., far below the Pumpkins' previous albums Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. However, the album was well received by critics, and became the third straight Pumpkins album to be nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. Billy Corgan would later characterize the album as "a band falling apart."
Background
In January 1996 The Smashing Pumpkins released "1979", the band's only number one single on any chart and their first foray into electronic music. The song marked a departure from the typically guitar-oriented alternative rock sound of Gish and Siamese Dream. Meanwhile, the band gave interviews stating that Mellon Collie would be the last conventional Pumpkins record, and James Iha later remarked that "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music."
While on tour in support of Mellon Collie, Chamberlin and touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin shot heroin together on July 11. Melvoin died of an overdose, and Chamberlin was arrested and charged for possession. Chamberlin was promptly fired from the band after the incident. The band said in a statement days later that "we have decided to carry on without him, and we wish him the best that we have to offer."
A year later, the Pumpkins released "The End is the Beginning is the End", a single for the Batman and Robin soundtrack, and "Eye", a single for the Lost Highway soundtrack. Both songs incorporated electronic elements, yet retained the hard rock elements of the band's previous material; one reviewer called the two singles "balls-out, full-energy chargers" and wrote off the Pumpkins' previous remarks that the upcoming album would "rock" less. Following the release of the single, The Smashing Pumpkins began to record the follow-up to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s.
Recording
In August 1997, the remaining band members entered Chicago Trax Recording and Hinge in Chicago, with temporary replacement drummer Matt Walker and producer Brad Wood, who had previously co-produced a single for the band Catherine with Corgan. Unhappy with the sessions, Corgan scrapped the tapes, and relocated to Los Angeles. He felt Wood was unsuitable for the role, and later remarked that the producer "needs to work with someone like Liz Phair, whom he can mold, and I'm not the kind of person you can mold." Wood was not asked to rejoin the Pumpkins in L.A., and previous producer Flood was brought in to serve as engineer and advisor on the album. As on Mellon Collie, Corgan allowed much more input from Iha and Wretzky, saying, "I think James and D'arcy have a better understanding of the big picture as far as the band is concerned, and they put a lot of energy into things that maybe a lot of other people wouldn't consider important." However, Corgan would later characterize the sessions differently in his online Confessions, claiming their playing was not good enough for live, full-band recording, and they were largely uninterested in contributing otherwise.
Before the move to L.A., the band had made a number of live appearances, during which several new tracks were debuted. The shows included Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit, a surprise gig opening for Jane's Addiction and two shows opening for The Rolling Stones. Attendees were treated to several new songs, including "Ava Adore", "Behold! The Night Mare" and "To Sheila". The second date with The Stones was to be the final show with Matt Walker, as he left the band to pursue a career with The Cupcakes.
In December 1997, recording began at Sound City in Van Nuys, California, with ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, while Beck drummer Joey Waronker was called in to contribute drum tracks. Rick Rubin was brought in to produce one song, "Let Me Give the World to You", which did not make it onto Adore or any other release, but was rerecorded for Machina II. Sessions were wrapped up early in 1998. By post production, thirty songs were being considered for inclusion on the album. Of those, only 16 made the final cut.
Music
Adore is slightly different in approach and style from previous Pumpkins albums. Distorted guitars are less present on the album, only appearing dominantly in the songs "Ava Adore", "Tear", "Pug", "Behold! the Night Mare", and the guitar solo on "For Martha". Corgan explained the new sound by remarking that he was not "talking to teenagers anymore. I'm talking to everyone now. It's a wider dialogue. I'm talking to people who are older than me and younger than me, and our generation as well."
Piano is present in many songs, and is the dominant melodic instrument in "Annie Dog", "For Martha", "Blank Page", "Crestfallen" and "17", the latter of which is a brief instrumental borrowing the melody line from the outtake "Blissed and Gone", which later appeared on Still Becoming Apart and Judas Ψ. The track "Appels + Oranjes" is completely synthesizedperformed entirely on electronic instruments apart from Corgan's vocals. "Tear" was a song that was left off the Lost Highway soundtrack in favor of the electronic song "Eye". The original version of "Pug", which featured drums by Matt Cameron, was described by Iha as "a minor key blues death march". The final version uses a drum machine.
Apart from being the first album without Jimmy Chamberlin, Adore was the first album to not include writing contributions from Iha. Iha was at the time writing for his solo album Let It Come Down. However, he did contribute the track "Summer" to the "Perfect" single. Their perceived musical contributions still received praise, with critic Greg Kot noting that "Iha's quirky guitar accents and Wretzky's unflashy resolve [. . .] give Adore a warmth and camaraderie no other Pumpkins album can match."
Promotion and release
The year prior to the album's release was marked by confusing and conflicting statements made by the band and its management in promotion of the album. Amid the release of the heavy-metal-guitar-and-electronic music-driven "The End is the Beginning is the End" in summer 1997, Corgan remarked that the sound is "probably like what you would expect from us in the future." A few months later, the band's management said the album would be all-acoustic. Later that month, Corgan nuanced that assessment, calling the album "electric folk." In January 1998, Corgan described the new album as "arcane night music." Corgan later clarified:
The people that say it's acoustic will be wrong. The people that say it's electronic will be wrong. The people that say it's a Pumpkins' record will be wrong. I will try to make something that is indescribable.
In early 1998, Corgan debuted ten new songs in a short set at Johnny Depp's Viper Room in L.A.; only two, "Blissed and Gone" and "Let Me Give the World to You", were not released on the final album. Iha also played a short set of songs from his new solo album, Let It Come Down.
The band headed to London to film a video for the album's first single "Ava Adore". Their highest budgeted video yet, "Ava Adore" featured a large cast of extras and was filmed in one continuous shot. The three Pumpkins showed off a new image adopted for the new albuman almost Gothic look, featuring elegant robes and make-up. While in Europe, The Smashing Pumpkins began their tour for Adore just before the album's release with a performance on BBC's Later with Jools Holland.
Adore was released to most of the world on June 1, 1998 and in the U.S. on June 2. The video for "Perfect" was shot in Los Angeles in July 1998. Ultimately, "Perfect" was not quite as strong as the lead single, "Ava Adore", and the success of the album lagged. Corgan would later attribute the album's commercial failure to the confused promotion.
An Evening with The Smashing Pumpkins
The Pumpkins embarked on the tour An Evening with The Smashing Pumpkins in support of Adore. Starting in Europe and eventually making their way around most of the world, The Pumpkins played at what had been called an "eclectic mix of interesting venues", among them the rooftop of a FNAC record store in Paris, France, at the Cannes Film Festival, and at an International Shipping Harbor in Sydney, Australia.
In America, the Pumpkins did not perform at unconventional venues as they had done on the European and Pacific legs of their tour. However, for the American tour, the Pumpkins donated 100% of the ticket proceeds to charity. In every city they performed, with the exception of Minneapolis, the only free U.S. date of the tour, the Pumpkins would pick a local charity and designate it as the recipient of the night's concert. In the end, the Pumpkins, with the help of their fans, raised over $2.8 million for charity.
Kenny Aronoff, drummer for high profile acts like John Mellencamp and Melissa Etheridge, agreed to join the Pumpkins for their upcoming tour after Matt Walker's departure. More musicians were announced to be joining the Pumpkins on tour, including violinist Lisa Germano, percussionists Dan Morris and Stephen Hodges, and pianist Mike Garson, though Germano did not ultimately appear in the touring line-up.
The new song set was made up mainly of Adore songs. Although some Adore songs were played every night or almost every night, others were played sparingly. No songs prior to Mellon Collie were performed, which eliminated some of the band's biggest hits including "Today" and "Disarm". Several songs from Mellon Collie, such as "1979", "Tonight, Tonight", "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", and "Thru the Eyes of Ruby", served as reminders of the band's earlier material.
Reception and aftermath
Public reception to Adore was lukewarm. Adore entered the U.S. charts at #2 with 174,000 units of the album sold. After eight weeks, it dropped out of the Billboard Top 40. Promotion for Adore finished by the end of 1998, a particularly short run for an album when considering the 2 year touring and promotion schedule for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It finished with merely two singlestwo more, "Crestfallen" and "To Sheila", were released to radio stations but never released as commercial singles. Billy Corgan would later remark that he "tried to take a progressive step with Adore and internally didn't get the support [he] needed." He would also attribute the album's lack of success to himself, saying that he "made the mistake of telling people it was a techno record" and that if he "would have told everyone Adore was the Pumpkins' acoustic album we would have never had the problems that we had." However, he has also said the album was never meant to have mass appeal in the first place.
By contrast, critical reception was generally positive. Greg Kot of Rolling Stone magazine regarded Adore as "the most intimate album the Pumpkins have ever made and also the prettiest, a parade of swooning melodies and gentle, unfolding nocturnes." Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork Media described the album as "the Pumpkins' best offering since Siamese Dream." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described Adore as "a hushed, elegiac album that sounds curiously out of time," though he noted that the album "ultimately isn't a brave step forward." Most recently, Adore was considered one of "an inspiring range of 25 classic alternative American albums" by The Guardian.
Adore's lyrics are generally seen as an improvement over the lyrics in previous Smashing Pumpkins albums. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times, who in 1993 had criticized Corgan's lyrics as "too often sound[ing] like sophomoric poetry," said when reviewing the album, "Either the music on Adore is strong enough to outweigh the lyrics [. . .] and typically whiny singing, or those lyrics and singing have gotten better. Probably a little of both." Later in 2000, DeRogatis told Corgan in an interview, "It's my contention that with Adore and [follow-up album] MACHINA, you took a big leap forward as a lyricist." Schreiber, who criticized Mellon Collie as "lyrical rock-bottom," called Adores lyrics "poetic," particularly singling out "To Sheila". Greg Kot of Rolling Stone said that the "lyrical imagery is packed with oblique, private longings and weighty, sometimes awkward conceits." David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called the lyrics "unsettled and unsettling."
In terms of commercialism, Adore was not a success, especially when compared to the Pumpkins' previous albums Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Despite this, Adore still remains a staple of The Smashing Pumpkins' catalogue. Songs from the album were still performed in subsequent tours for Machina/The Machines of God with Jimmy Chamberlin who rejoined the band in November 1998. As of May 2005, Adore has sold 1.1 million units in the U.S., but has sold at least three times as many copies worldwide. Adore was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in July 1998.
Artwork
Art direction for the album is credited to Frank Olinsky, Billy Corgan, and Corgan's then-girlfriend and frequent collaborator Yelena Yemchuk. The photography for the album and singles was shot by Yelena Yemchuk. The cover of the album, and subsequent singles and radio promo singles all feature photos of model Amy Wesson. The vinyl release features a slightly different cover than the CD cover.
Track listing
All songs written by Billy Corgan.
- "To Sheila" 4:40
- "Ava Adore" 4:20
- "Perfect" 3:23
- "Daphne Descends" 4:38
- "Once Upon a Time" 4:06
- "Tear" 5:52
- "Crestfallen" 4:09
- "Appels + Oranjes" 3:34
- "Pug" 4:46
- "The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete" 4:33
- "Annie-Dog" 3:36
- "Shame" 6:37
- "Behold! The Night Mare" 5:12
- "For Martha" 8:17
- "Blank Page" 4:51
- "17" 0:17
Japan release bonus tracks
- "Once in a While" 3:33
- "17" 0:17
Personnel
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Matt Walker drums on Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, and 13
- Joey Waronker drums on "Perfect", additional drums on "Once Upon a Time" and "Pug"
- Matt Cameron drums on "For Martha"
- Dennis Flemion additional vocals in "To Sheila" and "Behold! The Night Mare"
- Jimmy Flemion additional vocals in "To Sheila" and "Behold! The Night Mare"
- Brad Wood additional production and engineering on Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 13, and 15, additional vocals in "Behold! The Night Mare", organ in "Blank Page"
- Flood additional production, mixing
- Bon Harris additional programming on tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13; additional vocals in "For Martha"
- Bjorn Thorsrud digital editing, engineer
- Robbie Adams engineer, mixer
- Neil Perry engineer, mixer
- Chris Shepard engineer
- Howard C. Willing engineer, mix assistant
- Eric Greedy mix assistant
- Jay Nicholas mix assistant
- John Wydrycs mix assistant
- Jamie Siegel mix assistant
- Ed Tinley recording assistant
- Matt Prock recording assistant
- Steve Johnson recording assistant
- Ron Lowe recording assistant
- Chris Brickley recording assistant
- Jeff Vereb recording assistant
- Frank Olinsky art direction and design
- Yelena Yemchuk photography, art direction and design
- Howie Weinberg mastering
- Andy Van Dette digital editing and compilation
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Album | Chart positions |
|---|
| Australian Album Chart | New Zealand Album Chart | US
Billboard 200 | Canadian Album Chart | Danish Album Chart | UK
Album Chart | Australian Highest Selling Albums |
|---|
| 1998 | Adore | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
Singles
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