The Smashing Pumpkins didn't shy away from making the follow-up to the grand, intricate Siamese Dream. With Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band turns in one of the most ambitious and indulgent albums in rock history. Lasting over two hours and featuring 28 songs, the album is certainly a challenging listen. To Billy Corgan's credit, it's a rewarding and compelling one as well. Although the artistic scope of the album is immense, the Smashing Pumpkins flourish in such an overblown setting. Corgan's songwriting has never been limited by conventional notions of what a rock band can do, even if it is clear that he draws inspiration from scores of '70s heavy metal and art rock bands. Instead of copying the sounds of his favorite records, he expands on their ideas, making the gentle piano of the title track and the sighing "1979" sit comfortably against the volcanic rush of "Jellybelly" and "Zero." In between those two extremes lies an array of musical styles, drawing from rock, pop, folk, and classical. Some of the songs don't work as well as others, but Mellon Collie never seems to drag. Occasionally they fall flat on their face, but over the entire album, the Smashing Pumpkins prove that they are one of the more creative and consistent bands of the '90s.

Dawn To Dusk
A1 Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
A2 Tonight, Tonight
A3 Jellybelly
A4 Zero
B1 Here Is No Why
B2 Bullet With Butterfly Wings
B3 To Forgive
C1 Fuck You (An Ode To No One)
C2 Love
C3 Cupid De Locke
C4 Galapogos
D1 Muzzle
D2 Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans
D3 Take Me Down

Twilight To Starlight
E1 Where Boys Fear To Tread
E2 Bodies
E3 Thirty-Three
E4 In The Arms Of Sleep
F1 1979
F2 Tales Of A Scorched Earth
F3 Thru The Eyes Of Ruby
G1 Stumbleine
G2 X.Y.U.
G3 We Only Come Out At Night
G4 Beautiful
H1 Lily (My One And Only)
H2 By Starlight
H3 Farewell And Goodnight