Search - Smashing Pumpkins :: Teargarden By Kaleidyscope 1: Songs for a Sailor

A beautiful - EMPTY box

K. Creighton | Seattle, WA | 05/27/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"They say a fool and his money will soon be parted, and that sadly is the case with me and this box set. I've been foolishly in love with the Smashing Pumpkins since their self-titled Cassette in the days when they opened for Big Hat posing as The Star Children. Billy has given us a freighter-load of great music over the years, so I was game when he proposed giving away his new music for free - and making it available in a decadent box set for a pricey sum. I'm all for saving the music industry, so I ponied up my $25 and waited for the shipment like a kid on Christmas Eve.



There's no sense in reviewing the 4-track EP, go get the songs for free at Smashing [...]. They're great. Here's a review of what's in the box:



EXTERIOR BOX: A stunning wood box with the design you see in the photo. It is faux-blue velvet lined - at the base, a square cut-out for the CD, above that, a circle cut-out for the vinyl single, beside the two, a small rectangle cut out for the obelisk.



CD: Comes in a cheap cardboard liner - no jewel case. The liner has a lovely "all seeing eye" ink-drawn design on front, and a "sun behind the clouds" ink-drawn design on back with the track listing. The CD itself marries a yellow and white "circle within triangle" design with no lettering.



"Hand-carved leopard stone obelisk, about 2 tall, similar to marble" - I had no idea what an obelisk was, turns out, it is a miniature Washington Monument shaped piece of marble - cute but utterly useless.



"7 vinyl single containing one NEW song plus b-side" - here is the big LIE of the package. This is a cheaply made piece of marble-printed vinyl - the pressing even bubbles in a few places - it looks more like a cheap magazine promo than a real record. Since there is no sleeve, it arrives dusty. There is no lettering either. Side A: The Teargarden Theme is an instrumental - perhaps the worst song in the Pumpkins canon. Think the old timey background organ music you hear when waiting for an old timey circus or silent movie to begin (in the theaters with old timey live organs). A nice, contemplative guitar line meanders through the last half of the mix which is the only redeeming element in the song. It is short and sounds awful thanks to the cheap pressing.



Most importantly - there is NO "song" PLUS a B-side. Side B is blank.



And so, there you have it. A noble experiment, but ultimately, a middle finger to his most loyal fans.



"

Watch out

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/25/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a little pathetic where the Smashing Pumpkins are concerned -- I scrabble to get my hands even on their lesser works, like the EPs and singles. And the latest thing I scrabble after is "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Volume 1: Songs for a Sailor," the first part of a vast megasized concept album based on four phases of the Tarot. Don't ask me -- I don't know the first thing about it.



Apparently Billy Corgan's idea is to create a vast 44-song collection that is going to be dribbled out slowly over the next few years, one song at a time (and apparently it will eventually be collected in one big set when Corgan's done with the project). And while the limited-edition EP is WAY expensive for the casual collector (an obelisk?), the songs here are definitely promising.



"A Song for a Son" is a mellow, expansive piece that rings with melancholy. While the electric guitars start to rise over the piano-led melody, Corgan wails about dead doves, stars, children and "a tailor/Who stitched up my old heart." Having spent that song revving up, Corgan switches into the sputtery, energetic "Widow Take My Mind."



"Astral Planes" sees the band switching over into a blaring, supernova of a rock song, with plenty of simmering bass and sprawling proggy riffs. Somehow it just didn't connect with me. And finally there's "A Stitch in Time," which is the complete opposite of the song before it -- a sparkly shimmery pop melody that undulates with what sounds like sitar.



Apparently the whole idea behind the "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope" mega-album is that rather than cobbling together a conventional album, Corgan will create it as he goes along, polishing each song until it shines. Maybe it'll work, and maybe it won't -- but the first of eleven EPs is promising.



And as befits an art-rock concept album, the music is brilliant -- stately piano, wild drums by Mike Byrne, and some simmering basslines from Mark Tulin. Corgan's guitar skills are amazing here, with sprawling riffs that can be proggy, razor-edged, shredding or twisting wild things. The lyrics have spurts of lameness, though -- "Widow" is oversaturated with "ohs!" and "Astral Plane's" lyrics are oversimple. But "Stitch's" warm psychedelic lyrics are lovely ("You're everywhere at once, and you can't catch me, watch out!").



Apparently this limited EP version also comes with a two-song vinyl single (which I can't even play!), a stone obelisk (I'm not sure why) and a wooden box. Way too ovepriced, in my humble opinion -- my impoverished self will have to wait for the full collection.



There are still forty songs to go before we know how good the complete "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope" will be. Volume 1 isn't perfect, but Corgan's passion shines brightly."

Listen for a while...its pretty good.

R. Walker | 06/03/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all I've gotta say I really like and approve of the way this album is being released. Billy Corgan decided to gradually release it online for free a song at a time and while some are complaining due to the lenght between song releases, it gives the listener some time to let each song soak in. In my case there were a couple songs I was unsure of at first listen but over time I've started to warm up to them and must say I enjoy all four songs on this EP. The way the music is packaged is truly unique and the box it comes in is beautiful and made specifically for the collector. It looks good on display and is a real eyecatcher to anyone that sees it. I really hope the other 10 ep's are done just as well as this one. As for the music, the album opens with A Song for a Son which is a pretty good song and a good opener. The song does drag at times but you can't ignore the guitar work by Corgan, the solos are excellent. Astral Planes is one of my favorites off the EP and its a fairly trippy kinda song. Some are complaining for the lack of lyrics but this song really isn't meant to be about lyrics. Its about all the sounds and again the guitar work. Widow Wake my Mind is one of the songs I wasn't to sure about at first. Lyrically its similar to Astral Planes because there isn't much being said but again its about the music. Over a period of time I have grown to like this song pretty well and it is kinda catchy. One cool thing about this song as well as Astral Planes is the way they both end. They have extended kinda trippy sounding endings like something you would have heard off Gish or Simease Dream. The Last song off the EP is A Stitch in Time and its a good song as well. I must say I find it somewhat bland at times and its probably my least favorite of the four but its still not a bad listen. This EP deserves 4 stars musically and 5 stars for the packaging. There is no smash hit on this cd but all four songs are good and anyone giving this a bad rating just hasn't listened enough or understand what is unfolding here. There are also those "fans" that just can't accept the fact that Corgan no longer wants to write music that makes you wanna go jump off a cliff so those few may be disappointed by this effort. This album will be the biggest, most artistic thing created under the Smashing Pumpkins name and I believe this could be a masterpiece that will stand the test of time. My only fear is Corgan may get frustrated for whatever reason or sidetracked and scrap it before its finished like he has done on a few other projects. I really hope he follows through with this one..."