Smashing Pumpkins were responsible for some of the '90s' most striking and memorable video clips, and their 2001 compilation Greatest Hits Video Collection collects nearly all of the videos from their career. Few rock bands have had as grand a cinematic vision with their videos as the Pumpkins... [+] Expand

Smashing Pumpkins were responsible for some of the '90s' most striking and memorable video clips, and their 2001 compilation Greatest Hits Video Collection collects nearly all of the videos from their career. Few rock bands have had as grand a cinematic vision with their videos as the Pumpkins did, and unlike most groups whose early videos are usually quite embarrassing (due to budget restraints and whatnot), even the earliest Pumpkins videos were exceptional. The DVD is loaded with special features, such as alternate versions of each clip (which includes outtakes, and for a few of them, making-of documentaries), as well as commentary from bandmembers and directors. Although the best-known Pumpkins videos remain such later-day clips as "Tonight Tonight," "Today," and "1979," it's their early ones that prove to be the best (even though in the commentary, Billy Corgan expresses some displeasure with them), as the group approached such clips as "Siva" and "Rhinoceros" (and to a certain degree, "Cherub Rock") from a gritty and psychedelic viewpoint, which was quite refreshing in the glossed-up world of music video in the early '90s. Also included is the full-length version of their controversial mini-movie, "Try" (which details the downside of heroin addicts, à la Requiem for a Dream), plus a previously unreleased video for "I Am One" and a pair of in-concert clips -- "Geek USA" from 1993 (which shows the group joined by a troupe of clowns on-stage) and "An Ode to No One" from their final show ever, at Chicago's Metro in December of 2000. Hardcore fans may be displeased with the omission of the forgotten clip for the track "The End is the Beginning is the End" (from 1997's Batman & Robin motion picture soundtrack), but overall, Greatest Hits Video Collection is a highly recommended set from a group who approached videos from a completely artistic standpoint rather than mere commercials to sell albums. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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