Critic's Review
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Like many alt-rock bands, the Smashing Pumpkins sound better than expected as a singles band -- probably because their high points were singles, no matter how carefully created their albums were. The Smashing Pumpkins fit this bill particularly well for two reasons. For one, they rose up through the ranks in indie rock circles, where limited-edition singles on Sub Pop meant as much as a full-lengths on Caroline. Then, after they made it through the indie jungle, they had to fight their way onto MTV airwaves with songs and videos that sold their intricate albums. This was a good, even prosperous, situation when the group (OK, when its leader, Billy Corgan) could balance their knack for great singles with their desire to make sweeping, neo-concept albums like Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness. They did for a few years, conquering the alt-rock pack after Nirvana imploded, but the group themselves eventually turned in on themselves -- either because of Corgan's own hubris or the group's complacency. They had more than enough great material for a good compilation like Greatest Hits. [For dedicated fans, the initial pressings of Greatest Hits contained Judas O, a collection of B-sides from the post-Pisces Iscariot era.]
