Write a Review
Critic's Review
Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Shortly after their yearlong tour supporting their breakthrough release, Siamese Dream with a headlining spot on Lollapalooza '94, Smashing Pumpkins issued the B-sides collection Pisces Iscariot, and their first home video, Vieuphoria Live. The 90-minute vid features strictly live performances (no promo clips are included), plus strange sketches, shorts, and interviews between songs, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of Siamese Dream. Nearly all of the in-concert songs are taken from their 1993 tour, with only two exceptions, "Slunk" (1992) and the closing "Silverfuck" (1994). More early performances would have made the video complete. But still, Vieuphoria Live contains many highlights, such as unplugged performances of "Cherub Rock" and "Mayonaise," a rock version of the usually tranquil "Disarm," plus such scorching thrashers as "Quiet," "Geek U.S.A.," and "I Am One" (the latter is marred with a way-too-long vocal improv by Billy Corgan in the middle). The epic "Soma" proves even more trance-inducing in a live setting, while "Today" turns out to be more ragged than the studio version. Vieuphoria Live captures the band at the height of their in-concert hard rock glory, just before embarking on the more experimental and electronic-based Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Adore. Every Smashing Pumpkins fan should check out Vieuphoria Live. [Also available here as a clean version.]
