Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

I have just finished listening to the remastered version of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness all the way through with all the bonus material and all I can say is: WOW! As with Gish and Siamese Dream, the remastering of this one is well down. The sound recording is much clearer and the drum sound is much more defined. Like all remastering these days, there is much more emphasis on high end and mid range and in many ways, that changes the sound of a record the first you heard it and will always change it. For some, that's not always a good thing and many of them will go back to the original CD or vinyl. I have all SP stuff in both formats and will be getting all the remasters, but I will keep my originals in order to have something to reference the remasters to. Most people that listen to the new SP remasters tend to believe that the job was well done and I have to agree. With MCIS, I read one review where the remastering was kind of unnecessary. After listening, I know what that person is talking about because the volume levels are about the same, which was not the case with with Gish and Siamese Dream, the remasters being hotter for sure. But, I found the sound is much clearer and defined. The only thing I do miss, and people that have heard the original will know what I am talking about, is the bassiness (I don't know if that's a proper word) of the original. Siamese Dream and MCIS are truly two of the most bassiest (again, not sure if it's a word) albums ever recorded. On songs like "Tales of a Scorched Earth" and "Jellybelly" are where this becomes really apparent and I kind of miss the muddy sound of the original release, especially on "Tales of a Scorched Earth." However, the intro of "Love" has a slightly different flanging sound on the remaster which I thought sounded kind of cool. I always wondered were the DOOM explosion was and can hear it clearly on "Where Boys Fear to Tread." For the most part in my opinion, any one will really enjoy the clearer sound of the remasters. And that's what remasters are based upon, other people's opinions. Some people really hate remastered recording and some people love them. I personally have not been disappointed with any of the Pumpkins's past remasters and MCIS is no exception. The reason most of us hardcore fans couldn't wait to get out hands on the reissues were the bonus material. No SP fan with be disappointed and will find it interesting how they created such as unique, complex and utterly beautiful record that will stand the test of time. I believe people will be listening to MCIS forever and it's fascinating to hear many of the songs in their stripped down and simple acoustic forms or all out jamming by the band. Those familiar with MCIS Demos will find that the reissues have been cleaned up and sound as if Billy recorded them with his Tascam 8 track cassette recorder yesterday in his bedroom. They are amazing and I love the bonus takes and mixes of many of the songs that are included. I always wondered where the they got the end of "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" and now I know. Again, maybe some of the mixes were unnecessary and there are some track that do not need repeated listening, but I found them intriguing and any SP fan will find them an excellent addition to their collection. The only track that is missing from the bonus CD is "Infinite Sadness." It should have been included in the bonus material. I have not listened to the vinyl reissue of this one yet as I live in another country and have only ordered it. I have have had a chance to listen to both the Gish and Siamese Dream remasters on vinyl and all I can say again is: WOW! In some ways, they sound better than the original. And this is from some one who own both (I own 2 copies of each on both labels if that makes sense) the Caroline and HUT versions of both records as well as a South Korea (the country I'm living in now by the way) issue of Gish. I also own 2 copy of the 90's HUT pressing of MCIS (one signed by the band believe it or not) The remasters sound excellent. And this is from someone that has the originals on both label (the HUT release for Gish is remastered fromt he Caroline release and the Siamese Dream on HUT is superior to the Caroline release) and thought there was no way to improve on them. Again, I do miss the bassy sound of the originals, but there is much more depth of sound. When I do get back to the States and have a chance to listen to the vinyl, I will submit a new review. As of now, I will have to go on my experience with the past remasters of the vinyl and all I can say is that they sounded great. As mentioned, I have 2 copies of MCIS and will listen to both back to back. The original vinyl issue sounded awesome and are 2 of the jewels of my vinyl collection. I hope that the remasters will sound just as good. If nothing else, at least I have another copy on hand, and a remastered copy at that. The original HUT release of MCIS was one of the most flawless pieces of vinyl pressed and I'm eager to compare the two. *Note: I've read a lot of reviews of the vinyl and have been hearing that most people are really unhappy with the sound quality of the remastered vinyl. Unfortunately with a lot of pressing plant these days, this is starting to become more and more common. I've purchased vinyl that was just horrid. It seems like it's just like hitting a baseball, some times you hit the ball right on the mark, sometimes you hit a foul ball, and sometimes you strike out. From what I've been reading, it's more of a foul ball. Some people are just glad to have the new remasters on vinyl for the first time, while others are so disappointed that they are willing to return the record even though it's finally their chance to own this record for the first time on vinyl. Fortunately enough, I have the original HUT pressings and I can tell you they sound awesome. My suggestion for people that what to return their new remastered copy of the vinyl is to attach a note telling them manufacturer why you are returning the vinyl and that the sound quality is horrible. Hopefully, this will insure that if there is a second string of presses for this record in the future, they will take a lot more care for the sound quality of the press. I am very happy with the sound quality of the remastered CDs and hope that I can hear the excellent job they did on the CD on pressed wax. I know they can because the pressing that came out in the 90s were excellent. Also, I have the copies of remastered Gish and Siamese Dream and they sound awesome (I just ordered Pisces Iscariot but haven't had a chance to listen to since, again for the same reason I haven't had a chance to listen to MCIS on vinyl, I currently live in another country). It's a shame that they don't take the same care they use to when pressing vinyl these days. They really need to raise the quality standard when pressing vinyl or people are going to get fooled into thinking that vinyl sounds like garbage and CDs sound better. Both have their advantages and I actually love CDs for their clarity and definitely prefer them over MP3s, but nothing beats fresh vinyl when pressed right. I still prefer that vinyl over CDs any day.

Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness was the most significant and influential record for me growing up as a wayward youth. To this day, it is still my favorite. I actually purchased a new record player purely for the reason of buying this MCIS reissue. The quality of the recording is outstanding, and I absolutely vouch for this as the best record of all time. First thing that is on everyone's mind, the order of songs is that of the CD, not the original 1995 UK vinyl. In a way, this disappoints me as I was hoping to hear it in the new order. Infinte Sadness and Tonite (Reprise) are not included. This slipcase is absolutely gorgeous! The artwork featured on the case is the artwork shown in the product thumbnail. The surface is a nice gloss, with the art itself being raised slightly to give it a texture. It is very well made, and each record has it's own sleeve. On one side of the sleeve is a pattern of the MCIS dingbats and song listing, the other side has a large version of some of the original MCIS booklet artwork. Newly packaged, each vinyl comes packed in a lined paper sleeve. Additionally packaged are smaller sleeves within the sleeves, all of which have a monotone pattern akin to the original MCIS artwork. The assumption is you can remove the paper sleeves and house them in the rigid cardboard sleeves that have the artwork. (See image) There are two books that accompany the music. One is basically a large version of the MCIS lyric sheet from the CD version. However, it is in a different typeface. A minor change. The woodcut artwork remains the same. The second booklet is an all new booklet that features a small recent article written by David Wild in which Billy talks about MCIS and the significance it had on him and the band, and where it lies as far as the "best time" in the history of Smashing Pumpkins. Also in this booklet are notes by Billy on each song and how it evolved, the meaning, what he thinks of it, which is incredible insight much of which has not been revealed until now! Amazing content! Though it seems as if the booklety was designed fore the CD version, as the songs are divided between the classic "Dawn to Dusk" and "Twilight to Starlight" There are also concept sketches for much of the MCIS artwork, done by Billy. Much of this eventually evolved into the John Craig collages that MCIS is well known for. The only thing that drives me crazy about this book is that they include some stills from some of the music videos (usually in the columns) but they are shown letterboxed (black bars on each side) WHY would the person doing the layout let this happen? I understand that the change to widescreen changes the aspect ratio, but black bars could have very easily been removed and would make the appearance of these stills more appealing. However. Good news guys, there's a blown up version of the band with D'arcy holding the carrot! This is definitely a collectors item. MCIS being my favorite, I had to have it. And it is absolutely worth it. Edit: To address the issue of the sound quality, it was not until I played it back and listened closely that I noticed some "sonic artifacts" in parts of the recording, namely Zero (certainly not audible "all the way through"). Hardly a distraction while listening to, and goes largely unnoticed. I listened to these records in their entirety and I feel as though the recording is of a good quality. It sounds the way vinyl should sound. I dunno how much different you'll find the CD version to be, but you might as well just download an mp3 or a FLAC if you're going for "digital flawlessness"

This is the most ambitious, substantive, and successful album from one of the most important rock bands of all time. This is 1995/1996 distilled into a pristine vinyl pressing, endlessly relistenable and offering new sonic discoveries upon each play. This release comes complete with remastered tracks that sound as beautiful as ever; a beautiful woodcut print style lyric book; and a short retrospective book full of Billy Corgan's reminiscent thoughts about every track, as well as large full-color prints of the original CD album art and Billy's hand-scrawled concept notes. This is a MUST OWN for fans of The Pumpkins, alt-rock, or just music in general. Even with the 30th anniversary rerelease of Mellon Collie right around the corner, this edition is still as treasurable and precious as ever, offering the historic sounds of the mid-90's rock scene combined with a 2012 perspective on this historic album.

So I was torn between a 4 and a 5 on this and I’ll explain why. As far as packaging goes, that’s about a 10 out of 5. The four vinyls come each in a cardboard sleeve, inside a decorative sleeve which is then in a larger box overall. VERY well protected and for the cost of it, this attention to detail is very much appreciated. Also included is a full size book with song lyrics for every song, as well as another book telling the story behind each song. Sound quality is a little harder to rate. Not because the vinyls sound poor, not in the least, but because the album itself is so vastly different track to track that it’s hard to really gauge the sound equally across everything. The harder tracks like Zero, Jelly Belly and Bullet With Butterfly Wings sound rather balanced, while the more melodic tracks like Tonight Tonight and To Forgive have different sounds to them. The orchestra shines through in Tonight Tonight, while the bass in To Forgive pulls you in. And then as an added addition, 1979 sounds better and more beautiful than I’ve ever heard it before. Overall, I feel this set is worth a full 5 stars as I think the diversity of the album’s songs makes it a bit more difficult to truly gauge the vinyl quality. There are absolutely no pops, clicks or anything to indicate inferior pressings to the original. A must have before it becomes hard to find again!

five stars for the product one star for Amazon shipping practices as of 12.20.12 Got my vinyl reissue in the mail today. Listened to it straight off. I didn't encounter sound problems other people said they experienced. Sound comes off clear and similar to compact discs according to my ear and my standard issue technics turntable and needle. The good: well worth the value, a couple of books, thick vinyl and the presentation is just beautiful, easily my favorite boxed set I own. Full color pages, and colored sleeved and imaged inner sleeves inside the sleeves (!). Really loved the presentation, the music and the fact it's on vinyl. A must have for Pumpkins fans. Very well done. The box itself is very sturdy which leads me to the bad. If you order it from Amazon directly, BEWARE. Luckily my boxed set arrived without defects but that was despite Amazon. They chose to ship this high dollar set LOOSE in a large cardboard box with nothing but a couple bubble air pouches. I can see on the plastic shrink how the set skated across the bottom of the box back and forth during shipment. The Amazon box was thin and had creases and was crushed a few times. The packing tape was cracked all around and only a few threads kept the packing box from opening outright. If Amazon had stuffed the packing box full of bubble wrap there wouldn't be a complaint. But as it was, there was only those couple bubble pouches, I consider myself VERY lucky. This heavy boxed set was loose in the box and could have suffered major damage including corner pushes not to mention seem splits to the inner sleeves. I was lucky and only the shrink was worn away but I live in a major city. If the package had to make another couple postal rounds to a suburban or rural area, I highly doubt it would have made it. I've boycotted GoHastings because they ship records in thin bubble mailers and records ALWAYS arrived very damaged. If I had known Amazon itself would be so careless, I would have ordered from another seller and not taken the risk. I was lucky.

For those of you unfamiliar with this recording, the music is excellent. It's easily one of the top 5 albums of the grunge era. With several hits and a grammy to boot, this album has both commercial and artistic cred. The only really grunge thing about it is the production. The original album had an in-your-face guitar attack that I personally would have liked alleviated slightly for this remaster, but they left well enough alone and left the guitars up front with the vocals a little buried behind them. That kind of production gives the album a more indie aesthetic, but I like to hear vocals more up front. That's a personal bias though and is something that does not take away from the sheer brilliance of this album. The flow achieved on this album with the kind of diversity that was ventured forth is really remarkable. The band and producers deserve all the praise and accolades that they got. The remastering is excellent. There's no loudness wars nonsense here. The only differences I heard were higher clarity and separation with a little extra volume without sacrificing headroom. The remastering is immediately obvious without being intrusive to the original recording. The packaging is vastly improved; going from the clunky original thick, double case to the slim, double jewel case. It was always something that I disliked about the original. I put mine into a store-bought slim case but the booklet barely fits in it. The new booklet is the real gem of this remaster. The liner notes are unusually well written. I had no idea that Billy Corgan was as articulate as what he wrote. He gives us a song by song breakdown of how he came up with each composition and it makes this package a very interesting twist that you don't see with other remasters. Even the artwork has been improved from the original. It gives me a much better idea of where they were going with the art. Excellent addition to an already brilliant album. Any fans of art-rock, grunge, indie or early 90's rock should not hesitate to buy this. Especially in this great reissue version.

So the vinyl remaster of Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness is pretty awesome. This has been one of my favorite albums since I bought it on CD a decade ago. I'm not going to review the songs though, since everyone already knows this is a great collection of songs. The presentation of the records is amazing. I love the box, the book and the artwork. Very cool. Upon my first listening to the remaster, I thought the recording was crap compared to other 180 gram remasters I had bought. I find that most of them I do not need to play with the settings on my turntable or receiver to get it right. However, this set I had to change many of the levels on my receiver and play with the tone on the turntable. Probably but the time I got to Jellybelly I had figured out how to get everything sounding right. At that point, I thought it sounded great. It's probably not the best remaster I've bought since I had to go through all that effort, but still very good. What I don't like is that for $75, it does not come with any the special extras of the CD box set. I would have liked some of the b-sides and demos. I also would have liked an MP3 download. Between the lack of extras and the need to fix my levels, I'm only giving it 4 stars.

I have ordered Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness on CD a few times in the past. But every other copy has been worn and torn out as I have just loved every. single. song off of this album. To say MCATIS changed the game for rock, alternative and grunge fans everywhere is an understatement. The album, turning 30 years old today (!!!!) still hits the same winning points as it did for fans who first bought it on CD or cassette tape or vinyl and listened to it for the first time in 1995. Although I was born in 2000 (5 years after MCATIS came out), even I have come to enjoy the sheer weight and magnitude that Billy Corgan and every other member of the Smashing Pumpkins intended for this record. Their intentions were clear; to make a record that would stand the test of time and be enjoyed by generations to come. All I can say is, Corgan’s vision and concept of MCATIS has come true three decades later. And it’s safe to assume that Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness will stand against aging technology, trends and future generations for an unprecedented amount of time. This review did go on for a while, but I wanted to share my personal thoughts on MCATIS on its 30th anniversary, to get to see what others also thought of it, and as clearly evidenced by the photos, to thank Amazon for treating the CD with respect and delivering it on time in great condition. Thank all who read this review and let me know what your thoughts are on MCATIS!!