Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [Deluxe Edition]
by The Smashing Pumpkins
  • Record Label: Virgin
  • Release Date: Dec 4, 2012
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Under The Radar
    Jan 3, 2013
    100
    Far from a collector's item for die-hard fan only, this is the most complete and perfect presentation of one of the key albums of a generation. [Jan-Feb 2013, p.92]
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  2. Consequence
    Dec 13, 2012
    100
    Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness doesn't need rose-colored lens for appreciation. The album's success still lies from all the stylistic risks the band assumed, especially in comparison to music other alternative bands were creating at the time.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Dec 4, 2012
    100
    The songs from the Mellon Collie sessions speak not only to the quality of that abundance, but also to the Smashing Pumpkins' status as some of the most creative and successful purveyors of sensitive but cerebral art rock.
  5. Pitchfork
    Dec 5, 2012
    93
    Mellon Collie is a Smashing Pumpkins record that just so happens to be 28 songs in length, stunning in both its stylistic range and overall excellence.
  6. BBC Music
    Dec 11, 2012
    90
    Mellon Collie is no masterpiece, but its ambition is clearer than anything else Corgan has ever been involved with.
  7. Clash Music
    Dec 4, 2012
    90
    An exhausting and thoroughly absorbing set.... It is a record that everybody should own. Meticulous, majestic, momentous.
  8. Filter
    Dec 4, 2012
    86
    Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' triumphs far outweigh its failures. This impressive expanded edition drives that point home by giving insight into the record's rich gestational process.
  9. Kerrang!
    Jan 30, 2013
    80
    For a serious Pumpkins fan, this is a gold mine. [15 Dec 2012, p.49]
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  10. The Quietus
    Jan 15, 2013
    80
    To say this is a 'fans only' set is something of an understatement, but if you do have an interest and indeed if you can actually afford it, this is a lovingly put together and ridiculously detailed exploration of a record that has aged very well. For those whose interest is more casual the two-disc edition is well worth revisiting.
  11. Rolling Stone
    Jan 11, 2013
    80
    The extras on the deluxe box set show how Corgan's mid-Nineties creative peak couldn't even be contained by two CDs.
  12. CMJ
    Dec 14, 2012
    80
    And if you are a big fan of the band-and if you invested in the reissue, that's probably a given--this will give you hours of quality material to get lost in. But if you're not super familiar with the band, aside from being able to identify that Corgan is that vampiric-looking bald guy, then use this reissue as an excuse to revisit--or just visit--this album.
  13. Q Magazine
    Dec 11, 2012
    80
    A blissful blip that produced one of the '90s' finest rock albums. [Jan 2013, p.121]
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  14. The A.V. Club
    Dec 4, 2012
    75
    [Mellon Collie was] daringly diverse and compellingly grand.... Though Mellon Collie's inflated reissue will surely garner Corgan and company a couple extra bucks from holiday shoppers, it's a disappointingly conventional treatment of an album that once represented unease and discomfort with convention.
  15. PopMatters
    Dec 4, 2012
    70
    This massive re-release of what is arguably the Pumpkins' crowning achievement lives up to the lofty heights set up by the original album: it's sprawling, ambitious, overlong, frustrating, and fascinating all at once.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 126 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 116 out of 126
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 126
  3. Negative: 9 out of 126
  1. thesaul
    Dec 6, 2012
    10
    In my opinion, the greatest album ever made. I was 15 when this come out, and this will always have a place in my life. Now I'm 33, No otherIn my opinion, the greatest album ever made. I was 15 when this come out, and this will always have a place in my life. Now I'm 33, No other album, by The Smashing Pumpkins or ANY band for that matter has ever come close...In a world like today, and the music scene how it is, This album is a much needed reminder that although music has dramatically declined over the past 10 years, It's nice to hold on to and that there is still hope for the future. 10/10… Full Review »
  2. CalR
    Dec 6, 2012
    10
    Few albums provide the nostalgic, emotional and grandiose rapture that Mellon Collie gave to a generation, and this is ultimately where it'sFew albums provide the nostalgic, emotional and grandiose rapture that Mellon Collie gave to a generation, and this is ultimately where it's power lies. Individually there appears to be dud tracks scattered throughout, yet as a whole the sheer scale, scope and range that Corgan undertook demonstrated not only were Smashing Pumpkins a serious rock force to be reckoned with but a truly fantastic band that sorta thrived on its differences to create some of the best music of the 1990s. Highlights for me include: 'here is no why', 'jellybelly', 'porcelina', 'muzzle', '1979', 'lily', 'thru the eyes of ruby', 'bodies' and many many more. For a lot of people this record bordered on obsession and I feel grateful that I manage to continue experiencing Mellon Collie in new ways through rearranging track listings and sticking those B-Sides on to make it last longer :)… Full Review »
  3. Nanometro
    Dec 6, 2012
    10
    I still can't say what I feel about Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but after hearing it - I'm completely sure that this kind of musicI still can't say what I feel about Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but after hearing it - I'm completely sure that this kind of music it's art at it's finest. This is probably the best double album that I've ever heard, avoiding the weakness of double albums - too much fillers and few good songs. But this album brings the best era of the Pumpkins, yet that some people and the critics still prefer Siamese Dream as it's best. Not only this reissue gives you remastered classics such as 'Tonight,Tonight' 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' and 'Thru the Eyes of Ruby' but also takes you to mid 90's, a different time, more dark songs and depressing lyrics. Listening to this Deluxe Edition it's like watching something in construction, songs like 'Medellia of Grey Skies [Thinking about Porcelina ?] 'Galapagos' 'Beautiful' and 'Jellybelly' with unfinished lyrics show us the direction that the Pumpkins took when they were recording this disk, while other songs like 'Phang [Excellent instrumental, it reminds me U.S.A Soundworks demo from SD's deluxe edition] and 'Methusela' could have been in the first Mellon Collie. All in all, this reissue is good for alternative scene fans and a must for Sp fans.… Full Review »
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