Gish is the debut album by American alternative rock band The Smashing
Pumpkins, released in May 1991 through Caroline Records. Frontman Billy Corgan
described Gish as a "very spiritual album".
Despite initially peaking at only number 195 on the Billboard 200 upon its
release, Gish was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA.
Recording Gish was recorded from December 1990 to
March 1991 in Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin with a budget of
$20,000. Vig and Billy Corgan worked together as co-producers. The longer
recording period and larger budget were unprecedented for Vig, who later
remembered, (Corgan) wanted to make everything sound
amazing and see how far he could take it; really spend time on the production
and the performances. For me that was a godsend because I was used to doing
records for all the indie labels and we only had budgets for three or four days.
Having that luxury to spend hours on a guitar tone or tuning the drums or
working on harmonies and textural things . . . I was over the moon to think I had
found a comrade-in-arms who wanted to push me, and who really wanted me to
push him. The inclusion of a massive production
style reminiscent of ELO and Queen was unusual for an independent band at the
time. Whereas many albums at the time used drum sampling and processing, Gish
used unprocessed drum recordings, and an exacting, unique guitar sound. Billy
Corgan also performed nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the record,
which was confirmed by Vig in a later interview.
The album's sessions, lasting 30 working days, were brisk by Pumpkins' standards,
largely because of the group's inexperience. The recording sessions put
an intense strain on the band, with bassist D'arcy Wretzky later commenting
that she did not know how the band survived it, and Corgan explaining he
suffered a nervous breakdown. The album
Regarding the album's thematic content, Corgan would later say,
The album is about pain and spiritual ascension. People ask if it's a
political album. It's not a political album, it's a personal album. In a weird
kind of way, Gish is almost like an instrumental album—it just happens to
have singing on it, but the music overpowers the band in a lot of places.
I was trying to say a lot of things I couldn't really say in kind of
intangible, unspeakable ways, so I was capable of doing that with the music,
but I don't think I was capable of doing it with words.
"I Am One", "Rhinoceros", "Daydream", and "Bury Me" were previously recorded
as demos by the band in 1989. All four songs were re-recorded for Gish.
The following songs were written and recorded for Gish but did not make the
final cut: "Blue"
"Obscured" "Slunk"
"Why Am I So Tired" "Jesus Loves His Babies"
"La Dolly Vita" "Pulseczar"
"Smiley" "Crawl"
"Purr Snickety" = Title=
The album was named after silent film icon Lillian Gish. In an interview,
Corgan said, "My grandmother used to tell me that one of the biggest things
that ever happened was when Lillian Gish rode through town on a train, my
grandmother lived in the middle of nowhere, so that was a big deal..."
Later, Corgan joked that the album was originally going to be called "Fish",
but was changed to "Gish" to avoid comparisons to jam band Phish.
Reception = Commercial performance=
Gish spent one week on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 195; however, the
album reached number one on the College Music Journal chart, which tracks
airplay and popularity on college radio stations. It also had a six-week run on
the New Zealand Albums Chart, peaking at number 40. Despite an inauspicious
start, the album sold 100,000 copies in less than a year, far exceeding the
expectations of indie label Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Records.
The album was certified gold on March 14, 1994. Until the release of The
Offspring album Smash in 1994, Gish was the highest-selling independently
released album of all time. Gish would later be reissued under the Virgin
label, and was certified platinum on February 5, 1999.
= Critical response= Gish was met with largely enthusiastic
reviews. On the month of its release, Chris Heim of the Chicago Tribune
credited producer Butch Vig for helping the band achieve a "clearly defined" and
"big, bold, punchy" sound for the album. Heim also indicated that the varied
styles of the album would be a good addition to the alternative music
culture of Chicago at the time—a culture that was sometimes perceived as
inaccessible for new bands. Jon Pareles of The New York Times picked up on the
eclectic mix of musical style on Gish as well, complementing its "pummeling hard
rock", "gentle interludes", and "psychedelic crescendos". In an
end-of-year recap of 1991 releases, Heim noted that the album constituted a
"smashing local success story" for the Chicago area. Greg Kot, also of the
Tribune, called Gish "perhaps the most audacious and accomplished" of all 1991
albums released by local bands; in an article later that year, Kot listed the
album among the best of 1991. Rolling Stone called it "awe-inspiring" with
"meticulously calculated chaos" and a "swirling energy".
Many substantive reviews of Gish emerged only with the 1993 release of Siamese
Dream, when mainstream critics took their first look into the back-catalog
of a band whose popularity was exploding. Derek Weiler of the Toronto
Star noted that songs on Gish contained "either galloping riffs or trippy
feedback hazes" and that the latter were especially effective and entertaining.
In 1992, Gish and the Smashing Pumpkins earned recognition at the Chicago
Musician Awards, for which local music publication Illinois Entertainer polled
readers and Chicago music industry figures such as critics, writers, and
club owners. In separate polls, readers and industry figures chose Gish as the
"best local album". Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha won individual honors for
their performances on the album, and the band as a whole earned the "best
hometown national act" award. Release history
The first mastering of Gish on CD was from Digital Audio Tape and appeared on
Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Records. In 1994, after the success of
follow-up Siamese Dream, the album was given a slight remaster and redesign and
was reissued on the Virgin label. Both editions credit Howie Weinberg as
mastering engineer. In 2008, The Smashing Pumpkins announced a 17th
anniversary box set re-release of the album that would include older bonus
material, but this set experienced delays. After finally negotiating the
rights, Gish was re-issued in November 2011, being remastered on CD and Vinyl
with extra tracks and packaging. Track listing
All songs written and composed by Billy Corgan, except where noted.
Personnel Those involved in the making of Gish
are: The Smashing Pumpkins
Jimmy Chamberlin – drums Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass,
production James Iha – guitar, vocals
D'arcy Wretzky – bass, vocals, lead vocals on "Daydream", layouts
Additional musicians Mary Gaines – cello on "Daydream"
Chris Wagner – violin and viola on "Daydream"
Production Bob Knapp – photography
Michael Lavine – photography Butch Vig – production, engineering
Doug "Mr. Colson" Olson – engineering Howie Weinberg – mastering
Bob Ludwig – mastering Chart positions
References External links
Gish at AllMusic Gish at MusicBrainz