Gish is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 28, 1991, by Caroline Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan, with the latter describing Gish as a "very spiritual album" and "an album about spiritual ascension".
Despite initially peaking at only number 195 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, Gish received critical acclaim, with particular praise directed at the band's distinctive psychedelic sound. The album was eventually certified platinum (at least one million copies shipped in the US) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming one of the best-selling independent albums at the time. It has since been ranked by multiple publications as one of the best rock albums of the 1990s, with Pitchfork deeming "without Gish, there would probably be no Nevermind as we know it."
Music and composition
Musically, Gish has been described as an alternative rock, hard rock, grunge, stoner rock and art rock album. As a writer, Billy Corgan wanted to find the balance between classic rock of bands playing heavy riffs like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and the sensuality and grace of alternative bands like the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and My Bloody Valentine. "For us, it was trying to become this balance point between what felt like dumb riff rock and then the stuff we were really attracted to coming out of the U.K. And then we put those pieces together with the Beatles somewhere in the middle". A song like "Rhinoceros" reflected that balance and what Corgan wanted to achieve: "we could be beautiful, pretty, psychedelic, and then flip the switch and be heavy and play a ripping lead." Vig and Corgan worked together as co-producers. At the time, Vig was still a relatively unknown producer. The longer recording period and larger budget were unprecedented for Vig, who later recalled:
<blockquote>(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.</blockquote>
The inclusion of a massive production style reminiscent of ELO and Queen was unusual for an independent band at the time. Corgan also performed nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the record, which was confirmed by Vig in a later interview. The majority of D'arcy Wretzky's bass lines and James Iha's guitar parts were re-recorded by Corgan using their instruments.
Critical reception
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; Chris Mundy of 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.
Commercial performance
Gish spent one week on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 195 (later re-peaking at number 146 upon its 2011 re-release); 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. In the US, the album was certified gold by RIAA 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 in the US on February 5, 1999. 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 revised packaging.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Corgan, except where noted.
Personnel
Those involved in the making of Gish are:
The Smashing Pumpkins
- Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass,
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! scope="row"| New Zealand RIANZ Top 40
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! scope="row"| US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums