Rotten Apples & Judas O: Greatest Hits, B-Sides and Rarities

At the height of the Smashing Pumpkins’ popularity, lead Pumpkinhead Billy Corgan did the obligatory alt-rock dance with superstardom, often acting like a rock star, while simultaneously denouncing the idea. As the Pumpkins’ star faded, he chilled out and consequently, it became easier to like the band. It should come as no surprise then, that now that they’ve called it quits, their catalog sounds better than ever. Despite their reputation for blasts of heavy guitar noise (“Cherub Rock,” “Today”), the “Hits” disc reveals the Pumpkins were at least as compelling on their more mannered pop outings (“1979,” “Tonight, Tonight”). The second disc, which is stuffed with previously unreleased material, has a few too many pointless diversions and leaves out two notable gems (“Glynis” from the 1993 No Alternative compilation and 1996’s “Sad Peter Pan” from the Sweet Relief II compilation). Still, there are some surprising winners, not the least of which is the James Iha-written and -sung “Believe,” which definitively makes the case that it was actually Iha who was the true visionary behind the Pumpkins. Just kidding.