There was one big question around The Smashing Pumpkins as Billy Corgan & co. prepared to release their fourth record Adore at the beginning of June, 1998: how were they going to replace Jimmy Chamberlin? The band’s drumming lynchpin had been fired midway through the tour to support 1995’s all-conquering Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness after overdosing with live keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, who subsequently died. The tour had continued with Chamberlin’s spot filled by Filter’s Matt Walker but now that the Pumpkins were about to release their next record, everyone was keen to see how it was going to play out in the long haul.
Instead of answering that question though, in typical Corgan and Pumpkins fashion they went in a direction that brought a whole new set of queries to mind instead. First: the actual record. Adore featured three drummers (Walker on seven tracks, Soundgarden and future Pearl Jam man Matt Cameron on one and Joey Waronker, currently rumoured to be gearing up for a shift in Oasis, on three) at the same time as often sounding like there was no drummer at all, with programmed beats or a drum machine providing the rhythmic pulse. A mix of muted, wistful slow-tempo rock and warm electronic-pop, Adore certainly has its moments. There’s a really good 10-track record somewhere in its overblown 17-track, 73-minute run-time.
