Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (song)
"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" is the opening and title-track for The Smashing Pumpkins' third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1997 Grammy Awards.
The "Nighttime version 1" variant as featured on the 2012 Mellon Collie reissue is the same chord progression and melody as the final ~40 seconds or so of "Thru the Eyes of Ruby". An inverted form of the song appears at the end of the album's final track, "Farewell and Goodnight".
Background
The song title, and incidentally the album, was devised as Billy Corgan was walking around Coney Island in 1991.[1] An earlier version of the song, now known as "Infinite Sadness", was an outtake from the Siamese Dream sessions. That version, which is in a different key and features a full band arrangement, was released on the vinyl release of Mellon Collie and later on the 2013 reissue of The Aeroplane Flies High. In 1994, Corgan created the piano arrangement at his Sadlands home.
An alternate arrangement was created by Billy and performed live during 2018's Shiny and Oh So Bright tour. The band played it behind the giant video screen that showcased an animated montage of various references from the band's career before Billy emerged to begin the main set with his solo rendition of Disarm.
Videos
Availability
Title | Notes | Type |
---|---|---|
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | Disc one – Dawn to Dusk | Studio |
MCIS Demos I | Bootleg | |
Celebrating *20* Years of Sadness | Live |
Tour stats
- Total plays: 60 plays (57 full, 3 tease, 1 soundcheck, 154 prerecorded), 1 piano, 2 artists
- First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 1996-01-02 at Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, CA (prerecorded)
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2024-06-10 at 3Arena, Dublin, IE (tease)
- Last full performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2018-10-18 at Unipol Arena, Casalecchio di Reno, IT
Personnel
Refers to the version on the Mellon Collie album.
- Billy Corgan – piano, string arrangement, production, engineering, mixing
- Dave Kresl – strings, engineering assistance
- Flood – production
- Alan Moulder – production, engineering, mixing
- Barry Goldberg – mixing assistance
- Chris Shepard – recording, engineering
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
References
- ↑ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 2012 re-issue liner notes