A Song for a Son

"A Song for a Son" is a promotional single by The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the first track released from Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor from the band's 8th album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.

Recording and composition
The song contains an extended guitar solo, inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, recorded live by Billy Corgan. Written on an acoustic guitar, Corgan left the meaning of the song vague, but later realized it has a lot to do with his relationship with his father. Corgan consciously set the song in 1975, the year he started listening heavily to rock music, considering Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, UFO, and Rainbow influences on the sound.

Producer Kerry Brown wrote:

"Billy broke out the Farfisa today and we ran it through a 'secret weapon' It won't be such a secret on Tuesday when I showcase it and its history in the Tech Tuesday blog ... but for those of you curious as to what it could be... *Hint*(Pink Floyd) used one of these devices on some of their recordings."

The "secret weapon" was a Binson Echorec.

Featured in other media
The song is featured during an episode of The Chicago Code, “Black Hand and the Shotgun Man” (Season 1, Episode 7). The scene involves a child being laid to rest.

Reception
Rolling Stone, after the release of "A Song for a Son" wrote, "Nothing in Corgan’s prolific recording history could have prepared us for the over five minutes of classic rock that is “A Song for a Son,” which starts off with a “Stairway to Heaven”-esque riff before exploding into the rest of ZoSo’s touchstones... If “A Song for a Son” is any indication of what we can expect from 'Billy', each EP will likely be the length of Exile on Main Street".

Ryan Dombal of the online magazine Pitchfork Media described "A Song for a Son" "an epic" saying that "There's a contemplative intro, a shredding solo, and plenty of classic rock panache in between". The song was also reviewed by About.com's Tim Grierson, who calls Corgan "charitable with Teargarden by Kaleidyscope": "Led by a stately piano figure reminiscent of Adore, "A Song for a Son" eventually introduces electric guitars into the mix, climaxing with an ecstatic solo. Overall, it's a moody, vaguely psychedelic number that's a promising start to this ambitious, unconventional, and awesome album."

Personnel

 * Musicians
 * Mike Byrne – drums
 * Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, keyboards, production
 * Mark Tulin – bass guitar


 * Technical personnel
 * Kerry Brown – production
 * Stephen Marcussen – mastering
 * Bjorn Thorsrud – production, engineering