The Smashing Pumpkins' 'Cutting-Room-Floor' Anthology of Creative Outbursts
In short: When a band releases a double album as massive as Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the leftovers are often dismissed as scraps. But for The Smashing Pumpkins, the 'scraps' became a sprawling, 90-track archive of creative excess, capturing the raw, unedited evolution of one of rock's most ambitious eras.
A five-disc collection titled The Aeroplane Flies High debuted in 1996, acting as a supplementary work for the band's massive double LP, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Rather than being a standard collection of B-sides, it functions as an anthology of Billy Corgan's creative outbursts. The set includes expanded versions of five singles and a 44-page booklet featuring Corgan's writings and illustrations. While some critics noted the exercise of anthologizing such material could be seen as megalomaniacal, the collection is noted for containing no filler, featuring gorgeous ballads and 'blasts of guitar riffage' reminiscent of 1970s corporate rock.
The project's scale is significant: while the original 1996 release was intended to be limited to 200,000 copies, unexpected demand forced Virgin Records to produce more. In 2013, the collection was expanded into a 6-disc deluxe version. This reissue nearly quadrupled the original size, jumping from 33 tracks to 90 tracks across six CDs, plus a bonus DVD of a live performance in Belfort, France, from July 4, 1997. The 2013 remaster was supervised by Corgan and included full versions of previously incomplete tracks like 'Milieu' and 'Jackboot.'
The box set offers a technical look at the band's internal process. It features the 'Pastichio Medley,' a collection of riffs recorded between the albums Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie. The compilation showcases how specific pieces evolved, like 'Rachel' being a precursor to 'X.Y.U.' Additionally, unfinished concepts appear, such as the partial instrumental 'Disconnected' for 'The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right).' This work emphasises group cooperation, showcasing input from James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, and a guitar solo by Bill Corgan Sr., Corgan's father.
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