Long-time Alternative Press editor Jason Pettigrew was first up, when he observed, "I thought [Siamese Dream] was different than Gish. It seemed like there was a lot of mystery that was away from it. I think Gish - in a lot of aspects, kind of the way it's presented - feels like I'm reading pages in somebody's diary. You know what I mean? Like, 'I shouldn't be doing this.' Nobody knows you're reading the pages, but you're reading it. And I thought Siamese Dream is definitely that type of, 'OK bitches, we're here. Move over.' Maybe it wasn't the pinnacle of his grand intention, but it was certainly close."

Also, the head of the Alternative Nation site, Brett Buchanan, was bold enough to offer a comparison. "Siamese Dream is a step up from Gish. You have great, longer songs like say, 'Soma' - that's a bit like Gish. But then obviously you have the radio hits, like 'Today,' 'Disarm,' 'Cherub Rock.' There were not songs like that on Gish. So, it's a step up in songwriting and definitely lyrically. Billy [Corgan] got a lot more personal - especially on a song like 'Disarm.' I mean, 'Disarm you with a smile' - the lyrics on that, those are some of the most iconic lyrics of all-time. And he really opened up about his childhood on that. So, the songwriting was definitely a step up, and it put Billy up there with the top songwriters of his generation."

Longtime Pumpkins pal, Jimmy Flemion of the Frogs (who had first crossed paths with the Pumpkins after Corgan and co. caught/enjoyed Frogs shows in '91 and '92, and would subsequently invite the Frogs to open SP shows), also remains in awe of Siamese Dream, many years later. "I was always a fan of Siamese Dream, which, I think is a masterpiece. It all came together at that point. Everything was clicking at once. The songwriting and the band were all well-oiled and just kicking ass. It's always spoken that Billy and Jimmy [Chamberlin] did a lot of that stuff in the recording studio together. And they went over the other parts, or that kind of thing. But I've seen some recent footage of them - and of course, we toured with them - but back then, they were kind unstoppable. Especially with Jimmy and the drums."

The Cranberries' Fergal Lawler is also in agreement concerning how well both Gish and Siamese Dream have held up over the years. "Oh, absolutely phenomenal. They sound like they could have been recorded last week. They haven't aged. There's some albums you listen to by other bands, and it's kind of like, 'Oh, I haven't heard that in a long time.' You put it on and go, 'Whoa, Jesus.' I take a step back and go, 'God, that hasn't aged well.' But Gish and Siamese Dream - absolutely phenomenal albums. And they sound as incredible today as they did back then."

And Blind Melon's Christopher Thorn feels the same way. "When I hear the first couple of records, absolutely they still hit me super hard when I hear those songs. I think they hold up really well. And I think they help kind of define that generation, really. You know what's cool about them is they were really in their 'own lane.' They didn't sound like Pearl Jam. They didn't sound like Soundgarden. They didn't sound like Blind Melon. They didn't sound like Screaming Trees. They didn't sound like anybody. So, I think they will forever hold their place in history in that decade - because they were in their own lane."

"The beauty of that decade is, all those sort of bands were on the charts. They were no longer 'underground.' All that music was now reaching its maximum potential. And now, we're all on the charts - and now you're hearing all those records on the radio."

But what about Corgan's thoughts on the differences and similarities between both albums? Speaking to Guitar School in 1994, he stated the following.

"Gish, right off the top, is a heavier record, which appeals to the teenager in me. I really struggled with the record that Siamese Dream was going to be because it's just easier to make a rock record. Some people would say, you're fucking crazy; it is a rock record, but I think of it more as an 'everything' record. There was a part of me that was disappointed that Siamese Dream was not heavier, or had more heavy songs. I actually had written more heavy songs, which will come out as b-sides, but I didn't think they were good enough to be on the album."

And lastly, what are Greg Prato's thoughts? I have a similar viewpoint to Gish and Siamese Dream that I have with Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger and Superunknown - whenever I hear either of those classic offerings, I seem to think, "OK, this is the better of the two." But then as soon as I listen to the other one, I am back to being noncommittal. It all depends on the day and the mood, I reckon.

March 10, 2026

I Am One: The Smashing Pumpkins Story, 1988-1994 is available for purchase now.

Further Reading:
Alternative For The Masses - An Excerpt
Butch Vig : Songwriter Interviews
Matt Pinfield On 10 Of The Greatest Alt-Rock Videos of the '90s
Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots : Songwriter Interviews
Grunge : Fact or Fiction

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