Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: Vol. 1 [EP]
by The Smashing Pumpkins
User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 37
  3. Negative: 7 out of 37

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  1. MIchael
    Jun 11, 2010
    0
    This isn't really a review of the music (mainly the package), because i really love the music. That said though i'm going to begin with the track 'Teargarden Theme'. It sounds nice enough, but it's an empty shell, it sounds like music that should be filling out the background of a fully developed song. It sounds kind of empty on it's own, a completely This isn't really a review of the music (mainly the package), because i really love the music. That said though i'm going to begin with the track 'Teargarden Theme'. It sounds nice enough, but it's an empty shell, it sounds like music that should be filling out the background of a fully developed song. It sounds kind of empty on it's own, a completely pointless inclusion and totally self indulgent putting it on a 7' inch marble vinyl 45. This 'package' retails for $60 in Australia which is around $50 USD. For that price, i find this package very very very empty. 1 cheap looking marble 7 inch 45 marble vinyl... or supposedly marble vinyl. The colour looks more like baby blue with a grey tinge. With only 1 track 'Teargarden Theme' on side A, There is no 'Side B'. It doesn't even come housed in a sleeve to protect it! A stone oblsique is also included... Why.... I have no use for one! I doubt many people do. Then under the vinyl... a 4 track EP CD in cardboard sleeve of songs available for free on the internet through the Smashing Pumpkins official website. The box looks cheap... the imitation purple velvet inside looks cheap. The vinyl looks ugly and cheap too. Basically this is such a pointless release, completely self indulgent... Maybe it would be tolerable if it was an ALBUM released in this fashion, but this is a damn 4 Track EP!! That's all!! A real nice way to kick fans in the face considering how bad 'Zeitgeist' was. A simple CD EP would've done the trick for this physical release. I got sucked in because i love owning a physical copy of the music.... don't do the same. Save your cash -- Hell when this album is done, it will probably come out as a double CD anyway! Which is something that should've occurred to me before i bought it.… Expand
  2. VaughnA
    Jun 7, 2010
    2
    Billy Corgan is a sad douche-bag. Listening to his whiny voice is like wiping your ass with sandpaper. 44 songs of this drivel? I'd rather take a long swim in the Gulf off Mexico.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Kerrang!
    60
    It has one or two fine songs, A Song For A Son is probably Billy's best since Adore in 1998 but , decent though it is, it's not a Smashing Pumpkins record. [5 Jun 2010, p.50]
  2. Chicago Tribune
    63
    Without Chamberlin's freight train roaring behind him, the hurtling "Astral Planes" never quite achieves liftoff. And one can only imagine how Chamberlin might've combusted the six-minute "Son of a Sailor," which sounds like a promising sketch for a "Stairway to Heaven"-style epic. Corgan's at his best when he takes a lighter tack and develops two of his more engaging melodies on the remaining tracks.
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  3. Drowned In Sound
    50
    He only truly nails it on one track out of four doesn't bode especially well, but as I say, there's some reason to hope, and if you really don't have anything better than the Pumpkins to pin your musical hopes onto, you probably shouldn't be too nervous about checking out the next EP.
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