THE CITY OF HATE

DISC ONE:

Pale Scales

Heavy Metal Machine

Rock On [Essex cover]

Age of Innocence

Glass and the Ghost Children

Blew Away

Stand Inside Your Love

Blue Skies Bring Tears

I of the Mourning

To Sheila

If There Is a God

1979

While the cover bills this as soundboard recording – the dominance of Billy Corgan’s vocals initially suggests just that -- I’m pretty sure it’s FM. Checking fan trading sites, I think it’s a broadcast, as there is both an audience Mini-Disc and an FM of the show in circulation. At the time the Pumpkins were on their last legs and this comes from their farewell tour, so it’s hardly to be considered primo Pumpkins. Material from MACHINA/The Machines of God figures prominently in the setlist alongside tracks from Adore, a number of tunes from an unreleased album (provisionally titled F.E.M.M., it had been worked on between 1998-99 until Corgan scrapped it) and some very unusual covers of David Essex (done well), Talking Heads (done leftfield fashion, with made-up lyrics) and The Who (done atrociously, Corgan braying like a donkey).

The whole thing comes in a gorgeous double-digipak that folds out into four panels with clear CD trays and ornate full color design. --OSWALD