Pre-recording

In 1996, shortly after the release of "1979" as a single, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan mentioned in an interview that "1979" was his favorite song and that future recordings by the band would adopt a similar sound. As "1979" was the Pumpkins' first foray into electronic music, there was some uneasiness expressed among fans and critics who were more accustomed to the guitar-oriented alternative rock sound of Gish and Siamese Dream. Corgan's comments about a "1979"-like album led many to say "The Pumpkins are going techno on the next album."

Recording

In August 1997, the three remaining Pumpkins, Corgan, D'arcy and James Iha (along with temporary replacement drummer, Matt Walker) entered Chicago Trax Recording and Hinge in Chicago with producer Brad Wood, who Corgan had worked with in the early 1990s. The band was unhappy with the sessions recorded in Chicago and they were subsequently scrapped before making a move to Los Angeles to resume the work on the album. After these sessions, Corgan felt that Wood was not suitable for producing The Smashing Pumpkins, stating "He needs to work with someone like Liz Phair, whom he can mold, and I'm not the kind of person you can mold". Wood did not join the Pumpkins in L.A., and they instead recruited previous producer Flood to serve as an engineer and an advisor for the album.

Early promotion

In January 1998, Billy described the new album as "arcane night music" and definitely not acoustic, which was the rumour at the time. It was around this time that it was announced that The Smashing Pumpkins' fourth album would be titled Adore. Corgan debuted ten new songs in a short set at Johnny Depp's Viper Room in L.A.; only one, "Let Me Give the World to You", was not released in some form on the final album. Iha also played a short set of songs from his new solo album, Let It Come Down. He also began a small tour to promote that album before Adore's release, mostly with radio station appearances.

Release

Adore was released to most of the world on June 1, 1998 and in the U.S. on June 2. Some radio stations even aired the album in its entirety the night before. As was becoming increasingly common with larger bands, the album was leaked on the Internet some weeks before the release. The album was drastically different in approach and style, but many attested that it was still "typically Pumpkins". Despite the band's high profile as an angst-driven rock monster, distorted guitars are notably absent from the album. Corgan offered the following explanation for the new sound: "I'm not talking to teenagers anymore. I'm talking to everyone now. It's a wider dialogue. I'm talking to people who are older than me and younger than me, and our generation as well." Guitars in general are used sparingly throughout the 72 minutes and are used to complement the music rather than dominate it. Iha's guitar playing had reached new heights and even a new role within the band, providing many lead riffs and effects in the music rather than any rhythm playing at all.

Artwork

The artwork and photography for the album booklet was designed by Corgan's at-the-time girlfriend Yelena Yemchuck. The cover of the album, and subsequent singles and radio promo singles all feature a woman in black and white. It's assumed that the women are meant to represent the subjects of most of the songs, as many are related to love. All the models in the artwork have a crestfallen look upon their faces which matches the subject material of the songs.

An Evening with The Smashing Pumpkins

The Pumpkins embarked on what would be their most ambitious tour yet. Starting in Europe and eventually making their way around most of the world, The Smashing Pumpkins played what could possibly be the most odd collection of venues played by a rock band. There was the elegant: in France, they played at the base of the Eiffel Tower and at the Cannes Film Festival and in Spain, at the Guggenheim Art Museum; and the plain weird in Sydney, Australia, they played in an International shipping depot and in Tokyo, Japan, in the back of a truck. These odd venues were usually shortened sets, however, and full shows were played in more traditional venues.

Conclusion

Adore entered the U.S. charts at #2 with a solid — but not exceptional — 174,000 units. After eight weeks, it dropped out of the Billboard Top 40, leading Corgan to publicly blame fans for the bad sales, claiming the album hadn't been given a chance. In reality, it's far more likely that dedicated fans would be the main buyers of the album, but no interest from the general public. Still, the album was certified platinum in the U.S. Promotion for Adore finished by the end of 1998, a particularly short run for an album when considering the 2 year touring and promotion schedule for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It finished with but 2 singles (a third, "Crestfallen", was planned but never released). As of May 2005, Adore has sold 1.1 million units in the U.S.

Outtakes

The following songs are those that were written and recorded for Adore but did not make the final cut, were not complete or did not get past the demo stage. It is rumoured there are another 15 finished songs left from the recording sessions, but those are not known to the public:

Personnel

• Billy Corgan - Producer, Art Direction, Design, Mixing, Group Member
• D'arcy - Group Member
• Flood - Mixing
• James Iha - Group Member
• Chris Shepard - Engineer
• Bjorn Thorsrud - Engineer, Digital Editing
• Howie Weinberg - Mastering
• Howard Willing - Engineer, Assistant Engineer
• Brad Wood - Producer, Engineer
• Neal Perry - Engineer
• Matt Cameron - Drums (on "For Martha")
• Joey Waronker - Drums
• Robbie Adams - Engineer, Mixing
• Bon Harris - Programming
• Ron Lowe - Assistant Engineer
• Andy VanDette - Digital Editing, Compilation
• Eric Greedy - Mixing
• Frank Olinsky - Art Direction, Design
• Matt Walker - Drums
• Jimmy Flemion - Producer
• Ed Tinley - Assistant Engineer
• Yelena Yemchuk - Art Direction, Design, Photography
• Jay Nicholas - Mixing
• Matt Prock - Assistant Engineer
• Jeff Vereb - Engineer
• Steve Johnson - Assistant Engineer