The new Smashing Pumpkins LP Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1/LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. disappointed on the Billboard charts in its first week on sale, debuting at number 54 in North America.
The new Chris Cornell retrospective album 4 CD version debuted at no. 67, while the single disc version debuted at no. 192. The album’s two versions both making appearances on the chart appear to show it has more commercial appeal than the new Smashing Pumpkins album. Nirvana’s Nevermind is on the chart at No. 189.
Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas album is a few spots ahead of the Pumpkins at no. 50, while Mumford and Sons’ Delta debuted at no. 1. Michael Buble’s Love debuted at number 2.
Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1/LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. is the first Smashing Pumpkins album to feature Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin together since 2000’s MACHINA albums, though Chamberlin did later appear on 2007’s Zeitgeist with Corgan before his second firing from the band in 2009. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, and is the Pumpkins’ worst charting new album debut since 1991’s Gish, which was independently released before the band found commercial success, and it only charted for one week on the Billboard 200 at no. 195, before later returning to the chart at no. 146 in 2011 for its reissue.
Four Smashing Pumpkins albums have been released under the name since Billy Corgan revived the moniker for 2007’s Zeitgeist, which debuted at no. 2. Oceania debuted at no. 4 in 2012, while 2014’s Monuments to an Elegy debuted at no. 33. Sales are tracked a bit differently though in 2018, with streaming numbers now being factored in.
When it comes to the Pumpkins’ contemporaries, they all had stronger charting debuts this year, with Alice In Chains’ Rainier Fog debuting at no. 12 on the Billboard 200 a few months ago, and Stone Temple Pilots’ new self-titled album debuting at no. 24 in March. Both of those bands no longer feature their original lead singers Layne Staley and Scott Weiland, while The Smashing Pumpkins still have Billy Corgan. Nine Inch Nails’ new album Bad Witch debuted at no. 12 in June, while A Perfect Circle’s Eat the Elephant debuted at no. 3.
Alternative Nation writer Andy Frisk published a positive review of the new Smashing Pumpkins album. He wrote, “Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jeff Schroeder prove that their reunion is more than just an attempt at a cash grab funded by nostalgic middle aged Gen Xers. It’s the true second coming of Billy Corgan and company. Who knows if Corgan can save rock n roll, let alone his own brand of grunge. Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 is a damn near miraculous event in and of itself though. It saved The Smashing Pumpkins as an act and relevant recording entity, so rock and grunge just might indeed have a new savior on its hands…again.”
