Eddie Vedder told Billy Corgan that Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish heavily influenced Pearl Jam’s Ten, according to a new Rolling Stone interview.
The interviewer asked, “I often see Gish described as this little indie album that set the stage for Siamese Dream. In reality, it was a huge success. Do you think because the songs weren’t on MTV and Nevermind and Ten hit just a few months later, that its success has been somewhat memory-holed?”
Corgan responded, “Not only did it get memory-holed, but people have tended to diminish the influence of the record. I remember having a conversation with Eddie Vedder when we were on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers [in late 1991]. He told me how much of an influence Gish was on their first record. And through the years, I’ve talked to many, many people who really pointed to Gish as the game-changer in their mind about how to approach guitar and how to record.
Obviously, the album had a lot to do with how Nevermind was recorded. The album had a lot to do with what became Queens of the Stone Age. I remember Josh Homme talking to me about Kyuss, the band he was in before Queens, and how Gish was the record for him that really turned his head.
So privately, I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years of people talking to me about Gish. But it’s been kind of pushed aside because, obviously, what followed it was so massive and so game-changing that it got a little pushed back. And then Siamese Dream seemed like our breakthrough moment.
But to your point about it being successful, it was hugely successful. In fact, it was so successful that our parent company, which was Virgin Records at the time, wanted to re-release the record on Virgin. They wanted to take advantage of what was happening with the other bands.”
