10 Rare Smashing Pumpkins Songs You've Probably Never Heard

Featured On: Mashed Potatoes

The Pumpkins’ live cover of the Steve Miller Band’s biggest hit was recorded in 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was played in honour of Jimmy Chamberlin’s birthday with Corgan announcing ‘if there’s any song in the world that’s Jimmy’s song, it’s this one’. This live version is the only commercially available recording of the Pumpkins performing The Joker.

The drum and bass of the original are replicated perfectly, and the original’s signature slide guitar wolf whistle is preserved. Corgan’s twang melds in well. The seemingly improvised lyrics roll off his tongue. He makes slight edits to the original lyrics to give a more sexual vibe, most noticeable in an explicit edit midway through the performance. Corgan’s vocals give away how much fun he is having, even if there is a slight hint of mockery.

However, the band thought enough of their effort to include it on this album. The outro to the song is the band’s opportunity to showcase their own distorted and screeching style as heard on Gish.