Smashing Pumpkins: 11 Essential Tracks All Fans Should Listen To
10. Starla
Like any Pumpkins song, their b-sides are amongst their best work. Starla is no exception.
Released on their debut single "I Am One" in 1993 and later making its home on the b-side compilation Pisces Iscariot, Starla embodies the band at their most primal.
From its blend of metal and psychedelic influences to its six-minute progressive rock inspired jam soloing, it's a monstrous song with a lot of ambition and a grand exercise in style. It's almost an experiment with the two halves feeling like separate parts than a cohesive whole, but manages to pull it off with its incredible guitar solo that's some of Corgan and Iha's best work.
Starla represents the band at its infancy and uncut: rough and unrefined but a wonderful song with tremendous power.