So often recorded to fulfil contracts, live albums seldom catch bands at their best. This, though, collecting tip-top performances from TV shows and gigs between ’93 and ’94, nails Billy Corgan in his prime?no longer a mewling brat and not yet a pomp-rock Uncle Fester. The band’s not quite tight, but that just makes Corgan’s and co-guitarist James Iha’s unpredictable detonations all the more powerful. Go on, fill your Christmas stocking with ROCK.
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