Originally Posted by
Shadaloo
Well, moving on without James and Darcy is exactly what he did after they broke up, to mixed results. But here we go about in circles. I'd just posit that the fact that he decided to end the use of the name rather than moving on alone at the time as all that's required - to me at least -as evidence that he himself considered it a group effort at the time to a significant degree. That's good enough for me. As to their contributions on Machina: on MI D'Arcy did some work in there but only a few tracks, and James covered bass for the rest. MII was Melissa, who's a more than capable bassist. So you kind of got your wish halfway?
I actually wonder from time to time, had shit not gone down on the MCIS tour the way it did, what kind of work the band would have put out in 1998, whether it would have been quite as somber as Adore turned out to be. '97's The End Is The Beginning Is The End has always been one of my favorite tracks, and I kinda wish things had gone more along those lines. Surely Bill would still have had divorce and losing his mom to contend with and emote over, but to have written TEITBITE even after all that...makes me wonder if Adore couldn't have turned out slightly more of a rocker - not that I'm complaining much.
As for touring without the rest of the band...nah. A lot of people now are used to looking at the group these days as Corgan and hired guns but that just wasn't the prevailing mood at the time, not at all. People lost their shit with happy when Jimmy came back; the public saw that band as a unit, and Corgan was already known for being something of an egomaniac. I don't think it would have gone over well. The press, who he had an already acrimonious relationship with, would have spun it as the ultimate "I am the band" angle to the Nth degree. I think he made the right choice by having one last big concert and bowing out.
I like James' songs, but I don't dispute their placement either, really. IMO he couldn't really sing worth a damn until Adore's Summer, and his lyrics tend towards the overly religious. I do like them as songs, though. I just wouldn't take anything of PI or TAFH and put it on SD or MCIS or vice versa - but I wouldn't move Take Me Down or Farewell (a collaboration with Bill) from their spots for the world. Always thought the mood of TMD segued nicely into the nighttime side of MCIS, and Farewell is a great album closer. The only song I've really got a problem with on the whole album is Tales Of A Scorched Earth. Should have swapped that with Cherry or something.