Porcelina of the Vast Oceans

"One of the record's finest pieces is "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans," a nine-minute epic that alternates between a slow, expansive psychedelia and a driving, syncopated power hook with a lightly flanged edge.

The introduction features roughly ten tracks of E-bow, and there's a pretty, ambient tremolo effect percolating in the right channel. As Iha points out, "there was a lot of Flood on that song," but many of the long notes were attained the good old-fashioned way: "That takes some strong wrist, let me tell you," chuckles Corgan. "A lot of that is just standing in front of the amp for 20 seconds shaking the string and trying not to lose the beat after it."

The cavernous reverbs provide a bed for as many as ten breathy vocal parts, plus rhythm guitars and the E-bows, all running through a spectrum of digital effects. "I know it's crazy," says Corgan, "but when it comes out so seamlessly, and it's about as close to perfect as it can be, it really takes you somewhere. That's the thing I'm always trying to concern myself with--the end result and the means to that end."

Corgan points to the guitar parts on "Porcelina" as indicative of the differences in their styles, his being "more full-ranged and lyrical" and James's being "more singular and harder." Though both players trade rhythm and leads, Corgan seems to solo more often in concert, though he says the gap is narrowing, with Iha increasingly tackling the intricate fills and phrases between song sections. " In the choruses of 'Porcelina,' James came up with a nice descending line," notes Corgan. "I always encourage him to go off, with the only limitation being that he should listen to the vocal. His guitar should get some opposing ideas to the vocal, something completely different from what else is going on. If it helps expand the song without getting in the way of the vocal, that satisfies everything we're looking for in an additional part."

Guitar Player-1996