Smashing Pumpkins' 'Monuments to an Elegy' review: Wildly eclectic, and potent

Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan clearly gave up caring what people thought of him (and his work) a long time ago.

That's yielded a career filled with pioneering alternative rock ("Siamese Dream"), unbridled ambition ("Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness") but also, well, "Zeitgeist."

Corgan's unpredictability has even led him into loads of fights, including his current unlikely beef with Anderson Cooper. It's also led to the wildly eclectic "Monuments to an Elegy" (Martha's Music/BMG), the latest installment in his ongoing "Teagarden by Kaleidyscope" project.

For most of his "monuments," Corgan revisits his wide-ranging past with help from Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee on drums. "Dorian" recasts the poppiness of "1979" in a darker setting, without losing its catchiness. "Anti-Hero" alternates between the grinding guitar of the "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" era and a catchy chorus that would fit well on "Siamese Dream."

He recaptures the peak of his powers on the single "Tiberius," which shows how potent the combination of grungy hard rock and pop melodies can still be, and on the lovely "Being Beige," which tries to soothe while still declaring, "The world's on fire."

But Corgan also expands his musical landscape on "Monuments." The shimmering, synth-driven dance anthem "Run2Me" reflects both Corgan's stint in New Order and the current generation of new-new-wavers like The Killers and Neon Trees.

Apparently, Corgan has been listening to the alternative rock radio stations that used to count Smashing Pumpkins as a core artist.

"Monuments to an Elegy" has the power to return them to that status.

THE GRADE B+