Album · 35 years old this year

Gish

Released28 May 1991

Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Apple Music ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Gish is the debut album from the Smashing Pumpkins, released on 28 May 1991 by Caroline Records. Butch Vig produced it with frontman Billy Corgan, who described it as "a very spiritual album" about spiritual ascension. It sits at the very start of a run of studio records that would take the band through Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

The sound leans on psychedelic textures, with touches of dream pop alongside the guitar weight that gets it filed under alternative rock and grunge. It entered the Billboard 200 at a modest number 195, but critics warmed to its distinctive psychedelic character, and it went on to earn platinum certification in the US, making it one of the best-selling independent albums of its time. Pitchfork placed it among the 25 best grunge albums of the 1990s in 2022.

Gish on Riffology

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Album deep dive

Unveiling Gish: The Smashing Pumpkins’ Iconic Debut

10 February 2025

Gish: tracklist, credits and charts

10 tracks · 46:19

Tracklist

1I Am OneBilly Corgan and James Iha4:07
2SivaBilly Corgan4:23
3RhinocerosBilly Corgan6:31
4Bury MeBilly Corgan4:48
5CrushBilly Corgan3:35
6SufferBilly Corgan5:11
7SnailBilly Corgan5:11
8TristessaBilly Corgan3:34
9Window PaineBilly Corgan5:52
10Daydream / I'm Going CrazyBilly Corgan3:08

Produced by: Billy Corgan, Butch Vig
Recorded at: Smart (Madison, Wisconsin)
Recorded: December 1990 – March 1991
Engineered by: Howie Weinberg
Mastered by: Howie Weinberg
Artwork: D’Arcy Wretzky
Photography: Robert Knapp, Michael Lavine
Label: Caroline Records
Length: 46:19

Line-up

Jimmy Chamberlin · membranophone, drums (drum set)
Billy Corgan · guitar family, lead vocals, guitar
Mary Gaines · cello · guest
James Iha · guitar family, guitar
Chris Wagoner · violin · guest
D’Arcy Wretzky · bass, bass guitar, lead vocals

Singles

“Siva” · 19 August 1991
“I Am One” · 24 August 1992

Peak chart positions

Chart	Peak
US Billboard 200 · 2011	146
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums · 1991	6
Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2026	12
Dutch Vinyl Albums (Dutch Charts) · 2026	15
US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums · 2011	20
New Zealand RIANZ Top 40 · 1994	40
Australian Albums Chart · 1994	51

Certifications

Region	Certification
United Kingdom	Silver
United States	Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

67.4

Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)

3.4k

ListenBrainz listeners

137k

Wikipedia views, last 12 months

9.0k

Deezer fans (all editions)

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More from The Smashing Pumpkins

Full discography →

The best of 1991

Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata

Source	Date	Note
MusicBrainz	28 May 1991
Wikipedia infobox	28 May 1991
Wikidata	28 May 1991
US release	28 May 1991	earliest US date
UK / Europe release	28 May 1991	earliest UK or European date

31 editions

Date	Country	Label	Barcode	Kind
—	US	Virgin	5099967928828	remaster
1991	NL	Caroline Records		other
1991	AU	Caroline Records	5020803002020	other
1991	US	Caroline Records	017046170543	other
1991	KR	EMI Music Publishing Korea		other
1991	CA	Caroline Records	077778675426	other
28 May 1991	US	Caroline Records	017046170529	original
28 May 1991	DE	Caroline Records		original
28 May 1991	DE	Caroline Records	5012984991620	original
28 May 1991	GB	—	0602508054334	original
28 May 1991	US	Caroline Records	017046170512	original
August 1991	GB	Hut Recordings	5020803002013	other
August 1991	GB	Hut Recordings	5020803002020	other
August 1991	GB	Hut Recordings		other
21 September 1991	JP	Virgin Japan	4988037013421	other
1994	XE	Virgin	724383966325	other
10 August 1994	JP	Virgin	4988006698239	other
3 October 1994	GB	Hut Recordings		other
3 October 1994	AU	Virgin	724383966325	other
3 October 1994	GB	Hut Recordings		other
4 October 1994	US	Virgin	724383966325	other
4 October 1994	US	Virgin Records America, Inc.	724383966318	other
4 October 1994	US	Virgin Records America, Inc.	724383966349	other
29 September 2011	US	Virgin	5099990959615	other
29 November 2011	US	Virgin Records America, Inc.	5099990959622	other
29 November 2011	XW	Virgin		deluxe
29 November 2011	US	Virgin		deluxe
29 November 2011	US	Virgin Records America, Inc.	5099990959615	other
2 December 2011	XW	Virgin	05099967928859	remaster
5 December 2011	XW	Virgin Records America, Inc.	5099990959622	other
5 December 2011	GB	Virgin Records America, Inc.	5099967928828	other

Cover art sources

itunes · native: native 3000x3000

Source	Size	Verdict
itunes ✓	3000×3000	native: native 3000x3000
deezer	1200×1200	upscaled
fanarttv	1000×1000	upscaled
coverartarchive	948×951	upscaled