Live Collection brings together every live cover we can find from an artist. And we find a lot.





Hailing from Chicago, IL, the Smashing Pumpkins helped blaze a trail for the wave of apathy that infected most ’90s alternative rock. They also gave hip kids from the Midwest the first nationally-recognizable band they could take pride in since Cheap Trick. Formed in 1988, the Pumpkins enjoyed over a decade of fame and influence until noted in-fighting brought about their dissolution at the turn of the millennium. After numerous side-projects and member-shuffling, the Pumpkins have once again taken to the stage under the leadership of Billy Corgan, perhaps one of rock music’s true auteurs.

The Pumpkins have celebrated their diverse influences via cover songs throughout their career. A quick scan of their recorded catalog reveals studio takes of tracks originally by acts like the Cars, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, the Cure and Missing Persons. Their live shows are similarly peppered with covers that one might not expect to hear from these iconic slackers. Some of these do seem like a natural fit though: it’s not too hard to draw a line to the Pumpkins from Neil Young, Depeche Mode or Pink Floyd, for instance.

On the other hand, some of these covers take the group into stranger territory. Check out bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur and guitarist James Iha duet on that sublimely cheesy ’80s standard “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League. The Pumpkins can apparently lighten up a little after all. And then there’s their early take on Blue Öyster Cult‘s fairly ridiculous “Godzilla,” from a 1990 show at Chicago’s Metro. I’m not saying that Nirvana stole their arrangement for ’91’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from a Pumpkins cover about a movie monster but…well, listen for yourself.

Any band with a career as storied as the Smashing Pumpkins has racked up a lot of shows. Download our full covers collection below, either as individual files or two mega ZIP files. If we missed any covers, tell us in the comments and we’ll update!



Live Collection: The Smashing Pumpkins

Cars (Gary Numan cover) *

Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young cover) *

Close to You (The Carpenters cover)

Dancing in the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy cover)

Don’t You Want Me (Human League cover) *

Everybody Come Clap Your Hands (The Searchers cover)

Everything Is Beautiful (Ray Stevens cover)

Firestarter (Prodigy cover)

The Gambler (Kenny Rogers cover)

Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel cover)

Girl Named Sandoz (The Animals cover)

Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon cover)

Glimpses (The Yardbirds cover)

Godzilla (Blue Öyster Cult cover) *

Hang On Sloopy (The McCoys cover)

I Just Wanna Make Love to You (Muddy Waters cover)

I Love Rock and Roll (Arrows cover)

I Only Play 4 Money (The Frogs cover)

I Want You to Want Me (Cheap Trick cover) *

I’m a King Bee (Slim Harpo cover)

I’m Sitting on Top of the World (Al Jolson cover)

I’ve Been Working (Bob Seger cover)

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly cover)

In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry cover)

It’s a Long Way to the Top (AC/DC cover)

Johanna (Iggy Pop cover)

Join Together (The Who cover) *

The Joker (Steve Miller Band cover)

Kooks (David Bowie cover)

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover) *

Limelight (Rush cover)

Lips Like Sugar (Echo and the Bunnymen cover) *

Louie, Louie (The Kingsmen cover)

Love Is the Sweetest Thing (Ray Noble cover)

Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin cover)

Money (That’s What I Want) (Barrett Strong cover) *

Monster Mash (Bobby “Boris” Pickett cover)

My Blue Heaven (Gene Austin cover)

Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode cover)

Nowhere Man (ft. Chris Isaak) (Beatles cover)

Ol’ 55 (Tom Waits cover)

On the Road Again (Canned Heat cover)

Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads cover)

Out of Focus (Blue Cheer cover)

Reptile (The Church cover)

Rock On (David Essex cover)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks cover)

Run Shaker Life (Richie Havens cover)

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Tom Stacks cover)

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Pink Floyd cover)

Some Kind of Wonderful (Grand Funk Railroad cover)

Sookie Sookie (Steppenwolf cover)

The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Stay (U2 cover)

Stray Cat Blues (The Rolling Stones cover)

Taxman (Beatles cover) *

Terrapin (Syd Barrett cover)

To Love Somebody (Bee Gees cover)

Transmission (Joy Division cover)

Venus in Furs (The Velvet Underground cover)

Walkin’ the Dog (Rufus Thomas cover)

This Wheel’s on Fire (The Band cover)

Wipe Out (The Surfaris cover)

– DOWNLOAD FULL SET: PART 1 & PART 2 –



Check out more from the Smashing Pumpkins at their official website!

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