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Billy Corgan has accomplished a lot with The Smashing Pumpkins, but one thing he has a problem with is critics not appreciating his guitar skills. During a new interview with Guitar World, the frontman aired his frustration with being ranked low on "greatest guitar player" lists, or being excluded all together.
“I usually don’t even make those lists,” he admitted. “Or they’ll put me behind somebody who I could play circles around. I don’t mean to denigrate the people in front of me… but come on, you know?”
“I’m writing the song, lyrics, melodies, arrangements and playing most of the complicated guitar. And I’m capable of doing a solo on top of that. I think that’s hard for people to process," Corgan pointed out. "They don’t want to believe one person can do all those things.”
That's not to say Corgan believes he's the best, pointing out some greats that have left him speechless. “I’ve played on stage with George Lynch and Uli Jon Roth, two of the greatest guitar players in history. I sat for hours across from Eddie Van Halen at 5150 with my jaw open, watching Eddie play, okay? My father was a great guitar player. I’ve got no problem acknowledging some of the greatest guitar players ever," he clarified. “I would never even put myself in their company, [but] there’s a lot of people who pretend to play guitar. I certainly have no problem believing I’m better than a lot of them.”
Smashing Pumpkins released their 13th studio album Aghori Mhori Mei in August.