Mary Star of the Sea (album)

Mary Star of the Sea
Studio album by Zwan
Released	January 28, 2003
Recorded	2002
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	65:52
Label	Martha's Music/Reprise
Producer	Billy Corgan, Bjorn Thorsrud
Billy Corgan chronology
Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (2000) Mary Star of the Sea (2003) TheFutureEmbrace (2005)
Singles from Mary Star of the Sea
"Honestly" Released: November 2002 February 24, 2003 (re-released) "Lyric" Released: June 3, 2003

Mary Star of the Sea is the only studio album by American alternative rock band Zwan, released on January 28, 2003 on Reprise. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan and Bjorn Thorsrud, the album was supported by the singles "Honestly" and "Lyric".

The album debuted at number 3 in the US, selling 90,000 copies in its first week,[1] and over 250,000 copies by the time of the band's break-up later that year.[2] Described by Corgan as "the great lost Smashing Pumpkins record",[3] the album's music was spearheaded by Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.[3]

The album is named both for the Blessed Virgin Mary, from whom bandleader Corgan claimed to find comfort and guidance, and for the Catholic Church in Key West, Florida where he spent time during Zwan's early rehearsals.[4] Seven months after the album's release Corgan announced the band's dissolution, which he attributed to conflicts between the band's members.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
NME	8/10[11]
Pitchfork	4.8/10[12]
Q	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Spin	8/10[15]
Uncut	[16]

The album received mostly positive reviews. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly named Mary Star of the Sea the sixth best album of 2003.[17] The Alternative Press called the album a "return to form" for Corgan.[18] The album debuted at number 3 in the US, selling 90,000 copies in its first week, but quickly descended the charts, and fell short of the sales of any Smashing Pumpkins album.[19] It went on to sell 250,000 copies by the time of the band's breakup.[20]

Track listing

All songs were written by Billy Corgan, except where noted.

1. "Lyric" – 3:17
2. "Settle Down" (Corgan, Paz Lenchantin) – 5:25
3. "Declarations of Faith" – 4:17
4. "Honestly" – 3:45
5. "El Sol" (Corgan, traditional) – 3:38
6. "Of a Broken Heart" – 3:54
7. "Ride a Black Swan" (Corgan, traditional) – 4:53
8. "Heartsong" – 3:08
9. "Endless Summer" – 4:22
10. "Baby Let's Rock!" – 3:41
11. "Yeah!" – 3:06
12. "Desire" – 4:14
13. "Jesus, I"/"Mary Star of the Sea" (Traditional/Zwan) – 14:04
14. "Come with Me" – 4:01

Deluxe edition

A deluxe edition of the album was also released, which included a bonus DVD entitled For Your Love, a 40-minute collage of interviews, studio performances, and miscellaneous footage, some of which comes from the aborted Djali Zwan album/film. The songs listed on the DVD are "My Life and Times", "Rivers We Can't Cross", "Mary Star of the Sea", "Love Lies in Ruin", "For Your Love", "Down, Down, Down", "A New Poetry", "W.P.", "Jesus, I", "God's Gonna Set This World on Fire", "To Love You", "Consumed", a different rendition of "My Life and Times", "Danger Boy", and "Spilled Milk", but they are not clips of the full songs.

Personnel

Band

• Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
• Billy Corgan (as Billy Burke) – guitar, vocals, producer, additional mixing
• Paz Lenchantin – bass, vocals
• David Pajo – guitar
• Matt Sweeney – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

• Ana Lenchantin – cello on "Of a Broken Heart"

Production

• Bjorn Thorsrud – producer, additional mixing
• Alan Moulder – mixer
• Ron Lowe – engineer
• Manny A. Sanchez – engineer
• Mathieu LeJeune – engineer
• Greg Norman – engineer
• Rob Bochnik – engineer
• Azuolas Sinkevicius – assistant engineer
• Lionel Darenne – assistant engineer
• Mark Twitchell – second assistant engineer
• Jarod Kluemper – second assistant engineer
• Russ Arbuthnot – second assistant engineer
• Tim Harrington – guitar sound re-enforcer
• Jason Kirkingburg - guitar tech
• Linda Strawberry – assistant to Mr. Thorsrud
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Roger Lian – digital editing
• Geoff McFetridge – design

For Your Love DVD personnel

• Lester Cohn – director
• Greg Sylvester, Damon Ranger, Lester Cohn, and Brian Churchwell – cameras
• Tony "Tadpole" Mysliwiec – audio mastering
• David May – DVD producer
• Penny Marciano – DVD production director
• Raena Winscott – DVD graphics coordinator
• Davi Russo – DVD graphics design
• Jim Atkins – authoring

Charts

Album Chart performance for Mary Star of the Sea Chart (2003) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] 44 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 44 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 17 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 4 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 18 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 30 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 14 French Albums (SNEP)[29] 40 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 17 Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 10 Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 14 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 12 Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 24 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[36] 43 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 17 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 50 UK Albums (OCC)[39] 33 US Billboard 200[40] 3

Singles Chart performance of singles from Mary Star of the Sea Title Year Chart positions US Modern Rock [41] US Mainstream Rock [42] AUS [21] GER [43] UK [44] "Honestly" 2002 7 21 26 86 28 "Lyric" 2003 — — — — 44

References

1. Martens, Todd. "Dixie Chicks Return 'Home' to No. 1". billboard.com. February 5, 2003.
2. Inc, CMJ Network (2003-08-25). CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
3. Andy, Greene (April 18, 2023). "Billy Corgan Is Happy If Anyone Listens to the New Smashing Pumpkins Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
4. "Billy Corgan's Blog". Archived from the original on 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
5. Kot, Greg (April 24, 2005). "Billy Corgan comes clean, starts over". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
6. "Reviews for Mary Star of the Sea by Zwan". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mary Star of the Sea – Zwan". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
8. Browne, David (January 24, 2003). "Mary Star of the Sea". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
9. Simpson, Dave (February 7, 2003). "Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea". The Guardian. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
10. Hochman, Steve (January 26, 2003). "Corgan carves a Pumpkinless path". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
11. Mulvey, John (February 4, 2003). "Zwan : Mary Star Of The Sea". NME. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
12. Schreiber, Ryan (January 30, 2003). "Zwan: Mary, Star of the Sea". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
13. "Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea". Q (200): 100. March 2003.
14. Sanneh, Kelefa (February 6, 2003). "Zwan: Mary Star Of The Sea". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 18, 2003. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
15. Klosterman, Chuck (March 2003). "Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea". Spin. 19 (3): 118–19. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
16. "Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea". Uncut (70): 95. March 2003.
17. "Metacritic: Best Albums of 2003". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
18. "Metacritic: Zwan, Mary Star of the Sea". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
19. Martens, Todd. "Dixie Chicks Return 'Home' to No. 1". billboard.com. February 5, 2003.
20. Inc, CMJ Network (2003-08-25). CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
21. "Australiancharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
22. "Austriancharts.at – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
23. "Ultratop.be – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
24. "Ultratop.be – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
25. "Zwan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
26. "Danishcharts.dk – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
28. "Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
29. "Lescharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
31. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Zwan". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
32. "Italiancharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
33. "Charts.nz – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
35. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
36. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
37. "Swedishcharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
38. "Swisscharts.com – Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
39. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
40. "Zwan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
41. "Zwan Chart History: Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
42. "Zwan Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
43. "Chartverfolgung / Zwan / Single". musicline.de (in German). PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
44. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 618. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.