... Is Definitly this album. It's my happy take in the car type family album when Mellon Collie was my sit in the darkened room listentomesoloudyourearsbleed album. I wish this got more recognition from non Pumpkins fans as to the real beauty of it. It's a one liner heaven and I'm sure when I saw the pumpkins the other night Billy put a few Zwan guitar licks in some of their Jamming/soloing is a couple pf tracks.

I love Mary/Star of the Sea.

From begining to end, this one is a real treat. I think all of the haters out there were waiting for another out of the box SP album, but instead they got Mellon Collie on Extacy. Full of one liners, and corny cliches, as long as you can stomach them, Im sure you'll love this diamond in the rough.

Time was I could play air guitar to the whole of "Jesus I/Mary Star of the Sea". All 14 minutes of it.
I don't really listen to this album anymore, but when it came out (those many aeons ago) it was FUN! Brilliant guitar solos, catchy riffs and melodies, songs about sunshine and summer and buttering Billy Corgan's toast! What more could you want? Even the extra DVD was a laugh, especially Matt Sweeney's comic-cryptic attempts to categorise Djali Zwan. It was a shame that the whole thing fell apart, but it made a kind of sense - "Mary Star of the Sea" felt like a one-off album. You can only have so much sunshine.

can't get enough of some of these songs, El Sol, Honestly, Endless Summer... seeing them live in Toronto was awesome, I met all the members... Billy Corgan has always been there on the best days of my life, I let him know once and he said thank you ( :

it's a good album as long as you appreciate it outside the smashing pumpkins context. i think people underrate the beauty of this album because they stigmatized billy as someone who only comes up with smashing pumpkins songs, which i personally think this album deviates from (with the exception of jesus, i/mary star of the sea and of a broken heart).

it's catchy, fun and easy to listen to as can be observed in the songs lyric, honestly and come with me. it also has the profoundity which we are all accustomed of from billy as can be seen in the songs desire and of a broken heart. and unfotunately, it has its share of not-so-striking to the point of being cheesy songs like settle down and baby let's rock! (well that's just me). it also has beautiful guitar riffs for a pop album.

it's the type of album that you play on a sunday afternoon to have a dose of positivity. it's good considering that it's a pop album and yet it's not like the typical pop materials (confusing you say? well it's my review so deal with it). my personal favorites are lyric, of a broken heart, desire and jesus, i/mary star of the sea.

This album is great. it shows a really nice, bouncy side to billy corgan's songwriting, the line from El Sol sums this lighthearted feel:
'all i wanted was to hold you close, a little sunshine just to butter my toast!'. i can rave on about every song on this album. don't expect a pumpkins cd, it is rock but zwan was its own band. also check out that Djali Zwan stuff, it is very beautiful, check the unofficial Spun soundtrack.

and this link is hillarious, it is zwan on a crap uk tv show that normally just played pop, they take the piss out of the mime! memories of nirvana on top of the pops, heres the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWKvWpbA_ZU

watch it! and if you dont have 'mary star..' then get it now!

It's beautiful. Zwan has a different sound to the songs (cause it's another band? haha), and is absolutely wonderful to listen to. Whatever Corgan is invovled in writing/creating turns out beautiful and abnormally REAL. Zwan may not have been better than Pumpkins, but still wonderful! Yes, I do admire Billy, whatever he's choosing to do.

Just like everybody I was wondering if I would like Zwan just as much as SP. I was surprised at how much I really liked it! Great songs, beautiful lyrics. I liked the alternative sound of it and was happy that it was different than the classic SP sound. Afterall it should sound different because it is a different band. Kudos to Billy and the crew, I still love listening to it on a regular basis.

Of course I probably would like anything that Billy was involved with because he is just that good.

When Mary Star of the Sea was first released, I have to admit I was disappointed. After following the band and their different incarnations for over a year previous, and being blown away by their triple-guitar attack, not to mention the intimate Djali Zwan performances in Grand Rapids and Indy in December of 2001, I had extremely high expectations for this album, but I felt the album lacked some of those other aspects of Zwan, namely their acoustic Djali Zwan material. To be fair, a live Djali album was in the pipeline for 2004, but the band broke up before they had the chance to record it. I think the two albums taken together would have painted a more complete picture of Zwan. However, listening to Mary Star now, and taking it for what it is, a True Poets of Zwan rock album, it is a very good album. There's some very good guitar driven pop songs such as Honestly, Yeah, and Endless Summer; the latter which I believe to be the catchiest song on the album, and should have been their second single instead of Lyric. But it's Jesus, I/Mary Star of the Sea that makes this album worth the purchase. Jesus, I is driven by bouncing, interweaving, curlicue guitar riffs from Pajo and Sweeney.... that is....until Billy comes busting thru, amp turned to 11, and proceeds to FREAK-ING SHA-RED! For like three straight minutes. Ditto for Jimmy's drumming during Mary Star, where he just pummels his drum kit into the ground over that perfect loud-quiet, happy-sad, fuzzed out tone Corgan manages to squeezes out of that guitar of his. 14 minutes of pure prog-rock bliss.

Untill a few moths ago i had never even heard of this band but when i did i was emediatly interested i whent down to the record store to buy the album and knowing my luck they dont sell it in Australia anymore what a bummer so i have resorted to downloading it bit by bit i have lyric, endless summer and yeah! and i love them i know im gonna love the rest YAY

Well you must know by now i love anything with Billy's name on it!
There was so much expectation surrounding the Zwan mystery camp and i used to watch the screens down my local bar where i used to play live acoustic sets, showing the band in motion.

I got the one with the bonus dvd which is quite intriguing and has some great songs that are not on the record, like My Life and Set the World On Fire. Typical Billy, i think we should call him the King of The b-Sides artist!

LYRIC starts the set quite dramatically with a great jangly pop riff that explodes into a majestic song. The three guitar attack mode working wonderfully through multi-layered structures and harmony. Very moving.
SETTLE DOWN just keeps the good vibes coming galore and could almost be a distant cousin of the James song Oh Sit Down! This is pure dreampop. Sweet.
DECLARATIONS OF FAITH does just that with Billy declaring his faith in what i'm not sure but Paz spins off an hypnotic bassline that sends goosebumps down my spine and the whole song explodes with Billy exclaiming "Ever wondered why they always kill the weak ones baby, theres no one here to care". Intelligent worldly commentary as always.
HONESTLY is an honest heartfelt song that lives up to its title. Gorgeous harmonies and melody on this.
EL SOL bounces along in a very poptastic way with more great singing from Mr Corgan.
OF A BROKEN HEART is pure therapy for me with the acoustic guitars coming out sharp and crisp. Check that guitar solo it will break your heart!
RIDE A BLACK SWAN is my fave song here, pure heaven. Did they really write this gem??! From the moment that riff
takes hold with Billy delivering what can only be described as a sermon, Jimmy gets really busy in his relentless style with fantastic fills and we're in the lap of the Gods! A heartfelt plea from Billy "I want us to solve our distrust in everyone and trust in God!" I couldnt agree more.
HEARTSONG couldnt be more from the heart as he gets up to his old tricks of well, tugging at those heartstrings!
BABY LETS ROCK and YEAH! are okay but not as hallowed as the above. DESIRE is blinding and shows us how deep Billy is with the most beautiful lyrics ever. This song has answered a lot of questions i had about love and brings a lump in my throat everytime.
JESUS, I/ MARY STAR OF THE SEA is definitely the showcase song here taking you on a journey of enlightenment and self discovery as the guitar picks out a chantlike riff and builds into the epic piece it is. Very retrogressive and almost in another timespace here as the mid section breakdown reminds me of Snail before erupting into a plethora of scorching solos.
COME WITH ME is horrid!! Why ruin such a great collection of gems with such an obvious filler? Ask the King of The b-sides!

This could be a lost Smashing Pumpkins record and its one off nature makes it special. Like Adore its simply in a time of its own. Beautiful.

Happy Happy ...Joy Joy!!



*Muahz*

Zwan was the band I wanted to succed so badly. Having gotten into Smashing Pumpkins late in the game (early part of the Machina days) I was excited to follow Zwan from the beginning. The day Zwan's first (and last) album came out, I rushed to the store to get it.

The only way to say it is that this album is excellent. The songs are catchy, uplifiting, and memorable. Two of the tracks (Desire and Jesus,I/Mary Star of the Sea) make the album worth purchasing by themselves. So why did I give it a three? It simply does not have that raw energy and passion that The Smashing Pumpkins had. Granted this is Zwan, not The Smashing Pumpkins, but I still feel like the band could have put more into this to make it feel like a complete effort. With the exception of the two tracks mentioned above every song on here is great, but disposable.

Also, the album contains some, well, cheesy songs. Baby Let's Rock and Yeah!, although good songs, seem like Zwan purposely sapped things up as if to say, "see, Billy can write happy songs!" What makes it even more frustrating is that there are so many better Zwan songs that could have made the cut. (Right of the top of my head, I am thinking of My Life and Times, For Your Love, God's Gonna Set This World on Fire, and Spilled Milk.)

Still, each musician does a fine job on here. Billy Corgan, David Pajo, and Matt Sweeny's guitars all blend into one beautiful echo of guitar lines. Paz's bass is simply amazing (fact is she is a much better bass player than D'arcy was) and it is needless to say that Jimmy Chamberlin brings his good stuff to this album. Although Corgan's trademark wail is still well in-tact, it seems he has lightened it up a bit, which works well with the Zwan atmosphere.

Over the year 2003 I watched Zwan, the band that was supposed to be the next big thing, slowly implode. David Pajo and Paz went out doing thier own thing, and Matt refused to comment on the band. Finally in October 2003, Billy did what I had expected to happen since that summer. He broke up the band announcing, "My heart is still in The Smashing Pumpkins." I cannot argue with Billy, after hearing Zeitgeist, it is obvious that Smashing Pumpkins is theonly enviroment Billy can truly thrive in. However, I cannot wonder what would have happened if Zwan had stuck it out for another record.

This is a very catchy album that will hold your interest for years to come, just don't expect it to hold a special place in the annals of rock history.


On a side note, if you are lucky enough to find a copy of the album with the "For Your Love" DVD, pick it up! It contains some EXCELLENT performance footage, interviews, and many unreleased songs that by all means deserved to be on the album. I found that over the years, I come back to the DVD more than the album.

I actually just bought it today to check it out I have to say its really good.. I wouldn't say its the Pumpkins though its a lot more happy and mellow than the Pumpkins.. Beautiful album

muy buen disco