| Mary Star of the Sea | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Zwan |
| Cover: | Zwancoverart.jpg |
| Released: | January 28, 2003 |
| Recorded: | 2002 |
| Genre: | Alternative rock |
| Length: | 65:52 |
| Label: | Martha's Music/Reprise |
| Producer: | Billy Corgan, Bjorn Thorsrud |
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]
The album received mostly positive reviews. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly named Mary Star of the Sea the sixth best album of 2003.[6] The Alternative Press called the album a "return to form" for Corgan.[7] 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.[8] It went on to sell 250,000 copies by the time of the band's breakup.[9]
All songs were written by Billy Corgan, except where noted.
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.
Band
Additional musicians
Production
For Your Love DVD personnel
| Peak position | |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[10] | 43 |
|---|---|
| Year | Chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock [11] | US Mainstream Rock [12] | AUS | GER [13] | UK [14] | |||
| "Honestly" | 2002 | 7 | 21 | 26 | 86 | 28 | |
| "Lyric" | 2003 | — | — | — | — | 44 | |