Bgm Famous Five Review

8/12/2019 Bgm Famous Five Review

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Tone ZoneThe Famous Five

Firstly, we select both the popularand slightly more obscure modelsavailable within a strict price limit

and pull in three bass players withvarying playing backgrounds tothumb, finger, tap and slapeach bass in turn. Then therefollows the fine detailing,where the lucky contestantsare measured, inspectedand generally pulled apartin the interests of scienceand reader information.After all, you might

not find all of our festsuspects in the sameplace, so we make surewe do the hard work foryou. So if you are in themarket for a top quality5-string with a budgetthat cant exceed 1500,read on

Narrowing our fourcontestants down was a fairlydifficult task, given that mostmanufacturers have a high-end lowB weapon amongst their ranks. In the endwe decided to select a very popular workhorse

(mentioned by more BGM interviewees thanany other bass), a high tech British offering(favouring the use of a not-so-popular materialthese days, known as graphite), a new price-competitive Korean-made 5 (but still close toour price ceiling due to US design and high-endUS made electronics) and finally a top end 5

STUART CLAYTONAfter securing a Graduate Diploma in Popular

Music at Leeds College of Music, Stuart

published three volumes of Level 42 Bass

Transcriptions and is currently writing a

new bass guide due to be published later in

the year. A lover of the classic bass greats,

Stuart usually launches into his fest tests

with Jaco, Stanley and just a bit of Mark King.

Current main bass - GB Rumour 4-string.

ADRIAN ASHTONA graduate of LAs Bass Institute plus 10

years of testing bass gear and writing

means there arent many basses the editor

hasnt played. If theres a weakness in an

instrument, hell find it. Currently more desk

bound than stage bound so a bass has to feel

good straight away in all the styles he plays,

Big Band, Punk and straight-ahead Rock.Current main bass - Manson custom J style

4-string.

RALPH LANGFIELDAfter many years of regular gigging, Ralph

has exchanged stages for a home recording

set-up where he can perfect his bass parts

for his song writing. Whether chording out

on a 6-string or growling on a 5-string, low

B quality is essential for this bassist. Current

main bass - Pedulla Buzz 5-string.

Your testers are....

Weve fested upgrade fours, weve fested higher pricedportable amp rigs and so, at last, its time for that favouritejournalistic fest of all - the five string. For those of younew to our Fest tests, then what lies before you is the

most comprehensive test arena forbass equipment today.

from a manufacturer betterknown for making products with

an emphasis on value for money. Ladies andGentleman, I bring you the Music Man StingRay5, the Status Stealth-2 5, the Lakland Skyline 55-02 Deluxe and the Peavey Millennium 5 Plus. The Music Man StingRay 5 is the oldestmodel on test here having first arrived in 1988.Do Leo Fenders designs age superbly, or are

we all too afraid to mess with them? Virtuallyunchanged in its 15-year history, the only

significant alteration on our test model is thetasteful matching-colour headstock. Equippedwith one Music Man humbucker and 3-bandactive EQ as standard, the StingRay 5 is a no-nonsense approach to building a great bass. Asour American cousins say, If it aint broke, dontfix it.

Music Man StingRay 5


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The Status Stealth-2 stands out from the restof the competition here, for a whole range of

reasons. For a start, its the only British madebass amongst two Yanks and a US/Korea

hybrid. Secondly, its the only instrumentin our fest to take a bold and high techapproach to bass manufacture byutilising graphite and Formula 1 epoxyresin processes during construction.

And the Stealth-2 is also the only basshere that is also available with the option

of headless design. Will it Rule Britannia orface a Titanic struggle?

Lakland are very much the new teamin town. Hailing from Chicago, Dan Lakin

decided he would create a new bass thatpaid homage to the pioneering bassbuilders (its that Leo chap again, isntit) but incorporated contemporarycomponents and great attentionto detail. With a range of USmade instruments including severalsignature models, it seems incredible

that the company was only establishedin 1994. Laklands own bass range fell

outside our 1500 cut off point, so we includedthe new Skyline Series 55-02 Deluxe bass whichis made in Korea but features exactly the sameelectronics and hardware as the US made 55-94model. The difference is in the details accordingto Dan Lakin. Are the details so fine that it holdsits head up high in this exotic company? Finally, we have the Peavey Millennium 5Plus representing the mass production bass.If theres one thing that Peavey excel at, itsmaking quality products at affordable prices,so we thought we should examine how it fareshigher up in the price range. This is Peaveysflagship model together with the exotic woodCirrus bass, although Peavey claims that their

reputation of offering outstanding value isntgoing to be effected when they enter the higherend of the scale. The Millennium should have amuch higher price tag according to Peavey, andwere here to find out if that holds true.

StyleIf theres one thing the fest guarantees, itssome divided opinion. Two of our basses areequipped with fancy maple tops that soon evokecomment when the instruments are placed intheir styling line-up. Tester Stuart Clayton is keenon the quilted maple of the Lakland 55-02 thatis finished in a superb Cherry Sunburst high glosslacquer. Close inspection reveals the top to havean average depth (the amount the quilt movesunder light) but the consistency is better thansome basses weve seen costing three times

the price. The Peavey Millennium also has agorgeous flame maple top finished in a colourcalled Tiger Eye. The top is bookmatched sothat each side of the body looks symmetrical. Ittoo draws comment. The Peavey is Wow! andmight even look better in quilted maple like theLakland. It would win the looks department if

the headstock had been finished in flame mapleas well. The Status split the team in two, whichsupposedly left me to throw a deciding vote, butdespite a further 10 days with the bass Im stillundecided. Fresh from his home studio, RalphLangfield showed no such fence sitting. TheStatus is number one for me - no question.Stuart is almost moved to quite liking it at first,I like the Status, but Im not sure about thegraphite weave you can see. And Im not sureabout the shape or the contours. Whats leftStuart?! Whats surprising me most of all is, noone can even be bothered to comment on theMusic Man StingRay. Nobody can even be drawninto comment other than a particular dislike of

the scratchplate. In other words, amongst thiscompany, the StingRay 5 isnt going to the ball.As we have seen so many times before in theFest, looks arent everything and there are stillsome surprises in store.

Build Quality

and ConstructionLets get one thing straight here. Some peoplecall 1500 mid-price, some call it high-end, butwhichever way one looks at it, its a big part ofany musicians budget so wed better not findanything dodgy here. The StingRay may not getthe looks vote straight away, but it suffers little

in the build department. A six-screw neck-plateholds the birds-eye maple neck securely to thebody with no gaps or blemishes evident. Thelacquer is even and flat over the body whilstthe neck features a gunstock oil/wax finish forprotection against dirt and moisture. Music Manalso takes a lot of care in their fretwork, and the

Status

Stealth-2

5-String

Pic: wiring closeup on the Status Stealth 2


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rosewood board was perfectly fretted with no

rough edges at the sides and a highly polishedfinish on the fret crown. The pots used for thecontrols did have an unusually loud clonk tothem when placed in their centre settings andpersonally Im not overly keen on the convenientbattery style compartments (compare, though,my findings with Stuarts when he reviewsthe Yamaha 4-string later on in the mag).But overall the StingRay showed an attentionto detail revealing a great deal of pride in itsconstruction. The Status Stealth-2 doesnt just lookdifferent to anything else on test, its graphitebody, phenolic fingerboard and strange lookinginner core material is a shock to the systemafter testing hundreds of wood bodies bolted

to wooden necks. The graphite weave is clearlyvisible under the clear polyester finish, andit gives the bass a quality, organic feel dueto the one piece moulding, which combinesthe neck and outer body during a processinvolving high temperatures and pressures.Rob Green, who designs and manufactures hisStatus instruments in-house, uses a core fillingto remove any unwanted resonance. Twistingthe bass in the light reveals a holographic-likeeffect from the exposed carbon and the allblack hardware is highly appropriate given thename of this model. If the frets were blackyou wouldnt see it in a dark room! The onlyarea that perhaps didnt look as flawless

as the highly polished surface was theedge of the fingerboard, where somerippling was evident. Electronics-wise, theStealth-2 continued a high tech theme with acircuit board feeding two soapbar HyperactiveH.R. pickups. The control layout is also a littleunusual in that there is no mid control but a mini

toggle switch that activates a preset high-

end boost. Each pot retains a smooth butslightly stiff feel that leaves an impressionof quality as you rotate each control.The machine heads are unbranded butappear to be Japanese made Gotohs,one of the few components Statusdoesnt manufacture at its own plant.Unusually for a graphite bass, theStealth-2 features an adjustable

truss rod to allow setting of the

neck relief for fine-tuning theaction. If you really want yourStealth bass to stand out, there is

an option of having fingerboard LEDsadded in a variety of colours.

The Lakland Skyline 55-02 Deluxefulfils Dan Lakins ideal of combining

traditional and modern bass designelements. Holding up the traditional

side is a simple, lightly contoured ashbody, with a quilted maple top, bolted

to a maple neck with maple fingerboard.Five screws are utilised in recessed washers,

thereby eliminating the need for a neck plate.The modern elements come from a full US specBartolini active circuit and pickups, Hipshot

lightweight tuning pegs and Laklands owndesign through-body stringing bridge. Again,fit and finish are pretty much flawless, as onewould expect on a bass costing well over agrand. We particularly liked the quality feel

of the active circuit pots, which includedcontrols for volume, bass, mid, treble andpan, plus a micro three-way toggle switchthat provides independent switchingof the twin coils of the Bartolini bridge

humbucker. Further adjustments areavailable from the two internal controls,

which are accessed via the backplate, providingsettings for overall gain and four choices offrequency centre for the midrange. To cap it

all, the preamp can be bypassed via the mastervolume, which operates as a push-pull pot, for amore traditional tone. Ralph can feel the qualityof the circuit before the bass even gets pluggedin. The combination of US quality circuitry in aKorean made bass really shows through becausethe pots have a wonderful feel to them, the best

LaklandSkyline55-02Deluxe

PeaveyMille

nniu

mP

lus5


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of the bunch by far.

And so, to the Peavey Millennium. Thecontours of the Millennium are the mostexaggerated, which contribute to a strikingappearance before you even catch glimpse ofthe flame maple top. Once again, the neck isof bolt-on construction with five screws set incup washers holding the maple neck in place.Graphite reinforcement bars are added for extrastability. The fingerboard is of highly figuredbirds-eye maple with tasty paua abalone dotmarkers. In fact, wood-wise the Peavey is themost exotic looking bass here, so its a greatshame the headstock isnt finished off in thesame flame maple as the body, though itis colour matched. The bass also sports thesame pickup configuration as the Lakland,

with one J style single coil and one soapbarhumbucker wired to a fully active circuit. Thistime the pickups are Peaveys own active VFLunits and there is no passive bypass mode. Thecircuit includes volume, pan, bass, treble, midfrequency and mid cut/boost, the latter twocontrols being on one dual concentric pot. Thecircuit is powered by two 9-volt batteries (to givean 18-volt operating system) that offer extremelyhigh headroom. Access to the electronics is viathe rear control cavity, whilst another cover, heldin place by two screws, allows one to change thebatteries. Hurray! say I. Bad design, saysClayton. So far theres been more disagreementon this bass fest than any other. Whats it

going to be like when we reach the soundconclusions?

Tone and PlayabilityWith detailed prodding over, its time fora thorough sound test. Plugging into both

digital and analogue bass rigs, Ralph grabsthe Lakland, whilst Stuart reaches for theMusic Man. The Music Man feels slightly neckheavy despite being the only bass to featurea standard 34 scale length (all the othershave extended scale lengths up to 35). Initialresponses are favourable, however. This is verynice, declares Stuart. Despite being the only

bass with a single pickup, you cant complainbecause all the sounds you need are there. I cansee why so many pros use this bass; its just sodistinctive. Its also extremely easy to play if youare used to a four string bass. Just compare theneck dimensions to the broader Lakland. I foundthe transition from 4 to 5 relatively easy withthe StingRay and a little more challenging withthe Skyline bass, although the wider spacing ofthe Lakland made slapping an easier prospect.The Lakland 55-02 generates an even morefavourable response from Ralph. This has anawesome low B and its output is a little higher.Theres more presence all round, more meat tothe tone for me. Experimentation with the

comprehensive Bartolini tone circuit brings everysound we can think of from crisp slap to gruntingfingerstyle. Ralph even finds a setting we hadntthought of by mixing the neck pickup withthe rear humbucker set on the second (i.e. theclosest to the bridge) coil. Its a piezo-like soundwithout the need for a piezo, he declares. Hes

not taken with the Music Man despite the realworld endorsement of all those session bassiststhroughout the globe. The StingRay doesnt feelas good to me after the Lakland. The latter oozesa certain quality and has such a thick sound. Itfeels like the bass Larry Graham would play! Thisbass has a classy, punchy, classic tone. A USAsound, to my Brit ears. You sound like Nathan

East when you play it. Really? Doesnt work forme. Sarcasm aside, its clear that the Lakland iswell liked although the classic element has beentaken a little too far for Stuart. Its a nice, tightsound, I agree, but it could do with some deeperbody contouring to help playability. Also despitethe Hipshot ultra-light machine heads its still abit neck heavy. The Lakland gets the nod for all-round versatility, the Music Man for its distinctivesound, so how do the Status and Peavey fit inhere? I grab the Peavey, which immediately feelscompletely different to the other basses due toits neck shape. Its incredibly thin and flat andcomes as a shock at first. But Ralph loves it afterhis own slimline 6-string bass exploits. This feels

very familiar to me. This is the fastest neck of thefour, easily. Stuart agrees, commenting, I lovethe neck on this! Its so slim. The Peavey is alsoa versatile, great sounding bass, with a well-rounded low B, but we are all agreed it takes alot more experimentation with the tone controlsto find those sounds. Whereas the other basses

Pic: Peavey Millennium Plus 5 features a

gorgeous flame maple top.

Pic: Detail shows the Laklands wider

string spacing


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Peavey

Tel: +44 (0) 1536 461234

Web: www.peavey.co.uk

Peavey Millennium Plus 5

Price: ......................1530 inc. Hard Case

Made in: .................USA

Body: .....................Alder with flame maple top

Finish: ....................Gloss lacquerNeck: .....................Maple

Fingerboard: ..........Birds-eye maple

Hardware: ..............Hipshot black and chrome

Pickups: .................1 x Peavey VFL active style,

................................1 x Peavey VFL active

................................soapbar.

Controls: ................Avtive 1 x Volume, 1 x Pan

................................1 x Bass, 1 x Mid, 1 x Mid

........ ......... ........ ....... frequency, 1 x Treble.

Frets: ......................21 Medium

Nut Width:...............47mm

Neck Width: ...........69mm at 21st fret

Colours: .................Tiger Eye (as tested),

............................... Transparent Blonde, Vintage

................................Sunburst plus various solid

................................and translucent finishes

................................available.

Strings & Things

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 440442

Web: www.earnieball.com

Music Man StingRay 5


Made in: .................USA

Body: .....................Alder


Fingerboard: ..........Rosewood

Hardware: ..............Chrome

Pickups: .................1 x Music Man Active

................................Humbucker with hum

................................cancelling phantom coil.

Controls: ....... ......... Avtive 1 x Volume, 1 x Pan

................................1 x Bass, 1 x Mid, 1 x Treble,

................................1 x 3-way switch.

Frets: ......................22 Medium

Nut Width:...............43mm

Neck Width: ...........69mm at 22nd fret

Colours: .................Blue Pearl (as tested) Black

................................Sparkle, Teal, Translucent

................................Red, Honeyburst and many

................................more finishes are available.

The Gallery

Tel: +44 (0) 207 267 5258

Web: www.lakland.com

Lakland Skyline

Price: ......................1219 inc. gig bag

Made in: .................Korea

Body: .....................Ash with quilted maple top


Fingerboard: .......... Maple

Hardware: ..............Chrome

Pickups: .................1 x Bartolini MM Active

................................Humbucker, 1 x Bartolini J

................................Active Humbucker.


................................1 x Bass, 1 x Mid, 1 x Treble.

Frets: ......................22 Thin

Nut Width:...............45mm

Neck Width: ...........75mm at 22nd fret

Colours: .................Cherry Sunburst (as tested),

................................Natural, 3-Tone Sunburst

55-02 Deluxe

had a good basic flat sound that you could thentweak, the Millennium required EQ tweakingto find a good starting point. Luckily the activeEQ and twin pickups gave all the options onewould need to set up good fingerstyle and slapsounds. If the Music Man is a bass with a distinctivenarrow focus, then the Peavey Millennium findsfavour as a great all-rounder. Its comfortable,

easy to play and could fit into any musicalsituation imaginable, declares Ralph. Whetherthats something you are looking for, or tryingto avoid, is down to you. There are no surpriseswhen the Status Stealth-2 evokes a wide rangeof opinions. Firstly, the 18-volt active circuitsare definitely working. Wow! The output ofthis bass is hot; its about twice as loud as theothers! You can hear the graphite working inthis bass; the mid is very pronounced, but itsa different frequency range to all the others.The slap sound can even be a bit hard at times,but when you pluck an open string just listento that Im expecting a Spinal Tap moment(youll have to watch it) and indeed, it does getclose to the movie. That is the sound of Electric

Bass, he finishes. After questioning the lack ofa mid control (it could help for some sounds),

the addition of a bright switch (it doesnt need

it, theres loads of top anyway) and the reasonfor a truss rod in a graphite neck, its clear theStealth has found a fan. This is my favourite forsure, Ralph concludes. Stuart likes the soundof the Status but isnt won over by the looks.Hes unconvinced by the all-graphite appearanceand the overall shape. The Status is even moredistinctive tonally than the other basses on test,including the StingRay. For starters, there is anincredible amount of natural compression thatconfines the dynamics into a much narrowerband than the competition. The result is a soundthat really cuts through any mix. During the firstday of the test, anyone soloing on the Statusfound their note choices singing above any

comping the other testers were laying down.In the second day of testing I found the basspossessed ridiculous amounts of sustain. Playingalong to various recordings, the Stealth couldadopt an almost synth-like sustain, especially inthe low B register. Play this bass in a band andyou will be heard! Ideal for modern sounds, itsprobably not the bass for a Motown style sessionhowever.

ConclusionsThis test brought home once again theusefulness of our fest approach to testing ingroups. Yes, we could award points out of 10for various categories, add them all together

and name a winner. Except the losers wouldbe our readers who might believe the winner

must be the best

bass and thereforethe one to buy.Anyone looking tobuy a 1500 bass willneed to do some testingand comparison to find theright instrument, and this festshows that four similar spec basses can soundand feel very different both amongst themselvesand amongst three individuals. Heres how afunk-fusion regular gig bassist, home recordingpopster and a widely experienced but now officebound bassist feel after hours of hands-onplaying. The Lakland is a good all-rounder, whichwed be happy playing on any gig. It has superb

build quality and Stuart is shocked to discoverits one of the Skyline Series because he feels itsone of the best made here. Its lower price is alsoa major bonus. The Peavey is very comfortableto play and could fit into any musical situation.The super fast neck won over everyone and weall agreed it looked gorgeous, although Ralphwasnt struck on the colour. The sounds areexcellent but one does have to spend some timeto find them. The Status provides the biggestculture shock as it has such a distinctive soundand feel. It was the lightest bass on test, whichcame as a surprise. The looks and the sound splitthe testers at crunch time. Its either bass purityor slightly clinical depending on your point ofview. If you need to cut through a band though,

we cant think of a better instrument. Which justleaves the Music Man. What was surprising with


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Status Graphite

Tel: +44 (0) 1206 868150

Web: www.status-graphite.com


Made in: .................UK

Body: .....................One-piece woven graphite

................................mouldingFinish: ....................Gloss lacquer

Neck: .....................Graphite

Fingerboard: ..........Phenolic

Hardware: ..............Black Chrome

Pickups: .................2 x Status Hyperactive

................................Humbuckers.


................................1 x Bass, 1 x Treble, 1 x

................................Bright switch.

Frets: ......................21 Medium

Nut Width:...............48mm

Neck Width: ...........72.5mm at 24th fret

Colours: .................Clear (as tested), red, amber,

................................blue and green tints also

................................available.

Status Stealth-2 5-String

the StingRay is that it didnt generate as muchexcitement as the newcomers. It possesses ahuge character in sound with looks that willstill look fresh in 10 years time. As a bass toaccompany several others it reigns supreme, ashundreds of recordings will testify, and if it isntradical enough for today, well, have you seen the

new Bongo bass?Adrian Ashton

Pic: One single humbucker covers all the

sounds on the StingRay Bass.

AUDIOSLAVEAudioslave

Chris Cornell-vocals

Tim Commerford-bass

Brad Wilk-Drums

Tom Morello-Guitar

Formed from theashes of Soundgardenand Rage against theMachine - arguably twoof the most importantAmerican bands of thenineties - Audioslave

unleash their debut onthe world. The albumsounds as you wouldexpect: Morellos jaggedguitar lines sittingon top of Wilk andCommerfords powerfulriffs and grooves. Thesethree musicians havealways been one of themost inventive and tightrhythm sections workingin Rock. Thankfully, onthis new album nothinghas changed. Add tothis Cornells melodicand strong vocals and

you have a modernsuper-group. This bandrocks in a classic way,bringing to mind lateera Led Zeppelin. RickRubin provides soundproduction, which allowsAudioslave to soundbigger than just a fourpiece. As a fan of bothSoundgarden and RageAgainst The Machine Iwas a little apprehensiveabout this band. Myfears were unfounded;along with the likes ofQueens of the StoneAge, Audioslave prove

that a new generation ofAmerican rock is comingof age.www.audioslave.com

CHRIS POTTERTraveling Mercies

Chris Potter-Saxophones,Sampler

Kevin Hays-Piano, Rhodes

Scott Colley-Double bass

Bill Stewart-Drums

Chris Potter presents his

JONAS HELLBORGIcon

Jonas Hellborg-Bass

Shawn Lane-GuitarV.Umamahesh-Vocals

V.Selvaganesh-Kanjeera

and Konokol

V.Umashankar-Ghatam

and Konokol

Master bass player, JonasHellborg, returns withhis new album Icon. Afusion of Indian andWestern music styles,which is reminiscent ofShakti, the collaborationbetween this diverseblend of musiciansresults in one of the bestalbums of the year sofar. Combining elementsof Indian music (theraga, and exploration ofrhythmic structures liketeental) with WesternRock and Jazz produceslively visceral music, and

although it is a studioalbum, it feels live. Allthe musicians on thisalbum are absolutemasters but their chopsdont get in the way ofthe music. Hellborgs

mastery of the bassis in great evidence,playing superfast runsand melodic, singingphrases with greatcontrol. The tonalpalette that he gets outof his bass is amazing.From round low-endfatness, to cutting popsand slaps, this album is acompendium of modernbass techniques. Evenbetter though, is that notechnique is ever used

just for its own sake;everything Hellborg playshas a musical reason.

This is an album that allbass players should own.www.bardorecords.com

KING CRIMSON

The Power To

BelieveRobert Fripp-Guitar

Adrian Belew-Guitar and

Lead Vocals

Trey Gunn-Warr Touch

Guitar/Bass

Pat Mastelotto-Drums

Now into the fourthdecade of theirexistence, Robert Frippand Co. are back, witha new album, The

Power to Believe. Fromthe opening track you,as listener, are pulledbetween the twin

poles of comfort andclaustrophobia. Thealbum swings betweenNine Inch Nails industrialrock, and other worldlyatmospherics. Any fanof the industrial soundwill like this album.The cover depictsnightmarish figureswearing gas masks,amid a background ofchaos and civil disorder.It is this imagery thatsets up the feel of thealbum. With an unusualline up of two guitars, aWarr touch guitar, anddrums, Crimson hasproduced an album ofprogressive music, whichis progressive in the bestsense. The integrationand use of technologyin their sound continues

ALBUMREVIEWSsecond album as a bandleader. Expectationsare high, as Pottersprofile has been raisedsignificantly due to hisrecent work with DaveHolland, Dave Douglas

and Steely Dan. Potterasserts that the album isabout the exploration ofAmerican history from amodern standpoint. Allthe tunes are originalexcept for a traditionalfolk melody and a WillieNelson cover. The albumis very holistic; jam bandantics sit along sidecontemporary straightahead stylings, withsome hints of Masada,Wayne Shorter, andcontemporary electronicmusic thrown in.However, to categorize

this album in such away does the albuman injustice. TravelingMerciesis a fantastic

jazz album, played by agroup of musicians whohave been immersed inthe language. They arepushing the boundariesof the genre in a subtleway, whist beingrespectful of the past.The album alludes tomany of the significantevents in jazz of thelast 30 years, bindsthem together andachieves something

new.beautiful.www.ververecords.com

to be astonishing.The glitch, so longin the domain of theelectronic avant-gardeis used here withtasteful drum loops andbeautiful production.

The natural sounds ofthe instruments areaugmented by thedigitally altered noisesthe band coax out ofthem. These soundsare then layered into alarger whole and it isthis whole that counts.The Power To Believeisgreat album that shouldappeal to old and newfans alike.www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com

ZWAN

Mary Star of

the Sea

Billy Corgan-Guitar/Vocals

Jimmy Chamberlin-Drums

Matt Sweeney-Guitar/

Vocals

Paz Lenchantin-Bass/

Vocals

David Pajo-Guitar

Billy Corgan, betterknown as the creativespirit behind TheSmashing Pumpkins,emerges two yearsafter the Pumpkins splitwith new band Zwan.Corgan brings with himPumpkins drummerJimmy Chamberlin.This debut release seesa full album packagedalong side a DVD

with the total numberof songs reachingthirty. Zwan carry onconceptually from wherethe Pumpkins left off,moving further intopsychedelic territory.The beautiful PazLenchantin comes onboard as bass player anda fine job she does too,underpinning the bandwith melodic basslinesand fills. Her voice alsoadds a certain somethingin the harmonydepartment. For fans ofthe Pumpkins this will

be a great buy, and foreveryone else, if you likemelodic rock, then checkthis out.www.zwan.com

Riaan Vosloo

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Bgm Famous Five Review