[.ca] Portrait Of An American Family

Chronique amazon.fr:
Cauchemar des parents mais groupe rêvé pour les adolescents, Marilyn Manson ne fait pas de quartier sur ce premier album impitoyable et brutal, produit par Trent Reznor de Nine Inch Nails. Conçu pour choquer et envoyer une bonne dose de rock dans le même temps, Portrait... est efficace dans les deux domaines. Manson et son grand grimoire poussent le mélange loufoque de glam rock et d'horreur au énième degré avec leur vision d'une jeunesse sauvage, sur des titres comme "Cake And Sodomy" ou "Lunchbox", une histoire de revanche dans une cour d'école qui tourne horriblement mal. Figurant parmi les albums les plus originaux et les plus durs enregistrés dans les années 90, Portrait Of An American Family est un disque essentiel dans le genre metal indus', déconseillé aux âmes sensibles. --Gail Worley

From Amazon.co.uk:
Every parent's nightmare and every teenager's dream band, Marilyn Manson take no prisoners on their blistering and brutal Trent Reznor-produced debut. Aiming to shock and rock simultaneously, Portrait scores high marks in both arenas. Manson and his grand grimoire take Alice Cooper's tongue-in-cheek mix of glam and death rock to the nth degree with their vision of youth gone wild, personified on cuts like "Cake and Sodomy" and "Lunchbox", a schoolyard revenge fantasy gone horribly awry. One of the most original, hardest rocking albums recorded in the 1990s, Portrait of an American Family is a hallmark of the industrial/metal genre, but not for those who are easily offended. --Gail Worley

Manson's Pinnacle:
This album is brilliant. Personally I am a huge fan of Manson's music and respect all of his beliefs and opinions and for me this is his greatest achievment. look inside, look at the photos on the get your gunn and lunchbox singles, THIS is what Manson is to me. This album is full of punky energy and anarchistic sentiment. It manages all the things the other albums were capable of, but because of the lack of any sort of prop other than these guys were pretty weird, the messages are delivered far more brutally and without any over the top theatrical metaphors. That's not to say this is a faulted work because of it's, some might say, immaturity. This album is the Manson I know and love. I heard dope hat and then get your gunn and my life changed. I was young (about twelve) so many of the lyrics flew right over my head, but i loved the sickness of it all, the depravity, the ability of a group of guys to make something that makes you feel dirty and almost violated as you listen to it. This power really intrigued me at this age (and arguably led to my taste for the more extreme sides of the musical spectrum) This Manson didn't need enormous burning crucifixes, thousand pound stage get-up, or hoardes upon hoardes of teenagers to scare the world. This Manson achieved all this in the truest sense possible. They managed to frighten America, and soon, the world. They managed to disgust and become reviled. How many current Manson fans didn't first give them a listen because they were "evil" Now it's all changed, as oppsed to being an institution worth worrying about, Manson has become a joke, billions of teenagers replicating his sentiments, not having a clue what they actually mean. The band has become overwrapped in drama and pretentiousness. They're still good. But the blistering assault of Misery Machine,the truly creepy Dope Hat and Wrapped in Plastic, and the resentment filled/fuelled Get Your Gunn are tunes that truly make the listener pay attention. The majority of Manson fans first discovered them during Antichrist or Mechanical Animals. THIS is the only true Manson album in my opinion. It's far harder to get your point across when no one's listening. This is the sound of a band trying and succeeding to do this.

The God of Fu*k and the Spooky Kids:
While Manson's Portrait may appear immature in comparison to his later achievements, it still stands as one of his best albums in my opinion. Manson's goal with portrait was to go out and prove the American dream is bullsh*t. While to the average listener, its strong points may not stand out that well. If you don't understand some of the song meanings, such as Get your Gunn and Wrapped in Plastic, then I suggest that you pick up Marilyn Manson's autobiography The Long Hard Road out Of Hell as well. The album is different from the normal Manson that we all know and love today in that this was before all the makeup, it has a slight punk atmosphere/influence, and the overall sound. Despite what several people say about Twiggy's Bass being top notch, Twiggy didn't play anything on this album at all, he was just in the photo shoot and therefore credited as the Bass Player. In the notes shown in the sleeve (Go ahead, look) it clearly says ALL BASS PLAYED BY GIDGET GEIN. He was kicked out due to a severe heroin addiction. We also have the original drummer Sara Lee Lucas. Lucas has always been labeled as being a horrible drummer, but I don't think he's that bad. True, Ginger Fish is better drummer, but Lucas's drums on Portrait are a large portion of what makes the songs so catchy. Daisy Berkowitz delver's a solo from his guitar on each song and like Lucas, is responsible for the catchyness shown on the album. Unfortunately, once again, if you read Manson's Autobiography, you'll find out just how much of an idiot Berkowitz was. The only 2 tracks that I may consider filler are Cyclops and My Monkey. The only thing that I really enjoy on Cyclops is Daisy's guitar solo. While My Monkey WILL seem weird/sick/twisted anytime you listen to it, if you read Man's autobiography you will find out how important it is. But there isn't anything on it (at all) that makes it pop into my head or feel an urge to listen to it. So you get an album with 11/13 great songs. Portrait shines in a way that no other of their albums do. Because of the immaturity presented on the album, it never gets old. I can listen all the way through without playing the skip button, with sometimes Cyclops and My Monkey being exceptions. If you like Manson then you can't pass this up! An additional note: Dope Hat has to be one of the most addicting songs ever!

Awesome debut album.:
In my opinion, one of Manson's best albums. It's much different to all of his other albums, and I absolutely love it.

not his best:
i bought this cd after hearing rave reviews about it, i listened to it the minute i bought it and i was not happy, so i listened like 3 more times through the whole album and was not satisfied i really dont recommend this cd

Overrated garbage:
Dont get me wrong I really liked all of Marilyn's other cds but I thought this one was just plain ridiculous.I have to admit Get Your Gunn is great all the other ones are just filler though.Dont buy this if you like decent music.

• Prelude (The Family Trip)
• Cake and Sodomy
• Lunchbox
• Organ Grinder
• Cyclops
• Dope Hat
• Get Your Gunn
• Wrapped in Plastic
• Dogma
• Sweet Tooth
• Snake Eyes and Sissies
• My Monkey - Daisy Berkowitz, , Marilyn Manson
• Misery Machine