Portrait of an American Family [Explicit Lyrics]

Marilyn Manson

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 19, 1994)
• Original Release Date: July 19, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Nothing
• ASIN: B000001Y5X
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,248 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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 '90s, Portrait of an American Family is a hallmark of the industrial/metal genre, but not for those who are easily offended. --Gail Worley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manson's brilliant major label debut, September 18, 2002

By	N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

Before "Antichrist Superstar" made Marilyn Manson a household name, this 1994 major label debut album was the beginning of he and his band invading mainstream America. After shortening the name of the band from Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids to just Marilyn Manson, they signed with Interscope Records and Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor produced this brilliant album; which showcases the social and moral decay of average Amercian family life. Song like "Organ Grinder", "Cake & Sodomy", "Dogma", "Get Your Gunn", "Sweet Tooth", "My Monkey", "Misery Machine", and the chilling "Lunchbox" are all thought provoking songs that really do make the listener think. Forget "Antichrist Superstar", "Mechanical Animals", and "Holy Wood", if there is one Marilyn Manson album to get, make it "Portrait of An American Family", and you will hear that the reason he is the man so many die hard Christian fanatics love to hate, is because he could be right about what he is saying.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The saga begins, December 15, 2000

By	Eric Edelin (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of these songs were written by Marilyn Manson And The Spooky Kids, a long while back. Before The Fallen Angel, before Omega and the Mechanical Animals, before Adam and the revolution. These are songs which tell society as it is, while making fun of it. The bumpy ride beings on Prelude, a demented Willy Wonka rip-off. The singles: Lunchbox, and Get Your Gunn speak of a young boy being picked on and a woman suffering abuse from her husband. Other songs talk about how our youth will follow anything and the "average" family. It really is a Portrait Of An American Family. The strongest tracks are Lunchbox, Get Your Gunn, Dope Hat, and Misery Machine. If you want the glam of Mechanical Animals, or the industrial Hell of Antichrist Superstar, this album is NOT for you. This has a fresh and unique sound not duplicated on any other Manson album. This is truely where the saga began.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essay on Today's Society Values by Marilyn Manson, April 24, 2000

By	"nonicksucker" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews

If you think KoRn has something to say, you never really listened to Marilyn Manson's debut. Instead of bashing him for not making another Beautiful People kind of riff, go to your nearest cd store and buy this thing. Manson doesn't hate women, or cops, or children, he simply describes the world as it really is and was when he was a kid. This CD has a really bashing sound to it and the lyrics are like targeting a bullet to light-minded persons. Portrait is just what the title suggests and it's one of the best hard rock albums made in the 90s. While KoRn and other i-just-hate-everything-'cause-it's-fashionable losers are enjoying their ADIDAS and NIKE outfits, Manson attacks for the sake of intelligence.