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Review: Evelyn O’Connell
MARILYN Manson is among the most iconic rock acts that have enjoyed
success over the past decade, with music appealing to several
of the alternative genres.
Since the departure of bassist/co-writer, Twiggy Ramirez, Marilyn
Manson has continued to enjoy success with no evident damage to
the fanbase or his music capabilities.
He has proven that he is one of the world’s few true rock
stars and possibly the greatest social commentator in rock.
It is perhaps inevitable, therefore, that Marilyn Manson is now
choosing to unleash a compilation of the songs that have made
him the most controversial rock star in the world today.
Lest We Forget is the Best Of collection that selects
popular tracks taken from the band's previous six CDs; classic
tracks include the energetic The Beautiful People, The Dope
Show and the infectious mOBSCENE.
Love or loathe him, you will probably find that you recognise
the handful of cover versions included on the album, like Sweet
Dreams (Are Made of This), by the Eurythmics, which broke
Marilyn Manson into the UK marketplace, an excellent Industrial/Goth
cover of Soft Cell’s Tainted Love and the recent
release, Personal Jesus.
I have to say that I was slightly unimpressed by this Depeche
Mode cover. Knowing what Marilyn Manson can do with a track, such
as Tainted Love, which was made so lively that you enjoy
the energy and have to turn up the volume, I felt that this slightly
decadent goth update is a little lacklustre and was covered much
better by Gravity Kills on their Superstarved album.
If you are a fan of Marilyn Manson then, no doubt, some tracks
are fond to you, such as Tourniquet and The Reflecting
God, which brought me back to a fantastic concert,
admiring Manson’s commanding stage presence and ability
to entertain.
Other highlights include the industrial dance floor anthem, Rock
Is Dead (used in The Matrix soundtrack), The Long Hard
Road Out Of Hell, used in Spawn, and the intelligent if somewhat
controversial views in The Fight Song, Disposable Teens
and Irresponsible Hate Anthem. But then if Marilyn Manson
wasn’t controversial, it just wouldn’t be the same.
This Best Of CD has it all … or does it? I felt the cover
of I Put A Spell On You and the remix of White Trash
from Smells Like Children are missing, but nonetheless,
the album is still as strong without them.
In between releasing six critically-acclaimed albums, Marilyn
Manson has released a best-selling autobiography, The Long Hard
Road Out Of Hell, collaborated with the likes of Eminem and appeared
in the films Party Monster and Bowling
For Columbine.
Lest We Forget is an excellent representation of Marilyn
Manson's work over the past 10 years.
It's great for those die-hard must-have fans and anyone that
has liked the occasional single, but who are just that little
bit scared of throwing themselves into the dark underground of
a Marilyn Manson album.
The Deluxe edition will include a bonus DVD with 21 music videos.
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