The first LP by Marilyn Manson, Portrait of an American Family is not as widely known as his later albums, such as Antichrist Superstar, but is generally considered to be the better work, possibly due to the influence of band member Daisy Berkowitz, who left (or was kicked out, depending on who you're hearing it from) the band due to creative differences in between these two releases, and possibly because Manson was still maintaining somewhat of a "carnival sideshow" image at the time of Portrait but was starting to take himself too seriously with Antichrist.
The liner notes list the band members at the time of this album as:
DAISY BERKOWITZ: PSYCHOACOUSTICAL GUITARS
TWIGGY RAMIREZ: BASE TENDENCIES
MADONNA WAYNE GACY: HAMMOND ORGAN, THEREMIN, SAXOPHONE, CALLIOPENIS, BRASS, BABIES, DISTORTED MUZETTE, LOOPS
SARA LEE LUCAS: HITTING
AND MR. MANSON: ACCUSATIONS, CHILD MANIPULATIONS, BACKWARDS MASKING, POLAROIDS
The album starts off with a scary adaptation of the boat ride scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, listed on the back of the CD case as "Prelude (The Family Trip)" and goes directly from there into the first song, "Cake and Sodomy," which gets the album sets the stage well for eleven more tracks of Marilyn Manson's own bizarre brand of metal.
In the final track, about 10 seconds after the end of "Misery Machine," an angry woman can be heard saying:
Go home to your mother! Doesn't she ever watch you? Tell her this isn't some Communist day care center! Tell your mother I hate her! Tell your mother I HATE YOU!
This is followed by approximately seven more minutes of silence, and then a phone message from an angry mother concludes the album:
I want my son off of your mailing list. I have contacted the post office about the pornographic material that has been recieved in the mail, my next stop is my attorney. I do not want this number called anymore and I do not want anything delivered to my address. If I recieve anything else from this band, or this group, my next phone call will be my attorney and you will be contacted. Thank you and good bye.
Complete track listing:
1. Prelude (the Family Trip)
2. Cake and Sodomy
3. Lunchbox
4. Organ Grinder
5. Cyclops
6. Dope Hat
7. Get Your Gunn
8. Wrapped in Plastic
9. Dogma
10. Sweet Tooth
11. Snake Eyes and Sissies
12. My Monkey
13. Misery Machine
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