Lest We Forget: The Best Of | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | September 28, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 1993–2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 65:58 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer | ||||
Marilyn Manson chronology | ||||
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Singles from Lest We Forget: The Best Of | ||||
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Lest We Forget: The Best Of is a greatest hits album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on September 28, 2004, by Interscope Records. The album was conceived by the band's eponymous vocalist as a "farewell compilation", and was originally going to feature a duet with Shirley Manson of Garbage. Upon its completion, neither singer was satisfied with the duet, and it remains unreleased. Instead, the band recorded a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (1989), which became the only new track on the album and was released as a single. The deluxe version of the album included a bonus DVD containing sixteen music videos, one of which was the previously unreleased uncensored version of the music video for "Saint" (2004).
Lest We Forget: The Best Of received mostly positive reviews from music critics, several of whom complimented its track listing. The compilation's commercial performance exceeded expectations in the United States, where it sold over 78,000 copies in its first week of release and had sold over a million copies as of late 2010. It was also successful internationally, peaking within the top 10 of national record charts in Austria, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The band promoted the album with their "Against All Gods Tour".
The band's eponymous vocalist conceived Lest We Forget: The Best Of as a "farewell compilation", but not a greatest hits album, as "I was never really a top-40 artist." [1] Nevertheless, multiple critics classified the record as a greatest hits album. [2] [3] Prior to the album's release, Manson said that he was going to abandon music in favor of becoming a visual artist and pursuing other non-musical careers; this did not happen. [4] Explaining his frame of mind when he made the album, Manson said, "You get frustrated sometimes when you know that your heart is really buried in your art, and you know more success equals being more mediocre. So you have to redefine success, and you can't compete with people who don't do what you do." [1]
Initially, the album was going to include a duet between the band's frontman and Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson. [5] The track – a cover of The Human League's "Don't You Want Me" (1981) – was recorded after the two artists met at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert and enjoyed each other's company. [6] After the cover's completion, Marilyn admitted that he "wasn't in the best frame of mind when I did it". [5] Shirley commented on the cover: "It's really cool but neither of us felt comfortable putting it on our records so I don't know if it will ever come out. I hope it does. Our voices sound fantastic in a very Beauty and the Beast kind of way." [6] Both singers wanted to try to collaborate again sometime in the future, and Manson said that he enjoyed working with Shirley. [5]
After making the decision not to include the duet on Lest We Forget, Marilyn Manson took a break from making music. After receiving fellatio with a rosary wrapped around his penis, Manson had the idea to cover Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (1989) for the album. [5] [7] Manson said that he wanted to cover "Personal Jesus" because he found Depeche Mode's music hypnotic, sexy and inspirational. [7] Manson told MTV that "I thought if I had to write a song, [the lyrics of 'Personal Jesus' are] exactly what I would say. And that's why I picked this song, because I think it takes a little more of an ironic tone when you put it in context with what's going on today." [1] The band's version of "Personal Jesus" is the only new song on the album, [8] and was released as a single. [9]
The cover of Lest We Forget is a watercolor self-portrait by Manson entitled Experience Is the Mistress of Fools. [4] [10] Copies of Lest We Forget contain a booklet with 29 pictures of the band's frontman, while a limited edition version of the record includes a bonus DVD containing 16 of the band's music videos. [11] The deluxe version also includes the uncensored version of the "Saint" music video, which had not previously been released. [9] MTV reported that the band would embark on the Against All Gods Tour in support of the compilation. [5]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [12] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Spin | B+ [2] |
In Spin , Chuck Klosterman called the compilation "[f]ucking awesome" and said "there are only about ten compelling metal acts out there right now, and Marilyn Manson is three of them." [2] BBC Music's Richard Banks praised the album's "superb production" and Manson's "genius one-liners", saying "when the knob labelled 'shock-tactics' is already set to 10, one can't help but wonder where [Manson will] go from here." [3] The Chicago Maroon 's Matt Zakosek opined "It would be easy to write a pithy, sarcastic review deriding Manson for his over-the-top showmanship-but sometime in the midst of all that devilish preening and posturing, he found the time to make some pretty good music." [13]
Richard Abowitz of Rolling Stone stated that Lest We Forget "includes all of [Manson's] essential pied-piper calls to alienated suburban youth" and that "Manson's mix of fetish, goth, hedonism and metal still jells". [8] A reviewer for Blabbermouth.net said that the album's track listing features "all of the group's classics". [9] Monica S. Kuebler of Exclaim! said "if you've been holding onto your hard-earned bones waiting for that one essential Marilyn Manson collection (without the filler), you may want to proceed directly to the nearest record store and turn those bones over immediately." [14]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found the album's omission of "Dope Hat" (1994), "Man That You Fear" (1996) and "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" (1998) "curious". He added that "Nevertheless, [Lest We Forget] has enough of the hits to make this worthwhile for the casual fans, as well as those listeners who never wanted to admit that [the band's] late-'90s alt-rock radio staples were guilty pleasures." [12] In his book Dissecting Marilyn Manson, Gavin Baddeley opined that "for an album artist like Manson, [greatest hits] collections do fly in the face of the careful structure behind his best work, where the running order is an intrinsic feature of the package." Baddeley felt that, like the band's EP Smells Like Children (1995), "Lest We Forget is redeemed by a clever cover of an eighties pop song, in this case Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus'". [15] Writing for PopMatters , Lance Teegarden described the band's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1995), "The Beautiful People" (1996) and "Mobscene" (2003) as "[a] few choice hits on a far too lengthy and same-sounding best-of." [11]
Industry forecasters predicted the album was on course to debut on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of around 60,000 units. [16] It went on to debut at number nine on the chart, selling 78,715 copies on its first week. [17] It would spend a total of 27 weeks on the chart, [18] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 2005 for shipments in excess of 500,000 units. [19] As of November 2010, Lest We Forget had sold over a million copies in the United States. [20] It also debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart. [21]
The album was successful internationally as well, particularly in Europe, where it debuted at number five on Billboard's European Top 100 Albums after peaking within the top 10 of national record charts in Austria, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. [22] [23] It also peaked at number two on the Compilation Albums Chart in France, [24] and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipments in excess of 100,000 units there. [25] In 2017, IFPI Denmark awarded the record a platinum certification for shipments of over 20,000 units. [26] The set originally peaked at number 20 on Denmark's Hitlisten. [27] Similarly, Lest We Forget received a platinum award from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2017 for shipments in excess of 300,000 copies there. [28] The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart upon release, [29] and peaked also at the same position on the German Albums Chart, [30] where it was certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipments of over 100,000 units. [31]
The album peaked at number 15 in both Australia and Japan, [32] and debuted at number nine in New Zealand. [33] It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 35,000 copies in that country. [34] It also peaked within the top 20 of the national charts in Belgium, [35] [36] Greece, [37] Italy, [38] Norway, [39] Portugal, [40] and Scotland. [41]
All lyrics are written by Marilyn Manson, except where noted
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Love Song" (edit) |
| 3:05 | ||
2. | "Personal Jesus" (Depeche Mode cover) | Martin Gore | Gore |
| 4:06 |
3. | "Mobscene" |
|
| 3:26 | |
4. | "The Fight Song" | John 5 |
| 2:57 | |
5. | "Tainted Love" (Gloria Jones cover) | Ed Cobb | Cobb |
| 3:20 |
6. | "The Dope Show" | Ramirez |
| 3:40 | |
7. | "This Is the New Shit" |
|
| 4:20 | |
8. | "Disposable Teens" |
|
| 3:04 | |
9. | "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Eurythmics cover) |
|
| 4:51 | |
10. | "Lunchbox" |
| 4:35 | ||
11. | "Tourniquet" (extended outro edit) |
|
| 4:44 | |
12. | "Rock Is Dead" |
|
| 3:09 | |
13. | "Get Your Gunn" |
|
| 3:18 | |
14. | "The Nobodies" |
|
| 3:35 | |
15. | "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" | Ramirez |
| 4:21 | |
16. | "The Beautiful People" (edit) | Ramirez |
| 3:42 | |
17. | "The Reflecting God" |
|
| 5:36 | |
Total length: | 65:58 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18. | "Saint" |
|
| 3:45 | |
19. | "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" (edit) (UK and Japan only) |
|
|
| 4:17 |
20. | "Coma White" (Japan only) |
|
| 5:40 | |
Total length: | 79:40 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Next Motherfucker" (Remix) |
| 4:47 |
2. | "The Not-So-Beautiful People" | Ramirez | 6:11 |
3. | "The Horrible People" | Ramirez | 5:13 |
4. | "Tourniquet" (Prosthetic Dance Mix) (Radio Edit) |
| 4:10 |
5. | "I Don't Like the Drugs" (Danny Saber Remix) |
| 5:18 |
6. | "Working Class Hero" | John Lennon | 3:39 |
7. | "The Fight Song" (Slipknot Remix) | John 5 | 3:50 |
8. | "Mobscene" (Sauerkraut Remix – Rammstein Mix) |
| 3:16 |
Total length: | 36:24 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Get Your Gunn" | Rod Chong | 3:23 |
2. | "Lunchbox" | Richard Kern | 4:34 |
3. | "Dope Hat" | Tom Stern | 4:17 |
4. | "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | Dean Karr | 4:39 |
5. | "The Beautiful People" | Floria Sigismondi | 3:46 |
6. | "Tourniquet" | Sigismondi | 4:22 |
7. | "Man That You Fear" | W.I.Z. | 4:26 |
8. | "Cryptorchid" | E. Elias Merhige | 2:44 |
9. | "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" | Matthew Rolston | 4:21 |
10. | "The Dope Show" | Paul Hunter | 3:56 |
11. | "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" | Hunter | 4:41 |
12. | "Coma White" | Bayer | 4:22 |
13. | "Rock Is Dead" | Samuel Bayer | 3:11 |
14. | "Disposable Teens" | Bayer | 3:06 |
15. | "The Fight Song" | W.I.Z. | 2:53 |
16. | "The Nobodies" |
| 3:36 |
17. | "Mobscene" |
| 3:50 |
18. | "This Is the New Shit" |
| 4:20 |
Total length: | 70:27 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Personal Jesus" |
| 3:29 |
2. | "Saint" | Asia Argento | 4:00 |
3. | "Mobscene" |
| 3:50 |
4. | "This Is the New Shit" |
| 4:20 |
5. | "Disposable Teens" | Bayer | 3:06 |
6. | "The Fight Song" | W.I.Z. | 2:53 |
7. | "The Nobodies" |
| 3:36 |
8. | "The Dope Show" | Hunter | 3:56 |
9. | "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" | Hunter | 4:41 |
10. | "Rock Is Dead" | Bayer | 3:11 |
11. | "Coma White" | Bayer | 4:22 |
12. | "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" | Rolston | 4:21 |
13. | "The Beautiful People" | Sigismondi | 3:46 |
14. | "Tourniquet" | Sigismondi | 4:22 |
15. | "Man That You Fear" | W.I.Z. | 4:26 |
16. | "Cryptorchid" | Merhige | 2:44 |
17. | "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | Karr | 4:39 |
18. | "Dope Hat" | Stern | 4:17 |
19. | "Lunchbox" | Kern | 4:34 |
20. | "Get Your Gunn" | Chong | 3:23 |
Total length: | 77:56 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
8. | "Autopsy" |
| 2:52 |
9. | "The Dope Show" | Hunter | 3:56 |
10. | "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" | Hunter | 4:41 |
11. | "Rock Is Dead" | Bayer | 3:11 |
12. | "Coma White" | Bayer | 4:22 |
13. | "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" | Rolston | 4:21 |
14. | "The Beautiful People" | Sigismondi | 3:46 |
15. | "Tourniquet" | Sigismondi | 4:22 |
16. | "Man That You Fear" | W.I.Z. | 4:26 |
17. | "Cryptorchid" | Merhige | 2:44 |
18. | "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | Karr | 4:39 |
19. | "Dope Hat" | Stern | 4:17 |
20. | "Lunchbox" | Kern | 4:34 |
21. | "Get Your Gunn" | Chong | 3:23 |
Total length: | 80:48 |
Notes
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the international edition of Lest We Forget: The Best Of. [43]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [34] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [26] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
France (SNEP) [25] | Gold | 100,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [31] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [28] | Platinum | 300,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [19] | Gold | 500,000^ / 1,000,000 [20] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) is the fourth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on November 11, 2000, by Nothing and Interscope Records. A rock opera concept album, it is the final installment of a triptych that also included Antichrist Superstar (1996), and marked a return to the industrial metal style of the band's earlier work, after the glam rock-influenced production of Mechanical Animals (1998). After its release, the band's eponymous vocalist said that the overarching story within the trilogy is presented in reverse chronological order: Holy Wood, therefore, begins the narrative.
The Golden Age of Grotesque is the fifth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on May 13, 2003, by Nothing and Interscope Records, and was their first album to feature former KMFDM member Tim Sköld, who joined after longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez amicably left the group over creative differences. It was also their final studio album to feature keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy and guitarist John 5, who would both acrimoniously quit before the release of the band's next studio album.
Antichrist Superstar is the second studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on October 8, 1996, by Nothing and Interscope Records. It was recorded at Nothing Studios in New Orleans and produced by the band's eponymous vocalist along with Sean Beavan, former Skinny Puppy producer Dave Ogilvie and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The recording of the album was marred by excessive drug use, which provoked a high level of antagonism between band members. Consequently, it was their last release to feature contributions from founding guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, who was acrimoniously fired partway through recording.
Mechanical Animals is the third studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on September 15, 1998, by Interscope Records. The album marked a major shift from the industrial metal and alternative metal styles of the band's earlier efforts, into an experimentation with 1970s glam rock with industrial rock and electronic rock styles. As their first release following the success of their breakthrough album, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals' themes primarily deals with the trappings of fame and drug abuse.
"Personal Jesus" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the lead single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990), in 1989. It reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single was their first to enter the US top 40 since 1984's "People Are People" and was their first gold-certified single in the US. In Germany, "Personal Jesus" is one of the band's longest-charting songs, staying on the West German Singles Chart for 23 weeks.
American rock band Marilyn Manson has released eleven studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, two extended plays, 35 singles, nine promotional singles, six video albums, and 46 music videos.
"The Beautiful People" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the lead single from the band's second studio album, Antichrist Superstar, in September 1996. Classified as industrial metal, the song was written by frontman Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez, and was produced by Trent Reznor, Dave Ogilvie and Manson.
"The Dope Show" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released in September 1998 as the lead single from their third studio album Mechanical Animals. The lyrics were written by Marilyn Manson and the music composed by Twiggy Ramirez.
"Lunchbox" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the second single from their debut album, Portrait of an American Family (1994). A heavy metal song that features elements of death metal, industrial music and punk rock, "Lunchbox" was written by the band's eponymous vocalist, Daisy Berkowitz, and Gidget Gein, and produced by Manson with Trent Reznor. According to Berkowitz, the track was written as the frontman's plea to be left alone; it was also inspired by a time where Manson defended himself from bullies with a Kiss lunchbox. The track features elements of "Fire" (1968) performed by Arthur Brown, a musician who influenced the band.
"Mobscene" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released in April 2003 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003). The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, but lost out to Metallica's "St. Anger". As of 2020, the song sold around 50,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it has also been streamed almost 4 million times. In the US, the song reached number 18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Eat Me, Drink Me is the sixth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on June 5, 2007, by Interscope Records. It was recorded in a rented home studio in Hollywood by lead vocalist Marilyn Manson and guitarist and bassist Tim Sköld, and was produced by Manson and Sköld. It was the band's first album not to be recorded as a five-piece, as John 5 departed from the group in 2004. Instead of replacing 5, Tim Sköld remained with bass and played guitar, and the band continued as a four-piece. Manson has stated that he sang most of the album lying down on the studio floor with his hands cupping the studio microphone, resulting in a very distinctive vocal sound. Of Sköld's compositions, a further two are said to have been turned into fully-fledged songs with lyrics, music and vocals completed but were not put onto album for fear of making it overwrought.
"Tourniquet" is song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the second major-label single from their second studio album Antichrist Superstar. The image this song conveys is that of the main character in a world of sorrow and self-pity, prior to his transformation into the Little Horn. It was written by frontman Marilyn Manson, co-founder Daisy Berkowitz and longtime bassist and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez. Like many other songs from Antichrist Superstar, the song's lyrics are based on a dream Manson had.
"Get Your Gunn" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on June 9, 1994 as the band's debut single and is from their debut studio album, Portrait of an American Family (1994). The song was written by the band's eponymous vocalist along with original guitarist and bassist Daisy Berkowitz and Gidget Gein, respectively, and was produced by Manson with Trent Reznor. "Get Your Gunn" was inspired by the murder of abortion provider David Gunn by an anti-abortion activist, an event which angered Manson. The song also took influence from Manson's lifelong fascination with abortion and an interaction he had with an anti-abortion protester.
"Rock Is Dead" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mechanical Animals (1998). It was written by the band's eponymous frontman, along with bassist Twiggy Ramirez and keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy, and was produced by Manson, Michael Beinhorn and Sean Beavan. A glam rock and heavy metal track with elements of electronic music and grunge, the song features electric and bass guitars, keyboards, and live drums in its instrumentation. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the Wachowskis' film The Matrix (1999).
"Long Hard Road Out of Hell" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson and British trip hop band Sneaker Pimps. It was released as a single from the soundtrack to the 1997 motion picture Spawn. An arena rock and gothic rock song, "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" was written by Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez and produced by Manson and Sean Beavan. Its lyrics are about self-loathing and its title is derived from John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667). After the track was written, the Sneaker Pimps' Kelli Ali was recruited to perform background vocals on it, as the Spawn soundtrack featured collaborations between hard rock artists and electronic music artists. The Sneaker Pimps were dissatisfied with the final track and wanted a remix of it to be released as a single instead; conversely, Manson deemed it a personal favorite.
The High End of Low is the seventh studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on May 20, 2009 by Interscope Records. Multiple editions of the record were released by the label, each containing unique bonus tracks. The album's lyrics were largely inspired by the personal troubles experienced by the band's eponymous vocalist relating to his divorce from burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, as well as his later relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood.
Born Villain is the eighth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on April 25, 2012 by Cooking Vinyl and Marilyn Manson's independent record label Hell, etc. It was the band's first release since the departure of Ginger Fish, who had been their drummer since 1995, and was their only album to feature Fred Sablan. The record was co-produced by the band's eponymous vocalist alongside former Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna, who left shortly after its completion to focus on other production work.
The Pale Emperor is the ninth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on January 15, 2015, through lead singer Marilyn Manson's Hell, etc. label, and distributed in the United States by Loma Vista Recordings and internationally by Cooking Vinyl. The album was issued in standard and deluxe editions on CD and double LP vinyl, and as a limited edition box set. The standard version of the album contains ten tracks; the deluxe edition includes three acoustic versions as bonus tracks.
Heaven Upside Down is the tenth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on October 6, 2017, by Loma Vista Recordings and Caroline International. The record had the working title Say10 and was initially due to be issued on Valentine's Day. However, the release was delayed by numerous events, most notably the death of Marilyn Manson's father, Hugh Warner, who died during production and to whom the album was later dedicated. The record has many of the musicians who performed on the band's previous album, The Pale Emperor (2015), including the producer Tyler Bates and the drummer Gil Sharone. Despite Manson's early implications, long-time bass guitarist Twiggy Ramirez did not participate on the album. He left the group following a sexual assault allegation by a former girlfriend.
We Are Chaos is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was produced by Marilyn Manson and Shooter Jennings, and was released on September 11, 2020, by Loma Vista Recordings and Concord Music. The title track and "Don't Chase the Dead" were both issued as singles. The album was a critical and commercial success upon release, garnering mostly positive reviews and becoming their first number one album in Portugal, and their first number one record in Australia since 1998's Mechanical Animals.
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