Lest We Forget - The Best of Marilyn Manson

It’s a delicious paradox that a shock-rock concept rocker such as Marilyn Manson would actually excel at being a “singles” artist. Yet, like two ambitious conceptualists before him — David Bowie and Alice Cooper — Manson makes a big impact with the short form. He may promote himself as a defiant individualist but his best work exhibits a strong sense of rock tradition. “The Dope Show,” “The Beautiful People,” “Rock Is Dead,” and “mOBSCENE” crush with a sonic sense of rock history, recalling classic poses from the past while forging their own industrial-hard rock territory. Not all Manson’s hits are here, but his covers of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” show off his mischievous, playful side. Has the shock worn off “Disposable Teens” and “This Is the New Sh*t”? If so, the riffs were made to last long after the initial buzz and they do with an era’s defining touch.