Album
Portrait of an American Family
Portrait of an American Family is the debut album from Marilyn Manson, released on 19 July 1994 through Nothing and Interscope Records. The band formed in 1989 around vocalist Marilyn Manson and guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, and built a following in South Florida's punk and hardcore scene through their theatrical live shows. That caught the eye of Trent Reznor, who signed them to his Nothing label.
The recording had a bumpy road. Early sessions in Miami were scrapped because the band disliked the production, and the material was reworked in Los Angeles by Manson and Reznor, with parts redone at Reznor's home studio. Gidget Gein, sacked before those sessions, still gets credit for all the bass, while Charlie Clouser's programming replaced much of the live drumming. Interscope delayed the record over its Charles Manson references and artwork. "Get Your Gunn" and "Lunchbox" were the singles, and Rolling Stone later ranked it among heavy metal's greatest albums.
Portrait of an American Family: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 1:01:03Tracklist
- 1Prelude (The Family Trip)Madonna Wayne Gacy and Marilyn Manson1:21
- 2Cake and SodomyDaisy Berkowitz and Marilyn Manson3:46
- 3LunchboxBerkowitz, Gein, White, Zum, Manson4:33
- 4Organ GrinderBerkowitz, Gein, Manson4:22
- 5CyclopsBerkowitz, Gacy, Gein, Manson3:33
- 6Dope HatBerkowitz, Gacy, Gein, Manson4:22
- 7Get Your GunnBerkowitz, Gein, Manson3:18
- 8Wrapped in PlasticDaisy Berkowitz and Marilyn Manson5:35
- 9DogmaDaisy Berkowitz and Marilyn Manson3:22
- 10Sweet ToothGacy, Gein, Manson5:03
- 11Snake Eyes and SissiesBerkowitz, Gacy, Gein, Manson4:07
- 12My MonkeyDaisy Berkowitz and Marilyn Manson4:31
- 13Misery Machine / EpilogueBerkowitz, Gacy, Gein, Manson13:09
- Produced by
- Marilyn Manson, Trent Reznor, Roli Mosimann
- Executive producer
- Trent Reznor
- Recorded at
- Criteria (Miami), Le Pig (Beverly Hills), The Record Plant and The Village Recorder (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- August–December 1993
- Mixed by
- Alan Moulder, Trent Reznor
- Engineered by
- Alan Moulder
- Mastered by
- Tom Baker
- Artwork
- Marilyn Manson
- Photography
- Robin Perine, Jeffrey Weiss
- Labels
- Interscope Records, Nothing, Interscope
- Length
- 1:01:03
Line-up
- Marilyn Manson · vocals, electronic instruments
- Trent Reznor · electric guitar, brass · guest
- Chris Vrenna · percussion · guest
- Hope Nicholls · saxophone, background vocals · guest
- Charlie Clouser · membranophone · guest
- Madonna Wayne Gacy · vocals, brass · guest
- Sean Beavan · brass · guest
- Robert Pierce · vocals · guest
Singles
- “Get Your Gunn” · 9 June 1994
- “Lunchbox” · 6 February 1995
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers · 1995 | 35 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Silver |
| United States · 2003 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
78.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
103k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
21k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
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1995
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1996
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1997
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1998
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1999
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2000
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2001
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2001
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2003
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2004
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2004
Eat Me, Drink Me
2007
The High End of Low
2009
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2012
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2012
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2015
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2017
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2020
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2026
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 19 July 1994 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 19 July 1994 | |
| Wikidata | 19 July 1994 | |
| US release | 19 July 1994 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1994 | earliest UK or European date |
11 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Interscope Records | 606949234423 | other |
| — | XW | Interscope Records | 606949234423 | other |
| — | CA | Interscope Records | 606949234423 | other |
| 1994 | US | Interscope Records | 765449234422 | other |
| 1994 | XE | Interscope Records | 606949234423 | other |
| 1994 | US | Nothing Records | 02083117842691 | other |
| 19 July 1994 | US | Nothing Records | 606949234423 | original |
| 19 July 1994 | DE | MCA Records | 606949234423 | original |
| 6 May 1996 | AU | Nothing Records | 606949234423 | other |
| 1997 | AR | Interscope Records | 606949000929 | other |
| 20 September 1999 | GB | Simply Vinyl | 643346012117 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 872×854 | upscaled |