Marilyn Manson - The Last Tour On Earth

My Thoughts: (Reviewed by O. Anderson)

Released after the controversial "Mechanical Animals", Manson brought a new game to the table: the Manson live act. Of course, he had always been known for his perverse live show, but attempting to record one would prove a difficult feat, even for the master of PR himself. Now, to be fair, not one member of Marilyn Manson is a skilled musician. The drums, guitars, and bass are all very simply written (even though it comes together to create amazing music). So, therefore, I was interested to see the outcome of this trial...

To be honest, I was pretty disappointed "Last Tour". Granted, I love Marilyn Manson, but this just doesn't do it for me, and I have really only one reason why: the sound quality is awful. It's really that bad... so bad that it makes me almost dislike the album. I mean, they play most of my favourite songs, so one would think that I'd be satisfied, but I'm just not. To be more specific, the bass and drums are so loud that you can barely hear the vocals and guitars... this together just sounds like chaos... Now, obviously, it's nearly impossible to capture the essence of a live band on a CD, for example, Kiss. But even Kiss cheated a little on their amazing live album, "Alive", which wasn't completely live, because it was touched up a lot in studios, and better vocals were recorded over for a lot of the songs. I admire Manson's decision to keep it real, but as a result, you've got a crappy live album. I think the only saving grace is the acoustic version of "The Last Day on Earth" and the extra track (which isn't live) "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes". If you want some good live Manson, check out "Guns, God, & Government", the World Tour DVD, which is much better sound quality. Overall, I give Manson an A for effort, but I can't say the same for "Last Tour" itself.

Key Tracks:

The Last Day on Earth
Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes
Irresponsible Hate Anthem