Marilyn Manson In The Air Tonight Maxi Single CD Review
The poster child for the insane and everything that’s right and wrong with this world, Mr. Marilyn Manson released another cover song earlier this week. Some of you might be thinking, oh not another cover while others might be thinking who is still listening to this guy, didn’t he die in the early 2000’s. Those of us who are true fans of the art that Manson has always created are relishing in another new to us effort, after all he’d been quiet for several years until last year’s release “One Assassination Under God Chapter I”. And if you haven’t taken the time to listen to that release, do it now – it’s magnificent in every way possible. Manson pulls back the curtain a great deal and really bares his soul on that release.
The new single from Manson is a cover of the iconic Phil Collins tune “In the Air Tonight”. Granted, I’ve heard several renditions of this song through the years, some I’ve participated in myself, but none of them can compare to this version. Manson has always had a unique approach when he covers songs – he rips the song apart, tears it down completely and builds it back up in his sound, image and likeness, which is the proper way to do it. On this track, Manson sings in a lower octave in the first verse which utilizes the creep factor that he’s long been known for. In the second verse the anticipation and the natural rise of the song begins to build with louder drumbeats and atmospheric background music. Manson’s vocal register also gets higher, and the big payoff is the legendary drum fill the tune has always been known for – we weren’t cheated of that. Directly afterwards Manson’s vocals are in full bloom and he’s screaming at the top of his lungs, and it just furthers the whole mystique and uniqueness of the song. Sadly, there’s only one other tune on this single – “As Sick as the Secrets of (Sleep)”. This is a remix of sorts from Manson’s lead single from his latest album. However, this isn’t a typical remix, there’s no noisy contrived overdubs that make you question your sanity. I don’t want to say demo, because it’s not that at all, it’s simplistic and depends heavily on Manson’s vocal delivery. This version stalks, plods and burrows deep into your psyche with dirge-like tendencies which fit in well with the approach of the main single here, “In the Air Tonight”.
Nuclear Blast Records and Manson kept the news of this single in-house until the day of release it seems. There were only 4,000 copies of this single pressed and it sold out within 4 hours. Strong effort considering Manson has been away from the limelight for so long after his character assassination attempt. As a fan of everything Manson related, this is a stellar release, there’s no doubt that I’m not the only one to feel this way – there are at least 3,999 other people online that feel the same way.