You'll either like it or you'll hate it, but don't judge it without listening to it first. It's a collection of inoffensive kinda hippie folk-pop tunes and lyrically contains many references to Manson's outlook on life and his rather troubled past. We got a soft spot for this CD from our interest in the whole Manson Murders phenomenon but also 'cos it was playing the first time we ever got stoned. We like it. Man.

As with most things Manson, there's a number of rumours and stories surrounding his musical career and this recording in relation to the murders at 10050 Cielo Drive on August 9th 1969.

Charles Manson was keen musician having been taught the steel guitar by infamous gangster Alvin "Old Creepy" Karpis (sole survivor of the Ma Barker gang) whilst in prison. His prison records of May 1966 noted "he has been spending most of his free time writing songs, accumulating about 80 or 90 of them during the past year... He also plays the guitar and drums, and is hopeful that he can secure employment as a guitar player or as a drummer or singer."

Upon release from prison in 1967 (where up to that point he'd spent more than half his life behind bars) Manson blended in to the hippie scene in San Francisco and soon had a loyal bunch of middle-class drop-out kids as followers. During this time he managed to meet Dennis Wilson from the Beach Boys (after Wilson had picked up two of Manson's girls hitch-hiking). Wilson introduced Manson to producer Terry Melcher (Doris Day's son) who came to hear Manson play at Spahn ranch but wasn't impressed enough to offer him a contract.

During this time Dennis Wilson arranged for Charlie to be recorded at his brother's home recording studio. Stephen Despar (a sound engineer for the Beach Boys) described the sessions. "He brought nothing, except half a dozen girls, and they stayed in the studio with him and smoked dope." Despar also added, "He had musical talent." Manson later said this of recording; "I never really dug recording, you know, all those things pointing at you. You get into the studio, and it's hard to sing into microphones. My relationship to music is completely subliminal, it just flows through me."

Dennis Wilson did convince the Beach Boys to record one of Charlie's songs on their new 20/20 album. Cease To Exist was recorded under the new title of Never Learn Not to Love. Gun's n' Roses also covered the song Look At Your Game Girl on their 1993 LP The Spaghetti Incident.

One motive put forward for the murders of Sharon Tate and the other occupants at 10050 Cielo Drive was revenge by Manson for Melcher's refusal to sign Manson to release an album of his music. Manson was introduced to Terry Melcher while Melcher was still living at 10050 Cielo Drive. There's also a link with the second crime scene, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca's house at 3301 Waverly Drive. Manson had attended parties with (road manager) Phil Kaufman at 3267 Waverly Drive - the house next door to the La Blanca's. Kaufman says of this, "Manson had the La Biancas killed when he was looking for Harold and me. I had previously fallen out with Charlie over his music and he was after me."

Manson allegedly told a friend in the summer of 69, "How are you going to get to the establishment? You can't sing to them. I tried that, I tried to save them, but they wouldn't listen. Now we've got to destroy them."

The songs Garbage Dump, Your Home is Where You're Happy, Cease to Exist, I'll Never Say Never to Always and Mechanical Man are currently featured on the soundtrack to the long awaited Jim Van Bebber movie The Manson Family (AKA Charlie's Family).

Packaging & Liner Notes
Standard CD jewel case. 4 page booklet containing short interview with Manson.