Guess Who's Back???

Love him or hate him, very few people can argue that when historians look back at the music of the late 90's and early, uh, 00's, Detroit's own Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem will not be remembered as one of the most consistently compelling artists of his generation. Having evolved from a brutal underground battle MC to one of the most unlikely MTV darlings ever, Em is now facing a different challenge than he did in his early years: rather than simply trying to become a successful artist, he is now trying to maintain his credibility and reputation as one of rap's best while staying commercially viable. That struggle, along with his recent conflicts with his mother, rap rock group Limp Bizkit, a number of people from his past who have decided to sue him for a variety of causes, and his ongoing feud with Canibus, as well as his recently developed one with super-producer Jermaine Dupri, should provide some pretty rich subject matter for an alblum. So how does his latest batch of tunes stack up?

The Eminem Show
1)Curtains Up (Skit)
2)White America (*****)
3)Buisness (***)
4)Cleaning Out My Closet (*****)
5)Square Dance (*****)
6)The Kiss (skit)
7)Soldier (***)
8)Say Goodbye Hollywood (***)
9)Drips (****)
10)Without Me (****)
11)Paul Rosenberg (skit)
12)Sing for the Moment (*****)
13)Superman (****)
14)Halie's Song (****)
15)Steve Berman (skit)
16)When The Music Stops (*****)
17)Say What You Say (***)
18)Till I Collapse (*****)
19)My Dad's Gone Crazy (**)
20)Curtains Close (skit)

Anyways, almost right from the start, it becomes apparent that this isn't quite the same style of music as Eminem's old releases when the first beat kicks in on "White America". It's a heavy, rumbling bassline backed with guitars that's about as far from G-Funk as you can get without starting a rock group, and it's a style that's echoed throughout most of the CD. It's to be expected that the music would sound different, as this CD was produced in large part by the artist himself, rather than his longtime mentor and collaborator Dr. Dre, but I doubt anyone isn't going to be a little suprised by the authentic 70's rock-style sounds found throughout the CD, from the stomping beats and clapping on "Till I Collapse" to the sample of Aerosmith's "Dream On" on "Sing For The Moment". I want to make it absolutely clear that this isn't a bad thing though: the beats here are easily the most compelling Eminem has ever rhymed over, with the exception of the fairly bland backbeat to "Say Goodbye Hollywood" and the awful, terribly produced beats of "Say What You Say" (perhaps Dre's weakest track ever), they play a large part in making this CD the most entertaining he's yet done.

Well, that, plus the incredible lyrics and delivery. I've said it before, but it bears repating: Eminem's last two alblums have proved him easily the most gifted MC on the market today, and this CD only takes another step towards cementing his reputation as one of the best ever. From the ridiculously flowing "Without Me" to the start-stop rhyming of "Square Dance" and Em's scream-rap delivery on "Till I Collapse", the CD is a vocal marvel from beggining to end. Even Em's singing debut on "Halie's Song" is suprisingly good. He's not Chino Mareno.... Hell, he isn't even Aaron Lewis, but it's definately not as bad as I was expecting. Just try and keep your voice from cracking on those high notes next time, ok?

But what's made Eminem a superstar is his incredible lyrics, and here's where "The Eminem Show" has most of it's faults. "Soldier", for instance, features Em's traditional witty rhymes and rapid-fire delivery, but I personally couldn't get excited about a track that tried to portray Em as some kind of hero because he pistol-whipped a guy who was kissing his wife and fought a bunch of guys who saw it by himself. Yeah, I bet you got into that by choice, huh? "My Dad's Gone Crazy", meanwhile, is just plain weak. Em tries to shock with lyrics about the WTC attacks, but it just comes off as a desperate attempt to sound hard, and the gimmick of putting his daughter on the track just doesn't work. "Buisness" is pretty well done, but I was dissapointed that Em has finally has his well of writing topics run so dry that he's got to write a track about his skills.

Actually, I was kinda dissapointed with the variety of topics on the CD overall. Whether delivering a nasty "f**k you" to his Mother on "Cleaning Out My Closet" or singing about the decline of suburban America on "Sing For The Moment", Em doesn't touch on much he hasn't already talked about on his past two CD's. That's too bad, because when he does talk about something new, such as on the incredibly funny and sick ode-to-STDs "Drips" (featuring talented newcomer Obie Trice) or the groupie-baiting attack "Superman", it's usually excellent.

On another note, I was shocked to find that some of the lyrics on this CD are actually, believe it or not, uplifting. When Em sings about his love for his daughter on "Hallie's Song" or promises never to give up fighting for a better life on "Till I Collapse", it's genuinely moving.

A FEW STANDOUT TRACKS

White America-A weighty political rant where Em discusses how he's gone from being a punk who no one knew about to the forefront of rap and being an unlikely free speech champion, a role he accepts with glee on the track, which concludes with him yelling "F**k you Miss Cheney! F**k you Tipper Gore!" (something i've thought on more than one occasion when they talk about how popular music is corrupting America) before promising to urinate on the White House lawn. Glad to see our nation's unification against unholy terrorist motherf**kers hasn't caused Em to soften his image any.

Cleaning Out My Closet-Eminem's latest, and hopefully last, kiss-off to his mother, with lyrics that go deeper into the issue than he's ever gone in the past. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's excellent.

Square Dance-The best piece of nonsense rap Em's done since "The Slim Shady LP", as he slams Canibus, talks about the recruiting process and the WTC attacks, and the world in general over an amazing guitar beat, all ending with a ridiculous chorus sung in a hick accent. As an added bonus, Em faux beatboxes at the beggining of the track.

Sing For The Moment-Keeping the excellent original music and chorus of "Dream On" as the backbeat was an excellent idea, as it provides an extremely pleasing backbeat and chorus, who's beauty contrasts with the lyrics about the hopelessness of suburban America and broken homes. I'm making it sound a little silly, so i'll just let you hear this one for yourself.

When The Music Stops-More or less sounds like a track off D-12's CD..... A really, really good track off D-12's CD. Incredible, dark, synth backbeats contrast with suprisingly detailed and deep lyrics from everyone in the group. If their next CD sounds like this in it's entirety, I promise it's going to be something special.

Till I Collapse-Heavy beats backed by hands clapping, Eminem's roaring delivery, and an absolutely bone chilling chorus by Nate Dogg play host to excellent lyrics about Em's plans to stand in the rap game forever. Unlike most rappers, when Em declares "You're comin with me, feel it or not/ you're gonna fear it, like I showed you the spirit of God lives in us!", it sounds legit. Just listen to it!

While the CD is, for the most part, excellent, it has one overarching problem: it just doesn't seem as special. I can still remember when "The Marshall Mathers LP" came out, specials about how violent the lyrics were were all over the TV. My Dad had never heard an Eminem song and hated him anyway because of the reports. I ended up ordering the disc over Amazon.com and hiding it when I wasn't listening to avoid getting it taken away by my Dad, and then just sitting back and taking in all the controversey over the airwaves. Everyone had an opinion, and arguing about it felt like it mattered because we had nothing bigger to worry about then. Now, after 9-11 and with a war with Iraq seemingly inevitable, it's tough to get worked up over lyircs, regardless of how shocking they are. It's not Em's fault, but even so.....

OVERALL
With it's excellent lyrics, beats, and Eminem's still-amazing rapping talent, "The Eminem Show" is easily one of the year's top releases. GO BUY IT!