Eminem Show, The (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Eminem > Reviews > THE EMINEM SHOW - TRACK BY TRACK

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money

Advantages:	Some more catchy tracks to add to his Greatest Hits .  .  .
Disadvantages:	Same old same old

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I think this review is slightly more cynical than previous ones on Ciao, all giving the album rave reviews... Please note that this review contains some bad language and controversial issues.

1. Curtains Up
This 30 second skit is a fairly intriguing introduction to the album.

2. White America
Anger in Eminem's voice when yelling "White America" is similar to that of "I Am What I Am". Fairly controversial with lyrics such as "If I was black I would have sold half" [an argument Michael Jackson put forward for poor sales of his Invincible album lol], with Eminem fighting back against apparent criticism he's had from the government. But other content is similar to that of previous albums, of how parents are shocked at what he says etc... At the end he goes on to give a big "f*** u" to Miss Cheney and Tipper Gore. I see another lawsuit coming maybe...

3. Business
Pretty catchy with a good synthesised bass beat, with the potential to be released as a single. A reference to his performance with Sir Elton I think, plus insults [often implicitly] targetted at a variety of figures.

4. Cleanin Out My Closet
Currently dominating the airwaves in the UK, this will shortly be his second smash hit from the album. From the introduction you can tell that this has been well produced. Following the numerous references to his allegedly dope-smoking mother in previous releases resulting in a $10m lawsuit, the lyrics include hatred this time focussed at his father, plus his troubled relationship avec Kim.

5. Square Dance
An accordion introduces this track with a catchy we-will-rock-you-esque drum beat. Controversial again with references to Anthrax, War on Afghanistan and the Bush administration. But his comic voice in the chorus gets very irritating indeed.

6. The Kiss (skit)
Ooh, black people repeatedly saying "I'm gonna kill the b*tch". Stuff like that doesn't really help all the stereotyping and prejudice.

7. Soldier
Very effective marching-style percussion with another good track with a few other vocal contributions.

8. Say Goodbye Hollywood
The chorus is smooth and similar to the previous track's. I think the verses are mediocre and nothing different from the norm, however in terms of lyrical content and rapping.

9. Drips
A fairly original and catchy chorus. Vocal contributions another artist, I assume from the D12 crew for the first verse. Many references to being black, b*tches and pu$$y. Pretty crude lyrics in the chorus. Eminem vents his anger at Kim wanting a divorce when pregnant. And the father is some other man. Or something along those lines.

10. Without Me
At a club, whenever this track comes on it's the only one that *everyone* knows the lyrics in their entirity to, partly due to it being excessively overplayed on the radio and partly as it's very catchy. When first played I thought it was quite mediocre [but undoubtedly would be a #1 hit as it's pretty commercial], but it's one that grows on you, with memorable [synthesised?] saxophone etc...

11. Paul Rosenberg [skit]
What is the point in sticking telephone conversations on an album? It's disruptive if you're a fan of the music. Well at least this was only 10 seconds long unlike the numerous skits in Dr Dre's 2001 release.

12. Sing For The Moment
A good backing track in a darker more serious track. The trademark catchy Eminem chorus is replaced with a rock sample. Eminem gives his life story in the 3rd person, of going from experiencing depression in a broken home to experiencing depression with his multimillionaire lifestyle. But it's focussed on how it's a good thing for kids to have hope and dreams. An uncharacteristic rock guitar solo at the end.

13. Superman
An incredibly [intentionally] cheesy opening verse before Eminem returns to his usual self, showing his great gentleman-like respect for women. With lyrics such as "anthrax on tampax", please not my sacrasm.

14. Hailie's Song
Who on earth is singing, I hear you cry. This is Eminem's first proper singing on a track. And it's damn impressive. Well until he goes back to his usual voice. The verses open in a soft sensitive boyband-style voice. Despite Eminem saying at the start and end of the track that he can't sing, he can. But why's he singing for once? Because he's happy, he says, as he got custody of his child back. Very emotional lyrics: "I love my daughter more than life in itself, But I've gotta wife whos determined to make my life living hell". He very successfully makes himself look like the good guy. But could be considered as quite soppy compared to Eminem's usual works.

15. Steve Beeman [skit]
Yeah, hilarious. Not.

16. When The Music Stops
D12 take over again to sing about murdering and stuff... Track 17 is nothing special thus is not worth reviewing either.

18. 'Till I Collapse
A very intriguing introduction. A similar drumbeat to Square Dance with a catchy synthesised melody... standard Eminem rapping in the verses but with a memorable chorus. If you're listening through the whole album in a single sitting like I am, you may fail to notice what's so original about the lyrical content of these verses.

19. My Dad's Gone Crazy
Get to hear Hailie for the first time - sounds quite funny in the introduction. The "I fink my dads gone cwaazy" sample is comical but can get ever so slightly irritating on it's 20th repetition. The lyrics have a twist this time, thank God - instead of the standard non-stop rapping there's touches like "My Mum said *imitating babbling*" and silence after the proverb "If you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all"...

20. Curtains Close
Maybe I'm more cynical but these skits seem like in-jokes, not particularly hilarious to 99% of listeners.

Overall I give it 7/10 - standard Eminem excellence, BUT too many tracks are unoriginal, and the lyrical content focusses on a few subjects brought up again and again. Maybe some more experimenting such as the singing in Hailie's Song would have made this stand out more from his previous releases. Instead, The Slim Shady LP was great due to it's originality, The Marshall Mathers LP arguably showed a progression in themes and music. But with some exceptions this is more of the same. Nevertheless it's a must for any Eminem / D12 fan.

PS It is damn annoying when you post your review on Ciao and 2 seconds later someone else does meaning you lose about 20 readers. Ciao, bring back the "two latest reviews" on the front page.

PPS You may be interested in my "UK Education in Chaos" article which I wrote just before A Level results were published, anticipating that problems such as today's headline scandal will take place.