The album has some highlights including White America, Cleaning out my Closet and Hailies song, but there are listenable tracks throughout the album. Produced by Dr Dre but with some songs produced by Em himself, he allows other collaborators to perform to and the album is varied in content and style and thoroughly listenable throughout.

1. Curtains Up (skit)
Ken Kaniff an alter ego of Eminem opens the show, simply walking on stage and introducing the Eminem Show, this is 20 seconds long and doesn’t add anything or set the scene really.

This is a really angry rant about everything Em felt was wrong with America at the time this album was made. Its about how he’s made it as a white rapper against a lot of prejudice and people ready to mock him at every turn, it also seeks to set the record straight and explain that Eminem is not Marshall Mathers and what he says in his song can be as fictional as a writers character in a book. This song is lyrically brilliant and the contrast of heavy bass drums and guitars give it a really heavy touch which when added to his hard aggressive rap makes for a great starting song on the album.

Produced by Dr Dre, this has a fast paced beat and opens the Eminem Show, Em sings like a circus master at first introducing himself, he then flows about the music business and how people may hate him but make lots of money from him, as he’s something different to the norm and a multi-million selling artist.

4. Cleanin Out My Closet

5. Square Dance

I like this song, which introduces Obie Trice one of Eminems own record label acts, OT raps about how he got an STD from a woman. It is a funny and at times very good advert for safe sex, as with many of the songs the humour hides a more important message. Produced by Eminem, the fastly lilting rap is delivered over a piano and strings playing elegantly and in marvellous contrast in the background.

This is one of the most commercial Eminem songs and will be well remembered by fans of MTV for its video mocking everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Michael Jackson. Produced and written by Eminem, the song is jaunty and really fresh, it was number one in a lot of countries and was the first released from this album, the lyrics are excellent, angry but humorous which is when Eminem is at his best and with a really catchy chorus and fantastic video. This is Eminem at his very, very best the Family Guy or South Park of Hip Hop.

With a rocky chorus (Dream on by Aerosmith is the sample I believe). The song is quite a thumper, it has a real melodic air and a singable chorus, it once again touches on the fact that the things he raps about aren’t real, he can’t be more explicit in relaying this and seems keen to point out that the traumas that get blamed on his music are just people who can’t take responsibility for their own actions. This is a powerful song which attacks American society for making him a pariah for its own ills, he eloquently explains that his songs are acts of fiction and that he mocks himself through them, it is catchy, stunningly produced and intelligently performed, this is a stand out track on the album.

This song has hidden meaning its about the life of a rapper and how you have to live the image off camera once you’ve built it up on camera, as one of D-12 was shot dead this has added significance, but it is interesting hearing intelligent lyrics about why people have this tough facade rather than simply using the usual hail of street talking about how hard life on the street is and how you have to be tough to survive, this looks at how life for a rapper isn’t perhaps so hard, but the image they create for themselves makes it harder as they become a target to others who believe everything they hear.

This is Eminems opportunity to settle some scores, like the grumpy old man of rap he talks about people he doesn’t like and gives them both barrels, while on the chorus his beloved daughter cutely comments that her Dad’s gone crazy, the contrast between his vitriol and his daughters clumsy charm is brilliant and while he was criticised for allowing his daughter on this track it does fit with the story of this album and the chaos surrounding the lives of Marshall Mathers and Haillie. A thumping, fun song which ends the album in a really fun way.

As an album this is one of the best in his entire collection, it is wildly varying from the Ho-Down music of Square Dance with its political attacks to Hailies Song where he sings beautifully about his love for his daughter. The album is angry and its almost a form of therapy as he talks about needing a break and seems to be getting all the anger out of his system.