Encore (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Eminem > Reviews > The Encore you can listen to over and over again.

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Some amazing tracks .  Some will make you think .  Bonus Disk .
Disadvantages:	There will be something you don't like, almost Guaranteed .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Marshall Mathers, aka Slim Shady, aka Eminem hits the scene with his music yet again, and this time it's as dark, if not darker than ever before.

First and foremost, if you don't like strong language then you can stop reading right now. If you don't like references to killing people and shooting people, you can stop reading. This album has both in abundance. Let's just say that the Parental advisory warning doesn't give you enough of a warning.

If you do like Eminem's previous work, or if you like the aforementioned language, keep going.

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When you listen to the album first time around you might think "Nothing special there" because the songs seem to pass over you the first time, but if you take time to listen to the lyrics then you will appreciate the works... mostly.

The tracks vary from up-beat raps (Just Lose It) to deep and dark raps (Mosh). Despite the contrasts, both of these tracks made it as singles, and pretty good ones they are. (Just Lose it more so than Mosh in my opinion).

Tracks with deep meaning for Eminem himself are also in here, and they are my favourites, (as were the same songs from previous albums), songs such as Mockingbird are great.

One song with the complete spectrum is Puke, I love the song itself but I hate the intro and outro, simply it is Em throwing up with horrific sound effects. *Shudder*

One Shot 2 Shot has a very upbeat backing and some humourous lines, but this one is all about a terrifying experiance that I hope never has to happen in real life. This is a good track, even if it is a little grim.

I've only lightly touched the surface of this album, but to sum it up, it is dark, it is varied and it is in my opinion good.

But as I said above, I can almost guarantee that there will be something on this album that you hate. I hate Puke's intro because of a personal phobia of mine, but I know someone who can't stand "Ass Like That", don't ask why.

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Incidentally, there seem to be two versions of Encore, the standard CD version and another with an alternative box design (card as opposed to Jewel Case). This version is the Shady Collector's edition and includes card inserts with the lyrics on them and a picture-told story on the reverse side. This version is slightly impractical because it doesn't fit a standard CD rack, but the collector's edition label on the side makes it feel more valuable.

- HurrellMaster