This album came out, and was considered total crap, Eminem's worst, made fans turn on him, and people who weren't fans, but respected him lose respect for him. This album, known to many as monster/worthless pile of crap is called Encore.
This seems to only be for fans in most people's opinions. In an average person's view of the order of Slim Shady's albums, from best to worst, it goes: The Marshall Mathers LP, The Slim Shady LP, The Eminem Show, Curtain Call, then Encore. For me, it somehow goes: The Eminem Show, Encore, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Slim Shady LP, then Curtain Call. I have different opinions than most people on Em's albums.
Yeah, this does feature two or three of Eminem's worst songs, (tracks 7-14 are the worst) typically Puke and definitly *** Like That. The excellent, such as Yellow Brick Road,(great for me, but not a hit. my favorite on the album.) and Mosh skyrocket, but the bad ones plummit to "Rock Bottom." After the six decent to excellent tracks, come the weaker part. With tracks 1-6 being like a mountain, 7-14, like a a trench, and 15-20 being like a bit of a hill, this album makes 3 jumps.
Tracklisting:
01 Curtains Up(skit): A good way to start this album, and sounds like The Eminem Show's start, but has people yelling Eminem.(4/5) This leads into...
02 Evil Deeds: This song has a killer beat, is about Eminem's mother, somehow is approached differently, but features some of Em's worst rhymes, in the first verse. Half of the rhymes in the first verse aren't real rhymes, but something repeated 5 times, and the rest in the first verse barely cut it, so this song gets 3/5.
03 Never Enough: This is another song with a killer beat, features 50-cent, and is the typical Nate Dogg appearance of Em's last 4 albums, (Nate runs a great chorus as all of his appearances, even non-Eminem ones.) and is different from Evil Deeds, with not only a good beat, but some great rhymes. I just wish it was longer, with another verse. I reccomend this, and... (5/5).
04 Yellow Brick Road: This I consider the best track on this album, (see username) though it never was that popular. This is one of those songs that wasn't considered quite excellent, by most, but isn't turned off much, either. It has 3 beats, at once, during most of it, raps against racism, and about his life, apologizes for a racist tape Em made as a teen, and background vocals during the chorus, making it physically impossible to concentrate on only one. A very unique, killer beat, once again. This easily gets a 5/5, and I reccomend this, obviously.
05 Like Toy Soldiers: Explains that Eminem is against violence, says how he was upset, once Ja-rule mentioned Hailie in a song, and has what sounds like children singing, and a marching drum over a piano. The chorus somehow sounds a little too happy, and upbeat, for the slower verses, but somehow manages to jerk, and screw its way in. This does make it to top 10 on this album, but somehow doesn't quite make it to top 5, in my book; I think it's a little bit overrated. This is still a great song, and different from anything Em has made before. That's why it's so liked. (5/5)
06 Mosh: A great Bin Laden/Bush diss. Has another great beat, and is in my opinion, even better than Square Dance. A few of the backqround vocals sound a lot like Soldier, mainly near the end, has some of his best rhymes, and provides an awesome chorus. This is(in my opinion) the best song on the album, next to Yellow Brick Road. It had a few smart lines, like,"Rebel with a rebel, yo, raise hell we gonna let 'em know." The beginning, with what sounds like Hailie starting to say the pledge, when Em breaks right in is good, and the end is also pretty good. (5/5) and top 5 reccomended.
07 Puke: Here is where the album makes its biggest plummit, and probably the biggest drop from one song to another, in his entire career. This is not actually a love song, more of a hate song, to Kim. He whines about how she makes him sick. The beat's great, but the annoying tone Em uses during the chorus, and the puking sound effects drag this song down from what would be a 3/5 to a 2.5/5. This is one of Em's worst, but somehow, for me, is tolerable, and I rarlely skip it. The ironic part is that it's better than half of the crappy rap they play on the radio.
08 My First Single: This song has very unique, cool beat. The verses are funny, one of the few funny songs on this album that actually are. The tone of voice he uses doesn't goe up and down, but the rhymes and beats make up for that. The chorus is completely irrelevant, when he says that it was supposed to be his first single, the oah-au noises he makes after the chorus make him sound gay, and the burping and taking a crap sounds during the chorus damage this song. (3.5/5)
09 Paul(skit): This is just a short little skit where Paul calls Em, and says that M.J.(not Michael Jordan!) was offended by the Just Lose It video, so Shady needs to call him back. Just made for another skit. (2/5)
10 Rainman: This is one of the funny songs that is funny, especially the second verse. The beat is a little bit boring, but still the song is pretty good. The part where he says, "Grabbed the last can of chicken tuna out the trashcan...) was hilarious, and senseless, just like some of his old songs. This pretty much gets 3/5.
11 Big Weenie: The beats here are decent, and is about a bully, and why he's like the way he is. This does have a different topic, but the song is kind of silly, and not too funny. When you see the cd cover, you think it would be a sex-song. This song sounds extremely vain, and braggish, which annoys me in rap. I prefer when rappers don't think they need to brag, and don't compare themselves highly, but let fans do that. (3/5)
12 Em Calls Paul: Em responds to Paul's call. It's funny, the way that he talks in a robotic voice, making sick Michael Jackson jokes, saying how he doesn't care if Michael Jackson is offended, yet pretends he loves him. (4/5)
13 Just Lose It: This song is a mixture of My Name Is, The Real Slim Shady, and Without Me. It's not nearly as good and funny as the other three, but has a good line here and there. The video has kids jumping on a bed, surrounding Eminem, mocking Michael Jackson, and is what he was offended by. This also somehow mixes in the way that all women attract Eminem. (3/5)
14 *** Like That: This is unlike anything Eminem has ever made before. That's why it's so hated. The music is Asian, Eminem raps, impersonating Triumph The Insult Puppet Dog, and talks about female stars that he thinks are sexy, and running from the police. This is easily the worst song on this album, and even the worst Eminem song ever. He was very creative, and took a risk with this one. I respect it for that. I do smile a little bit, when he says, "What do you mean my lawyer's too busy, he's with Michael?" (2/5)
15 Spend Some Time: After what seemed like an endless ditch, Slim managed to dig his way out of it. Obie Trice, 50-cent, and a new rapper, Statquo appear for this one. It's a slow song, about women, and somehow reminds me of Superman, in a way. I especially like the beat, the chorus, and Eminem's verse. I think think this is one of the best moments of the album, gets a 4/5, and makes a good lead-in to another slower song...
16 Mockingbird: Follows the beat of the nursery rhyme, Hush Little Baby, and is obviously a song he wrote for Hailie. The piano sounds good over the steady drum beat in the background. I do like Hailie's Song better, but this goes into different fields. Not less, not more. In Hailie's Song, he sings, and talks about his insecurities, and how crazy he may be if he didn't have Hailie, and here, he raps, and tells Hailie about how her mother isn't around, and he'll keep Hailie and Lainie safe, but confuses me, when he says he sits in an empty house. This is a reccomended track, and gets 5/5, here.
17 Crazy In Love: Another one of the slower songs. This is Eminem's third sampled song, samples Heart's Crazy On You, and is probably my least favorite of the three. This is another song about Kim, but is more like a love song than Puke, and in my opinion, better than Puke. The beat is good, the rhymes, too, and the sampled chorus is fitting. Not quite as much as Stan or Sing For The Moment's chorus, but does work. (4/5)
18 One Shot 2 Shot: The typical D-12 performance. Proof isn't on here, but it's still as good as the other D-12 songs. As the title suggests, it's about a hilarious shootout. I think that Swift and Kon Artist are the bad guys in the shootout, but Eminem, Bizarre, and Kuniva are the good guys on here. I like the chorus, and Bizarre's verse is probably my favorite, then Eminem. This is the only D-12 song I ever thought Eminem was outrapped by another member. Don't take that the wrong way. I still think he's the best rapper in the group, though. (5/5)
19 Final Thought(skit): This doesn't make much sense to me. It sounds like people cheering, a preview of the end of Encore, a paper ripping, and a gun loading. It does make a mysterious touch, and sounds like the curtains just may close, and makes sense, that it would be there, considering what the next song is. (3/5)...
20 Encore: What do you get when you take Eminem, a Dr. Dre and 50-cent appearance, G-Unit Records, Shady Records, Aftermath, and Dre's production into one title/curtains close song? You get Encore. It has a great beat, pretty good background vocals, sound effects, and some good rhymes, from Dr. Dre, and Em. They should have either made 50's part longer, or just left it out. Eminem says how he's leaving the game for awhile, and Dre says how critics say he's washed up, making this an excellent curtains close, and one of his best endings. At the end, he shoots everybody, and sounds like he even shoots himself, then says, "See you in hell, f*ckers," in a robotic voice. A funny ending for this album. (5/5) and reccomended.
