The Eminem Show

by Eminem

Overview

On his third consecutive gem, Eminem taps into his Detroit Rock City roots and unleashes his inner White Panther, delivering his most abrasive collection of songs to date. The Eminem Show, produced largely by Em himself, finds the formerly Shady one letting go of the cartoonish thump he perfected with Dr. Dre in favor of a grittier sound befitting an artist who shares a hometown with Iggy Pop and the MC5. What hasn't changed, however, are his venomous lyrical assaults, and along with his perennial targets (his mom and his ex), new casualties include hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri, 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick, dance music wiz Moby, and Vice President Dick Cheney's wife. And while fans are accustomed to Mr. Mathers bashing both public and private citizens, mixed in with the latest chapters in his screed is some of the most candidly raw rhetoric of his short but momentous career. Tracks such as "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and the ballad "Hailie's Song," where Em makes a noble yet off-kilter attempt at singing, are examples of the artist's ever-intensifying reality theater, while "White America" and "Till I Collapse" display his newfound mastery of rap-rock fusion. Although they'll probably receive the most hype, "Sing for the Moment," a remake of the Aerosmith lighter anthem "Dream On," and the lead single, "Without Me," pale in comparison to show-stoppers such as the swinging "Square Dance" and "My Dad's Gone Crazy," quite possibly the funniest song in the Em canon. Forget the real Slim Shady -- The Eminem Show presents the real Eminem standing up front-and-center.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2002
Label:	Aftermath
UPC:	0606949329013
catalogNumber:	493290
Rank:	4206

Tracks

1. Curtains Up
2. White America
3. Business
4. Cleanin Out My Closet
5. Square Dance
6. The Kiss
7. Soldier
8. Say Goodbye Hollywood
9. Drips
10. Without Me
11. Paul Rosenberg
12. Sing for the Moment
13. Superman
14. Hailie's Song
15. Steve Berman
16. When the Music Stops
17. Say What You Will
18. 'Till I Collapse
19. My Dad's Gone Crazy
20. Curtain's Close

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eminem   Primary Artist
Joe Perry   Guitar
Jeff Bass   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Luis Resto   Keyboards
Barbara Wilson   Background Vocals
Conesha Owens   Background Vocals
Mike Elizondo   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Paul "Bunyan" Rosenberg   Track Performer
Traci Nelson   Background Vocals
Dina Rae   Background Vocals
Shy Felder   Background Vocals
Steve King   Guitar,Keyboards,Voiceover
Theron Feemster   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Dr. Dre   Producer,Executive Producer
Anne Dudley   Composer
Jeff Bass   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Kevin Bell   Composer
Marti Frederiksen   Guitar Engineer
Trevor Horn   Composer
Malcolm McLaren   Composer
Luis Resto   Composer
Steven Tyler   Composer
Timbaland   Contributor
Mark Bass   Executive Producer
Mike Elizondo   Composer
Paul "Bunyan" Rosenberg   Composer
Andre Young   Composer
Eminem   Producer
Jason Noto   Art Direction
Marshall Mathers   Composer
DJ Head   Producer,drum programming
Denaun Porter   Producer,drum programming
Nathaniel Hale   Composer
Obie Trice   Composer
R. Arthur Johnson   Composer
Steve King   Composer,Engineer
Theron Feemster   Composer
Steve "B" Baughman   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

It's all about the title. First time around, Eminem established his alter ego, Slim Shady -- the character who deliberately shocked and offended millions, turning Eminem into a star. Second time at bat, he turned out The Marshall Mathers LP, delving deeper into his past while revealing complexity as an artist and a personality that helped bring him an even greater audience and much, much more controversy. Third time around, it's The Eminem Show -- a title that signals that Eminem's public persona is front and center, for the very first time. And it is, as he spends much of the album commenting on the media circus that dominated on his life ever since the release of Marshall Mathers. This, of course, encompasses many, many familiar subjects -- his troubled childhood; his hatred of his parents; his turbulent relationship with his ex-wife, Kim (including the notorious incident when he assaulted a guy who allegedly kissed her -- the event that led to their divorce); his love of his daughter, Hailie; and, of course, all the controversy he generated, notably the furor over his alleged homophobia and his scolding from Lynne Cheney, which leads to furious criticism about the hypocrisy of America and its government. All this is married to a production very similar to that of its predecessor -- spare, funky, fluid, and vibrant, punctuated with a couple of ballads along the way. So, that means The Eminem Show is essentially a holding pattern, but it's a glorious one -- one that proves Eminem is the gold standard in pop music in 2002, delivering stylish, catchy, dense, funny, political music that rarely panders (apart from a power ballad "Dream On" rewrite on "Sing for the Moment" and maybe the sex rap "Drips," that is). Even if there is little new ground broken, the presentation is exceptional -- Dre never sounds better as a producer than when Eminem pushes him forward (witness the stunning oddity "Square Dance," a left-field classic with an ominous waltz beat) and, with three albums under his belt, Eminem has proven himself to be one of the all-time classic MCs, surprising as much with his delivery as with what he says. Plus, the undercurrent of political anger -- not just attacking Lynne Cheney, but raising questions about the Bush administration -- gives depth to his typical topics, adding a new, spirited dimension to his shock tactics as notable as the deep sentimental streak he reveals on his odes to his daughter. Perhaps the album runs a little too long at 20 songs and 80 minutes and would have flowed better if trimmed by 25 minutes, but that's a typical complaint about modern hip-hop records. Fact is, it still delivers more great music than most of its peers in rock or rap, and is further proof that Eminem is an artist of considerable range and dimension.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

In many ways The Eminem Showdoesn't need a review, because the thin-skinned Eminem offers his own running commentary on the album, with lyrics like "my insecurities could eat me alive." He rates his own vocal prowess when he tries to sing a ballad in "Hailie's Song": "I can't sing," he says at the end of the track. "Oh well, I tried." On the album's first song, "White America," he analyzes the phenomenon that is himself, theorizing that suburban teenagers connected with him because he looked like them, which worried parents.

New York Times - Neil Strauss

The Eminem Show, which he largely produced himself, is proof of an evolved Eminem. More than ever, he's an artist in control of his skills and his persona, and ready for the controversy that follows him closer than a pack of groupies. As he raps in "Without Me," "The FCC won't let me be and let me be me/ So let me see/ They tried to shut me down on MTV, but it feels so empty without me." Anthony Bozza

Rolling Stone