Eminem: Encore

[Guest BacknBlackHoez]

Encore

Artist: Eminem

Title: Encore

Rating: *** out of 5

Reviewed by: Matt Barone

Without a doubt one of the game’s all-time grand lyricists, one of Eminem’s superior strengths throughout his illustrious career has been the uncanny ability to bring listeners into his turbulent psyche, one loaded with violent baby mama drama, parental neglect, and shameless insults. But on his fourth album, Encore (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope), it seems as if, at this point, Marshall Mathers has let the world too deep into his mind. While his microphone skills remain of top-shelf quality, the excitement of what crazy metaphor will emerge in his next bar feels more reserved. Over the course of 20 tracks, Eminem addresses his love for his daughter Hailie, the sea-saw of emotions surrounding his troubled wifey Kim, and pushes the buttons of high-profile celebrities; problem is, these are all areas extensively covered on his previous three releases.

At its best, though, Encore delivers some of Eminem’s finest work to date. Opening up with the dark reflections of “Evil Deeds,” Dr. Dre’s avant-garde bounce finds our host airing out grievances with a sped-up flow, only to call himself out with, “Whoa is me, there goes poor Marshall again whining about his millions, and his mansion, and his sorrow he’s always drowning in.” “Never Enough” brings it back to basics, with Eminem’s dizzying wordplay shining alongside a moody Nate Dogg hook and impressive 50 Cent verse, and on “Spend Some Time,” a subdued backdrop inspires entertaining, female-directed venom from guests Obie Trice, Stat Quo, and 50 .

Whenever Eminem opens the doors to his dramatic reality, like on past gems such as “Cleaning Out My Closet,” he is rivaled by very few rappers in the game. On “Yellow Brick Road,” he jumps into this mode to fully explain the infamous “racist” tape, using his self-produced violins and light percussion as a fitting soundtrack for honest revelations. The amazing storytelling continues on “Like Toy Soldiers,” where Eminem sheds bright light on his recent audio battles with Ja Rule and Benzino. Sporting one of his best instrumentals to date, complete with a militant drum pattern and haunting vocal samples, “Like Toy Soldiers” allows Em to drop the gavel on his beefs with the closing remarks, “Frankly, I’m sick of talking/ I’m not gonna let some one else’s coffin rest on my conscience.”

Unfortunately, once the politically-heated rants heard on “Mosh” conclude, Encore spirals off into head-scratching hit-or-miss territory. Dr. Dre’s creeping piano and string arrangement on “Rain Man” manages to draw attention away from Em’s puzzling Christopher Reeve discussion, but on the messy “Big Weenie,” a terribly corny Slim Shady styled hook and repetitive drums from Dre equal immediate usage of the Skip button. “Ass Like That,” despite being funnier than any rap song should be, still disappoints due to an utterly sophomoric songwriting approach (unnecessarily delivered in the voice of one-time Eminem enemy, and hand puppet, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) for a lyrical giant like Em.

There in lies the main problem with Encore: an inconsistency in execution. While the title track “Encore” heavily bangs with a neck-snapping Dr. Dre concoction and effective pass-the-mic verses between Em and Dre, a song like the D12-assisted “One Shot 2 Shot” lacks any creativity and inspiration, making for a frustrating break in overall enjoyment not felt as strongly on any other Em record. Even on Encore’s weaker selections, Eminem’s verses blow away nearly all of his competition in flow and rhyme schemes, only raising the level of frustration with the album. If only he would have crafted more tracks in the genuine nature of “Like Toy Soldiers,” his latest could have continued his progression as a true great in Hip-hop’s legacy. While his credibility and worthiness of respect are still intact by the disc’s conclusion, disappointment is unavoidable. In the end, though, nobody is perfect, and Eminem’s slight stumble surely won’t be his downfall.

-allhiphop.com's review.

[Guest Snyper]

I think Like Toy Soldiers is one of the best songs I have ever heard. And I have around 800 cds in my collection. I like the cd, and spent an extra 10 bucks to get the special edition. I say its worth it.

[tristy]

...did that review say Dre played the piano on Rain Man? Or did he just get the sample from somewhere else?

I'm confused.

[Guest BacknBlackHoez]

songs like "Evil Deeds" - he sings mary had a little lamb?, "Ass Like That" - "make my pebe go doing doing doing"....automatically drew me away from this CD. then i listened to the rest....and got thrown away from this CD. plus i cant stand his high-pitched voice.

Edited November 14, 2004 by BacknBlackHoez

[Guest fultie]

yeah, i got the CD on the 12th.. everytime i heard something that might be ok.. it was ruinted by something i thought was gay... like Toy Soldiers.. cool song, but the chorus sucks, little girls singin that shit, i hate it, takes me right out of the mood of the song.. and i don't remember much else but in every single song i was like man that sounds alright and than there'd be something in that song where i'd be like damn nevermind

i give it a 2/5

it sucks, i've never disliked an Eminem CD before...

[livid]

Ya' know, I'm not saying that you're wrong or anything, everybody has their own opinions about this CD it seems, but perhaps he didn't want to be serious on this one? He threw political zingers in a few of songs, directed towards Bush, but you should know by now that he's not a very serious person, but he can be when he wants to be. I just feel as though the CD is what it was meant to be, a CD where he's just being himself and doing a good job at it. Seriously, it's not like he can't rap, it's just the topics that everybody's getting down on.

plus i cant stand his high-pitched voice.

[Guest fultie]

this CD seems to showcase his high pitched voice alot more than his others

[Lowerdeck]

Eh, I've heard quite a few of the songs on the radio and on mixtapes playing at a record store. It's garbage, I wouldn't buy it.

[Dr. Rated-R]

"Mosh" is okay, but it sounds look a pseudo-"White America", for some reason. Same voice tone, although he sounded better, faster, and cooler in White America. Also, both songs have similar Anti-American sentiments, although one is about Bush, and one isn't. Also, I believe the same humming/chanting noise that played in the background of the chorus of White America, is in Mosh -- it's probably not, but it sounds similar to it.

With that in mind, the differences in quality between the two really show how much Eminem has slipped. I like Mosh, when compared to Just Lose It, but not when compared to older, better Eminem songs.

[Guest 3115734]

I think Eminem's standards were set so high that this might be a way for him to bring them back down only to explode on his next album. It wouldn't be the first time it has been done.

[tristy]

He's retiring after this CD.

Supposedly.

[~The Missionary Guy~]

I liked this cd, not as good as his other ones, not good enough go out with a bang

[Guest DJHill]

I downloaded this album(I don't buy my music)last week. Listened to it about 2-3 days ago. It's a solid album but it just didn't have the same impact as The Eminem Show did, in my opinion. It's a bit dissappointing but it's still a solid effort. And it's not like this album is gonna change what people think of him. Em is established. He has credibility in the hip-hop game and like someone already said, he has millions of fans.

[Benji]

He's retiring after this CD.

Supposedly.

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Where did you hear that?

[Numbahs]

I heard it somewhere too.....but I took it with a Jigga-ish grain of salt.

[~The Missionary Guy~]

I dont think he will be releasing any main albums of him, maybe some with D12, 50 Cent ect....and plus he is producing the 2pac cd

[Lord Nibbler]

Lyrically, this is his worst album, in my opinion. In fact, in my opinion the lyrics have got increasingly worse with each album. In my opinion, Infinite was his best and Encore is his worst. Lyrically speaking. In my opinion.

Edited November 14, 2004 by Jimmy the Exploder

[Guest BacknBlackHoez]

Lyrically, this is his worst album, in my opinion. In fact, in my opinion the lyrics have got increasingly worse with each album. In my opinion, Infinite was his best and Encore is his worst. Lyrically speaking. In my opinion.

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[punky]

In my opinion, I think that people are just going with the crowd to say that this CD is garbage.

In my opinion, I think that Encore is a solid effort, I don't like this phrase but I think it's true here, Eminem is "keeping it real."

Now that that's done.. I think Em knows he can't rap about being poor anymore or how his life is so horrible because it isn't. Something that about one-third of rappers like to ignore and try to say they're still out being thugs with their millions of dollars.

[Troy Maskell]

In my opinion, I think that people are just going with the crowd to say that this CD is garbage.

In my opinion, I think that Encore is a solid effort, I don't like this phrase but I think it's true here, Eminem is "keeping it real."

Now that that's done.. I think Em knows he can't rap about being poor anymore or how his life is so horrible because it isn't. Something that about one-third of rappers like to ignore and try to say they're still out being thugs with their millions of dollars.

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