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CD Review:
Encore, Eminem
ENCORE
1. Curtains Up
2. Evil Deeds
3. Never Enough (feat. Nate Dogg)
4. Yellow Brick Road
5. Like Toy Soldiers
6. Mosh
7. Puke
8. My 1st Single
9. Paul (Skit)
10. Rain Man
11. Big Weenie
12. Em Calls Paul (Skit)
13. Just Lose It
14. Ass Like That
15. Spend Some Time (feat. Obie Trice and 50 Cent)
16. Mockingbird
17. Crazy In Love
18. One Shot 2 Shot (feat. D-12)
19. Final Thought (Skit)
20. Encore (feat. 50 Cent and Dr. Dre
THE LOWDOWN
(Please note: This review does not include Encore's bonus CD, possibly because Encore already had more than enough tracks to listen to. Also, this review might offend some, especially if your name is Eminem.)
It would just be a matter of time until Eminem released the follow-up to his wildly successful The Eminem Show, and in November, everyone got a taste of what a two-year hiatus has brought to the table. Of course, there was the first single, "Just Lose It," which hit the airwaves back in October, and went straight to number one - not without some controversy, as is expected with someone like Eminem. Controversy and Eminem are synonymous. They're old time friends who like to go over to each other's houses to watch "Road to Stardom." Look up "controversy" in the dictionary and you'll find "a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement." But right next to that, Eminem's picture.
"Just Lose It" features Eminem dressed up as Michael Jackson, and spoofs everything from Jackson's child molestation allegations to his extensive rhino plastic surgery. It also takes a guileless jab at Eminem's career, as he parodies his 8 Mile persona while rapping, "The beat comes back and everybody lose themselves / Snap back to reality - look it's B. Rabbit / Yo, you signed me up to battle? / I'm a grown man!"
Everything in the follow-up to The Eminem Show points to the contrary. But before we get to the farting noises and the puking (which is what we've all been waiting for, no?) it's worth mentioning that Eminem is no longer my secret boyfriend (as it stands, we had a long and tumultuous break-up over the winter holidays, and that's all I'll say). Eminem's going to have a long career in this business, but he's just as insecure as the rest of us. His one-two punch strategy of releasing a catchy, pop-based (and often rude) single first (The Slim Shady LP: "My Name Is"; The Marshall Mathers LP: "The Real Slim Shady"; The Eminem Show: "Without Me"), and then following up with something more serious and socially conscious (The Slim Shady LP: "Guilty Conscience"; The Marshall Mathers LP: "The Way I Am"; The Eminem Show: "Sing For the Moment") is his signature attention-grabbing maneuver: get people talking, and then show them that you watch CNN too. His whole spin on 8 Mile in the "Just Lose It" video is classic Cyrano de Bergerac behaviour - make fun of yourself before others do. Eminem, just like everyone else, is trying to stay relevant, and there's no better way to show that than to do what worked - about two years ago.
So let's start with the first single off the album, Just Lose It. Eminem basically spouts a bunch of nonsense against an infectious backbeat, Michael Jackson references notwithstanding. He's funny, he's self-deprecating, he's got little girl backup dancers in the video. It works. And then there's the second serious single, Mosh, which is probably one of the best songs on Encore. Eminem goes on a rampage here, but he's moved beyond attacking Carson Daly or Christina Aguilera (for now; as you recall, this isn't by far the only single on the album, not does it set up much of a theme for the rest). The song stands alone as a powerful piece of music, and is probably one of the best to come out of 2004 - and, arguably, one of the best songs to come out of rap in a long time. "Let the President answer on high anarchy / Strap him with AK-47, let him go / Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way / No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our soil," Eminem raps, his voice resonating with each word. Clocking in at a little over five minutes, you can tell that Eminem is no stranger to politics.
Another personal treat is Like Toy Soldiers, a follow-up to "Sing For the Moment" and "Stan," if you will. Eminem is only human, and tends to sample pop songs with an appropriate chorus to serve his purpose. In "Like Toy Soldiers," Latin singer Martika gets the Eminem treatment, prompting many to wonder whatever happened to her (and prompting some, like me, to download the original version on a melancholy whim). Eminem sticks to the military theme, keeping the background beats marching as he comes to terms with all the drama in his life, including his infamous beef with Ja Rule and Ray Benzino. Of course, these supposed beefs did nothing but propel Eminem further into the spotlight, but this song somehow makes you think that maybe, just maybe, Eminem is a little sorry that things escalated so far beyond his control.
"Evil Deeds" and "Never Enough" are also good tracks. Evil Deeds has a pseudo-nursery rhyme feel to it, and the repeating lyrics, which I suspect are a gimmick to work the song, mesh well with Eminem's fifty thousand words-per-second rap. Main theme of the song: he is Debbie's Satan spawn and he's sorry that he couldn't be a better person. I'm just paraphrasing here. In Never Enough, Nate Dogg makes another cameo (the first being on The Eminem Show), singing, "No matter how many battles I been in and won / No matter how many magazines on my nuts / No matter how many emcees I end up / Ooh, ooh, it's never enough." Of course Nate Dogg, who hasn't had anything hanging off his nuts in years, isn't singing about himself, but nicely summarizes Eminem's ambivalent feelings toward the music industry. 50 Cent also drops by this track to say hi.
Which brings us to the portion of the review where we talk about the other guest rappers that Eminem gathers. It would be a given that Obie Trice ("Spend Some Time"), Dr. Dre ("Encore," and who executive produced this album), and 50 Cent ("Never Enough," "Spend Some Time," and "Encore") appear, along with Eminem's crew, the insufferable D-12 ("One Shot 2 Shot"). Encore is catchy, fast-paced, and bouncy; Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent play off each other with lightning-speed rhymes. Spend Some Time is a rap ballad - if there were such a thing - of which the smooth backbeats and squealing, almost crazed stalker woman chorus ("Lord knows I was right 'cuz you just crossed the line / Spend some time with me, say that you'll be mine") are somewhat misleading in their soothing calmness. Eminem, Obie Trice, and 50 Cent lament about all the opportunistic women that have crossed their paths and tried to trade sex for favours and money. Except, in my version, I've left out all the sexual imagery, as I know few people want to hear about Obie Trice in uncompromising sexual positions. D-12 in One Shot 2 Shot doesn't fare any better, because "One Shot 2 Shot" is another version of "Encore," but without the talent of Dr. Dre or 50 Cent to hold the song together.
Eminem shows his softer side on "Mockingbird" and "Crazy In Love." Mockingbird samples the nursery song of the same name, and is perhaps the sweetest song that Eminem has ever composed in the name of his daughter, Hailie. His singing has also considerably improved, as he croons the chorus: "Now hush little baby, don't you cry / Everything's gonna be all right / Stiffen that upper lip up, little lady / I told ya, daddy's here to hold ya through the night." It's a love song written to Hailie, and when he raps about growing up poor and being robbed of Hailie's college fund savings, my heart broke (I'm not made of stone, you know). For the other woman in his life, there's Crazy In Love, where Eminem schizophrenics back and forth between his love and hate for Kim, the infamous ex-wife who has been the subject of many of his songs, and arguably had a hand in turning his rage into art. First Kim is a monster, and then she's an angel, and then Eminem figures that he's just as crazy as she is and that their craziness would make a great Movie of the Week. Or something like that. We're just glad Eminem got that off his chest.
And now for the farting, burping, and other noises that we just love to be the focal point of a song. Puke, which strangely reminded me of "'Till I Collapse" from The Eminem Show (and that's a good thing, except it's been done before), has a strong, likable beat which channels Queen's "We Will Rock You" gladiator-style anthem. It's one of the more memorable songs on the album, and yet. There's the puking. Lots of it. Some at the beginning. And the rest at the end. For the gist of the song, connect the title with Kim, and the rest is self-explanatory. My 1st Single, which follows "Puke," is also a greatly paced track that lets Eminem run with the beat at Road Runner speed, but there it is again. The puking. The farting. And this time, it's laced throughout the song so that a person, let's say me, wouldn't be able to escape it without skipping the track. And neither could Christopher Reeves, the Hilton sisters, and Britney Spears, who were all targets of this particular track. Sadly, Rain Man is also a great song simply for its ingenious beats, but when Eminem says, "You find me offensive / I find you offensive," the only true thing about this is the first part, as I'm not making CDs featuring my bodily functions and sending it to his house.
Moving on: Big Weenie is a so-so song that has Eminem rapping about his loathers. And yes, he calls them big weenies. If you've ever wanted to know what Eminem was like at fourteen and going through puberty-related hormonal changes, just peruse Ass Like That, where Eminem would like us to know that "The way you move it / You make my pee pee go / Doing, doing, doing." Or maybe he's just channeling Comet The Wonderdog, because the puppet that has got Eminem so riled up figures heavily into this song, so much so that Eminem is forced to do impressions of him. In case you're wondering, the Olsen twins, Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani, Hilary Duff, and JoJo make someone's lower extremities go into overdrive.
The much-anticipated follow-up to The Eminem Show lacks the creativity and drive that the first album had. Sure, Eminem can rap and compose with the best of them, but it will only be a matter of time before his antics grow tired. For now, Encore will have to do. ¤ C.Ho.
ENCORE:
(out of 5)
