Eminem - Encore (Deluxe Edition)

What a shame....

The end of the ill albums this guy gave us. I believed that he couldn't EVER make a song I didn't like, well, this changed that perspective.

Partz of this album is just stupid. His rebelious lyrics are replaced with jokes and bodily noises, at least his flow and delivery stay good and versatile as usual. But a lot of the hooks, sound intensely forced and strained. He shouldda got good old Dina Rae to sing 'em or Nate Dogg.

I will always love Eminem for the albums, mixtapes, and guest appearances he has done. However, this marked a real turning point in the artist I once listened to religiously. I guess in a way this new "style" if you call it that is original...but then again, I can't imagine any other rapper being serious and doing this. The girl was disappointed in it, hands DOOOOWN.

My high expectations were decieved. I couldn't even believe this was an Eminem album.

Only really reccomend this CD for a few break throughs which include "Encore" feat. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent (for like 2 seconds...but not a big 50 person anyway, lol), "Like Toy Soldiers", "Never Enough", and everything on the bonus disc. The bonus disc is legit Eminem ripping it and I wonder why some of these songs as well as others that leaked at that time ("Monkey See Monkey Do", "Bully"...those 2 were nice) didn't get placed instead. Who cares if they leaked? They were enjoyable and a lot better.

Don't get me wrong, some of the songs on this album are nice. A few are average and then a good portion....blah.

Sad. February 13, 2008

I'm not sure

But i enjoyed the cd for the most part of course there were some songs that shouldn't have been made at all. I didn't really care for "Evil Deeds" myself just didnt do anything for me. Also the skits aren't really necessary. Also the one song "Puke" yeah i'm pretty open minded but i cant really get into a song where's he throwing up (puking) in the middle of the song. I know that's the point but still..just turned me off of that song. "A** Like That" i thought it was okay but again not one of Em's better songs by far along with "Crazy In Love" and "Spend Some Time" neither of those songs got me into the cd at all.

The ones that i did are listed here starting with "Never Enough", "Yellow Brick Road", "Like Toy Soliders (a nice sample from the Martika song "Toy Soldiers"), "Just Lose It (this to me is when he's on it, having fun but still dropping the rhymes at the same time), "Mockingbird", "Mosh" (love it for what he's standing for and willing to talk about on record, some people talk about it (negative) but when they have an opportunity to write something on it, they do a complete reversal) the accompanying video is unlike anything i've seen Em do in ages. Also enjoyed "Encore" and three songs on Disc 2 "We As Americans", "Love You More" and "Ricky Ticky Toc".

They close out what ends up being a far better effort than i thought and from the reviews as well. I don't disagree with them for the most part. But for me i just saw and heard a heck of a lot more in "Encore" that i enjoyed than what i disliked take it for what its worth. But this is my take on the cd and i look forward to coming back with a venegance on his next effort...much love. September 29, 2007

Eminem gets stranger than usual.

Regular album : 2.5 stars
Bonus disc : 4 stars

Eminem has always been an acquired taste. He always aims to offend and usually he is successful and writes one damn good song at the same time. But this was the first album that he fell short on one of these tasks. And it's the wrong one to be unsuccessful with, most of the songs and beats are forgettable and not up to Eminem's high standards. Maybe it was cause the five years before he had released three albums that were ground breaking plus a very good D12 album. Or maybe he was working on his label and becoming a business man. Or maybe he was just burnt out on the celebrity game (when a chump like Ja Rule is trying to play you there's got to be a point when you say, "Why do I even have to write this battle track for this fool?").

Whatever the reason, Encore seems distracted. Not that there aren't some hot tracks. Never Enough is probably the standout on the album. You can blast this in the car but beware cuz you might be doing 80 before you even realize it.

What it comes down to is, for an Eminem fan this is essential but for a fair weather fan you might want to pick up something else. Or for someone who just picked up Chronic 2001 and wants to hear some Eminem songs that weren't played out on MTV, this ain't the place. Pick up Marshall Mathers LP or Slim Shady LP.

If you are a hardcore fan, make sure you pick up the two disc. The three tracks on the bonus disc are better than the entire album. They're remarkably similar to MM LP or When I'm Gone from Curtain Call.

Cool songs . . .
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Mockingbird, Like Toy Soldiers, One Shot 2 Shot, We As Americans, Love You More, Ricky Ticky Tock, and of course, Never Enough. July 4, 2007

Eminem's Nemisis

Behold, the inevitable downfall of Eminem. There are two major reasons why this album sucked:

1. The beats suck. The only songs that have a decent beat are Like Toy Soldiers and Mosh. And the only reason Like Toy Soldiers became popular is because of the catchy chorus which is just a sample of an old song called Toy Soldiers by Martika. Apart from those two songs, the beats on the other songs are pretty lame. I mean, in Rain Man, the beat consists of just 3 chords.

2. He ran out of things to say. This is what made his downfall so inevitable. If you look through his previous 3 albums, most of his songs have one of the following six song meanings:

- My mother is a b***h and I am going to kill her.
- My ex-girlfriend, Kim, is a b***h and I am going to kill her.
- I have an alter-ego called Slim Shady and he is a psychopath who doesn't care what people think of him.
- Woe is me for I am being persecuted by the media (even though this is the sort of reaction I wanted from them when I wrote the controversial lyrics because the controversy gives me free publicity and makes my young fans feel that they are rebelling against their parents and authority when they buy my albums, increasing my records sales and making me even richer, plus giving me something else to whine about).
- Radio friendly single with humourous lyrics that take shots at celebrities that I release for each album debut to gain radioplay and appeal to stupid pop fans with a short attention span (My Name Is, The Real Slim Shady, Without Me and Just Lose It).
- I have a daughter.

Eminem has been milking those 6 themes for his whole career. Yes, I am aware that he does have songs that do not fit into those six categories (eg. Stan, Mosh, Guilty Conscience). But the majority of his songs do. All his previous albums revolve around these themes. It was inevitable that he would eventually run out of things to say. I mean, how many times could he rap about killing his mother, killing his ex-girlfriend and Slim Shady before people lost interest? His first 3 albums had completely milked those themes for what they're worth, and due to his inability to think of anything else, he just ends up writing a bunch of silly, immature, incoherent lyrics with no meaning whatsoever. He seems to be more interested in immitating bodily noises than actually writing some decent lyrics. On top of that, his radio-friendly single (Just Lose It), as well as being about the same subject as all the other ones, sucked musically as well as lyrically. How brave of Eminem to do what every other celebrity and comedian has done in the past few years (make fun of Michael Jackson). There's a reason why Eminem quit after this album. And don't believe him when he says it's because he's sick of the fame, it's because he's run out of things to write about.

This is the sad legacy of Eminem. An artist whose lyrics revolve so much around present events, particularly what is currently happening in his life, that they quickly become irrelevant within a few years. I mean, who cares about his criticism of Moby and boy bands (Without Me) now that their 15 minutes of fame are up? Who is going to care about his shots at other rappers and Michael Jackson when they are gone from the spotlight? Who still cares about his hatred of his mother and his relationship with Kim? Or how he's moving out of Hollywood (Say Goodbye to Hollywood) or his beef with Murder Inc (Like Toy Soldiers)? These songs become out of date within a mere 2 years after his album is released. The only songs that could possibly be relevant within 10 years are Lose Yourself and Stan.

People say that the Slim Shady LP and the Marshal Mathers LP are some of the best albums ever made, yet how many people still listen to them? I mean, going back and listening to them now, they just sound so bland and dated, and his voice just sounds annoying.

Eminem has no lasting appeal. He was fresh when he first came out, creating a buzz with his unique style and controversial lyrics, but his reliance on a few themes has lead him to a dead end. From the release of his second album, any old monkey could realise that his career would be short-lived. Eminem had potential, but his egocentric lyrics that relied on references to what was popular at the time, made him just another fad with no lasting appeal. Now his 15 minutes of fame are up, his fans have grown up, MTV and pop listeners will move onto the next fad and no one will remember him in 10 years time. April 7, 2007

Where did Eminem go

A large shift in eminem's flow resulted in a dissapointing album. He reached his peak with the Eminem Show, but this album shows signs of a downfall. His rhyming style seems different and not as solid as before. This album was hard to get into and cannot be taken as seriously as the previous three. Some songs are decent , never enough, like toy soldiers, just lose it, and mosh being the best. After listening to this album one can only hope that shady makes atleast one more album that displays the talents of the old eminem. April 4, 2007

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