Album Description"ENCORE" is multi-platinum recording artist EMINEM's first full album of new material since 2002's "THE EMINEM SHOW," which spawned the hit singles "Without Me" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet." That album went on the sell over 19 million albums worldwide. He followed up in November 2002 with Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture ‘8 Mile’, which featured the Academy Award winning song "Lose Yourself" and sold almost 9 million copies worldwide. Earlier this year, Eminem’s group D-12 released D-12 World (global sales over 3 million) and scored hits with "My Band" and "How Come".
ENCORE, Executive Produced by DR. DRE, features guest performances by 50 CENT, D-12, NATE DOGG, OBIE TRICE, and STAT QUO.
BONUS DISC: This two disc set includes a bonus CD with three previously unreleased EMINEM songs.
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Eminem is the greatest, Encore did not cease to please me...Evil Deeds, Never Enough, Yellow Brick Road, Like Toy Soldiers, Mosh, Mockiingbird, just a few songs to get you started. How I wish he would tour more to receive this adrenaline rush in person.
2010-04-06 Its not that bad. . .
If u r a very big fan of eminem, this album isn't really that bad only for a couple songs, but really alot of the songs have good beats and lyrics. Classic Eminem
2010-03-10 My Favorite Em Album, However Detached It Is
Encore, to me, is not known for it's classic Eminem tracks displaying an incredible talent in rapping. Encore for me, is when Slim Shady finally unscrewed the screws in his head and let all hell break lose. It's not the most talented album of his, rather it's the most unhinged. It feels like he's lost his mind through the album, and the songs where that shows most, become my favorite tracks. My favorites are "Rain Man", "Evil Deeds", "Puke", "My First Single", "Big Weenie", "Just Lose It", and "One Shot Two Shot". Rain Man is by far my favorite, because that's the biggest clue that Eminem has lost it....in a good way. He would later produce "Relapse" which would be a more polished version of these songs, but all the songs I listed are the glorious beggining of his transformation.
I don't enjoy Slim Shady the most when he's emotional and serious. I like him to have fun with his talent and be bizarre. I like Relapse and Encore much more than The Eminem Show because of that specific reason. I don't think any music from this artist will be as good as Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP days, but this release is second best in my mind.
The other tracks I didn't mention are just ok. As I said before, I don't really care for the heartfelt stuff such as "Mockingbird", but the supplemental tracks were not as ignorable as The Eminem Show's fillers. Encore's a pretty tough album to review because I do agree with some harsh compliments, because it's such a trip in another direction. However, with how much I listened to this album, I cannot deny that it's one of my favorites. Relapse managed to expand on this album, while satisfying those who felt that this shot was too mixed and incomplete.
I understand I'm a little bit of a minority for loving this album. I think the reason, is my background in rap music taste. I come from a history of Tech N9ne, MF Doom, Wu Tang Clan, ICP, and Esham. So it's pretty apparent that I like it when rappers lose their mind, and dislike it when they're calm and realistic. If you share my rap music interest then I do reccomend this rap album. Of course people will gasp at my attempt to put Eminem and ICP in the same sentence without denouncing one or the other, but I think we all need to grow up and accept that you can enjoy both. If there's anything that's going to make you narrowminded, it's being selective about music because someone tells you to.
2010-03-04 Wow. That's all I can say.
There are only 2 good songs on this album.
I'm not even going to try to get deep into this. This will be as short as the best song on the album (Never Enough).
Sucks.
Beats: Overall, annoying.
Raps: Decent.
2009-12-16 My First Eminem CD...and it won't be the last
I've never been much of a rap fan. I do like some of the old school rap from the '80s and '90s (Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, early LL Cool J and especially Public Enemy). However I can't stand most of what is played on the radio today of any genre, especially the rap. I know that this is just the mainstream rap and, as in all genres, the more underground stuff is probably much better. So please do not judge me based on my admitted ignorance of the genre and, by all means, do not buy this based on my recommendation if you are a rap fan. My one hope, though, is that those of you who limit yourself to only one genre of music will open your mind. I was wrong about modern rap and I admit that. Please read my other reviews and give one of those artists the same chance I gave Eminem.
I had, of course, heard of Eminem and his tumultuous personal life and had even heard the song "Lose Yourself". However, I never really listened to him until a friend who shares much of my taste in music (which tends to lean towards rock and roll from the '60s-mid '80s) recommended this album to me.
The first thing that I noticed when I turned the album on was Eminem's ability to allow the listener to visualize his world. The advice "write what you know" is a cliche but it has worked for numerous rock artists who wrote songs about their parts of the country and life as they experienced it and it seems to be working for rap artists as well. However, Eminem takes this even a step farther. Whereas Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp and their ilk sang about hard economic times, small town life and various aspects of it, it was usually in third person. Eminem spends the whole album in first person which is something even some of the best lyricists would be hesitant to do.
Of course, not everything works, but some of my favorites are listed below:
"Evil Deeds" begins this album with a bang. A very personal song about his childhood with a catchy chorus.
"Yellow Brick Road" again deals with his adolescence and how he entered into the rap scene, including how he had to deal with the issue of race in his rise to prominence.
The chorus of "Like Toy Soldiers" is so damn catchy that you may end up humming it for the next few days, but the lyrics are among the most emotional I have ever heard and it is definitely one of the best tracks on the disc. It is sort of anti-gangsta rap about how he dealt with a fellow rapper who made comments about his daughter. Lines like "I'd walk away from it all before I'd let it go any further" and "I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin rest on my conscience" show his genius and his unique way of making a statement better than anything I could write about it.
"Mosh" almost equals "Like Toy Soldiers" but perhaps that's just my political views talking. Either way, this is the best protest song in years. Even the most liberal and rebellious rock singers didn't have the guts to say "f*#k Bush" in a song. Best line though, is "Strap him with an AK-47 let him go fight his own war". Every time I hear it I'm reminded of the classic 1969 song "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
"My First Single" is certainly catchy enough to be a single, but most of all its just a fun song that shows that Eminem can do more than vent about personal issues and politics. "Rain Man" is in the same boat.
"A$$ Like That" is another catchy, fun song with lots of name-dropping. Love the accent.
"Spend Some Time" is a more downbeat and emotional song about relationships with great lyrics.
"Mockingbird" is the best song on the album. It's about his daughters and his relationship from them. If the rest of the album up to this point hasn't worked for you, this track will make you respect him as a person even if you dislike his music. I was in tears after I listened to it the first time and I played it for another friend who is very close-minded to rap and he also was floored.
"Crazy in Love" is about his relationship with his ex-wife and it heavily samples Heart's "Crazy on You". Funny in a weird way and his singing is surprisingly competent.
The rest of the tracks don't really do it for me, but I would certainly recommend buying it. The bonus disc contains two good songs that are not up to the standards of the album and another that I didn't care for.
The album is angry and honest and surprisingly funny at times. Eminem may be the best songwriter of his generation (although it is my guess that he may balk at being called a "songwriter").
Detroit has always been one of the musical centers of America. Whether it is Motown, the creation of punk, or the heartland rock of Bob Seger, only Memphis compares with Detroit in innovation. This disc has proven to me that this tradition continues. Rock and roll is not as dominant as it once was and like everything else most new rock is horrible. Rock fans like myself will have to accept that and quit vilifying other genres because of it.
Take my advice: if you listen to only rap, give something else a chance. And if you're a rocker who happens to be reading this, buy it. In either case, there is a whole new world waiting for you to open the door.