First off let me describe myself, I’m not a teenage boy I’m a 28 year old with a tendancy against rap. I started listening to Eminem’s albums from newest to oldest. Imagine my shock upon hearing The Eminem Show and actually liking some rap. And I don’t just like Eminem’s rap I love it. I actually still don’t really like rap, as Em is the only rapper that I’ll listen too. Why? I keep asking myself. Well I think Eminem is doing for rap with Kurt Cobain did for punk, making it much more accessible by adding a certain dimension of - dare I say it - pop to difficult genres. Also I find Eminem’s topic far more interesting and personal; I’m a little white guy from the burbs I’ve never lived in a hood but I do understand white trash and I can relate to Em’s psycho alter ego Slim Shady, hey we all have a dark side we keep hidden from the world, Eminem just shines a light on it and has some dark fun with it. Maybe some people just arn’t twisted enough to get Eminem. (Poor sods!)
Anyways lets talk about the Slim Shady LP specifically and in comparison to the other albums. I think The Eminem Show is a very mature work as far as the content goes and while the Marshall Mathers LP isn’t as consistently good it has some of my favorite Eminem tunes on it. The problem with the Marshall Mathers LP is that I think it goes a little too far with the whole psycho murderer thing, it’s very much in your face with less trademark humour and wit (still think it’s a great album but not very accessable). The Slim Shady LP incorperates images of violence with a great deal of humour and wit, I find myself laughing at things that I probably shouldn’t be laughing at, its fantastic the way he does it. I think the Slim Shady LP has the highest production value of all of them as this is the album Dr Dre was most involved in. And I find the beats on this album to be consistently superior to the others. I was surprized at just how consistently good this album is, usually first albums of even the most talented stars are a bit awkward. Having said that, his rapping ability has improved greatly from this album, however I think we see Eminem the story teller at his finest and I think this is his most varied album. Another downside to the album is that his voice hasn’t matured yet and having started from the most recent to least it really through me off. However you do get used to it so its not a major flaw. For me the tunes of note are Brain damage which is clever and if your being bullied or have ever been you can really relate. Just don’t give a f*&k and Still just don’t give a f&^k sport the best kickin beats on the track -- yo what the hell am I talkin about it’s all good. If your an Em fan don’t shy away from this album its his most consistent and varied effort and it just rocks. If your not an Eminem fan but interested, start with the Eminem Show, if you like it pick this one up and then if your not particularily squeamish pick up the Marshall Matthers LP. ’’f%$k it there’s a little Slim Shady in all of us, lets all stand up’’ Damn right! and thats why we can’t get enough.