Not that this means he’s gone soft, mind. ‘The Eminem Show’ sees Marshall Mathers doing all these things, backing away from the scorched-earth nihilism of his last album towards a more personal, vulnerable, even – gulp – mature artistic vision.

Fame and familiarity means that Eminem can never pull that trick off again, but he can improve his music, find new things to talk about, refine his amazing flow. Part of the power of ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ was that it seemed to come from nowhere – certainly it was a quantum leap from his 1999 debut. To do all this, and to do it while selling millions of records to the disenfranchised, supposedly dumbed down “little hellions” he always wanted to reach, is about as much as any musician could hope for.Įminem‘s career is now all about extending that high.

Has played with their persona with more intelligence, and no-one since the Sex Pistols A true artist, no one since Kurt has raged so hard and articulately, no-one since – David Bowie “What the fuck,” you can almost hear him thinking, “am I going to do for an encore?”Įminem‘s last album, 2000’s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’, made him nothing less than the biggest and best pop star in the world.

The sleeve of ‘The Eminem Show’ sees our anti-hero pensive, in a dinner jacket, just out of the spotlight as the red velvet curtains open.

Eminem the eminem show full album