In place of sincere, fiery tracks like “Marshall Mathers” or “Rock Bottom”, The Eminem Show is filled with unimaginative pieces like “Say Goobye Hollywood” and “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”, which leave the listener with the distinct feeling that s/he has heard the songs before. This album, however, leaves little trace of the inspiration and passion that permeated the previous two LPs. On The Marshall Mathers LP, we saw a more confident and mature Eminem seemingly taking the elevator to legend status with his amazing wit and creativity, superb lyrics, and flawless production. On his first album, The Slim Shady LP, we were introduced to a hungry MC fighting for respect (“I’m tired of other rappers who ain’t bringin’ half the skill as me / Saying they wasn’t feelin’ me or ‘nobody’s as ill as me'”). Unfortunately, Eminem’s third album represents a musical fence-straddling that results in a disappointing combination of promising musical experimentation and uninspired lyrics. If you are Eminem, how do you follow up two critically acclaimed, multi-platinum hip-hop albums? There are two primary schools of thought: stick to the formula and keep pumping out the same material until the public tires of your sound, á la Ja Rule, or, like Outkast and Lauryn Hill, risk it all by experimenting and hope that you are not abandoned by hip-hop’s fickle fan base.
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