Artist: Eminem
Album Title: The Eminem Show
Label: Aftermath Records

Eminem is an interesting psychological subject. He’s an idiot savant with a good, inventive command of language that he often uses to express ridiculous thoughts. He’s paranoid about people hating him but a lot of his problems are self imposed. Still, his raps are skilled and filled with personality.

With this album we hear a mature Marshall Mathers who has cut back on his poppy rap tunes mocking other performers. This time he’s all snarls without the satire. Marshall Mathers is on the defensive now, and reeling from his mother (“Cleanin’ Out My Closet”), the price of fame (“When the Music Stops”) and the politics of his skin color (“White America”). Other than “Without Me,” which takes pot shots at the usual chart toppers and other white rappers, the only real target on this album is himself.

Mathers and Dr. Dre are starting to repeat themselves with the likes of “Soldier,” “Business” and “Drips.” “Eminem Show” lacks the overwhelming, single-minded force of the “The Marshall Mathers LP.” The best part of this album is that each song has its own beat; “Square Dance” has him beat boxing, while “Till I Collapse” sounds like a march. “Sing for the Moment” is the album’s “Stan,” a hip-hop power ballad rejuvenating Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”

This album brings out Eminem’s good qualities, illustrated by “Halie’s Song.” He even brought his daughter Halie into the studio to be featured on “My Dad’s Gone Crazy.” This is a lighter, more mature Eminem.

In a nutshell, the major problem with The Eminem Show is that its content, which relies heavily on shock value, does not shock us anymore. The skits seem stale, the themes redundant, and the lyrics half hearted. Although Eminem at 50 percent is still better than nearly every other MC on the planet, this album still leaves us disappointed. This album will not cause any fans to jump off the bandwagon, but it certainly won’t gain him too many new ones.