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The Marshall Mathers LP by: Eminem

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Publisher: Polydor Group
Release date: 11th September, 2000
Media: Audio CD

Format

• Explicit Lyrics
• Extra tracks

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Track List

• Public Service Announcement 2000
• Kill You
• Stan - Eminem, Dido
• Paul - Paul "Bunyan" Rosenburg
• Who Knew
• Steve Berman - Eminem, Steve Berman
• The Way I Am
• The Real Slim Shady
• Remember Me? - Eminem, RBX, Sticky Fingaz
• I'm Back
• Marshall Mathers
• Ken Kaniff
• Drug Ballad
• Amityville - Eminem, Bizarre
• *****Please 2 - Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner, Nate Dogg
• Kim
• Under The Influence - Eminem, D-12
• Criminal
• Kids

Editorial Review

His second album finds Eminem struggling to contain the pressures of success. And he's dealing it with it disgracefully. The Detroit rapper's multiple identities are more mixed up than ever, with Marshall Mathers fighting for prominence against his alter egos: Eminem, Slim Shady, Kenneth Kaniff and his public image. Don't be fooled by the album title: apart from the eponymous "Marshall Mathers" (which runs the lyrical gamut from maudlin to maniacal) you won't learn too much about "the real Slim Shady" here. As fiction bleeds into reality, Eminem aggravates the wound to increase the flow. The Dr Dre/Mel-Man productions on this record don't have the slap-happy bounce of those from the Slim Shady LP; all drums and bass, they're ghostly, minimised slabs of roto-funk. Except, of course for the gleefully self-referential single "The Real Slim Shady", for which Dre appropriately cuts in some of the picked-guitar from his own "Forgot About Dre". Eminem's own co-productions with F.B.T. veer from the bounce to the ounce of "Drug Ballad" to the full-metal jacket of "Kim", where you get to find out all the gruesome details of how Eminem's paramour ended up in the back of that trunk (from Slim Shady's "'97 Bonnie and Clyde"). And believe me, it ain't pretty. If anything there's a lesson to be learnt here: money, success, drugs, murderous intent, mental trauma and schizophrenia are all just as American as apple pie. --Chris Campion

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Rating: - Quick Reviews!

Progressing from Guns'N'Roses as `The World's Most Dangerous Band', Eminem burst into middle class homes across the world as `The World's Most Dangerous Musician'. His first album was vulgar, crass, offensive, full of foul language and obscene lyrics, it covered taboo subjects, and was full of violent imagery involving fights, drugs, and guns. Naturally it sold millions and terrified parents and politicians everywhere. The critics failed to see the underlying reasons for the success; it was clever, full of energy and invention, and packed with great music. The Blond rapper from Detroit had a lot to live up to for his second album, not that he cared, and with The Marshall Mathers LP he created a monster, surpassing his first in every way- it is shocking in its violence, hilarious in its unashamed attack on celebrity, musically intense and original, and is easily one of the albums of the decade.

`PSA 2000' opens the album in similar style to the Slim Shady LP. It sets the tone for the rest of the album with Eminem's trademark humour and attitude coming through. For those who don't know it is a spoken word announcement proclaiming how he doesn't care if you hate his album

`Kill You' has an ominous tone throughout with it's dark, yet funky bass and screamed vocals. It covers a multitude of topics deriding those who criticize him, especially those who see him as a violent influence to their kids. Naturally he responds by saying he will kill them. Lyrically it is much angrier than anything in the first album- the dark side of fame has struck him and he raps about the hypocrisy of radio stations, TV shows etc whose ratings are bad so they invite him on expecting controversy. This is a strong first song which sets the darker tone of the album, with only subtle hints at humour 6 foot underneath.

`Stan' needs no explaining as it was one of the biggest hits of the decade. On first listen it was a revelation- a brilliantly clever story, flawlessly written lyrics and music, it's haunting chorus which blends seamlessly into each verse. The story of a disgruntled and psychotic fan going too far again shows the down side of fame, how becoming an idol brings shadowy responsibilities that you either don't want or release you had until it was too late. Unfortunately as it became such a big hit thanks to certain big Radio stations with 1 in the title who played it roughly 48 times a day it lacks the impact it once had. Of course these radio stations played a severely censored version and on top of this Dido inexplicably became popular. Her song which was sampled in Stan is bland and poor when heard on its own, but as part of Stan it works effectively. Now that her song has been played to death it unfortunately gives a second knife in the back of Eminem's epic.

`Paul' is another funny spoken insert, featuring someone's reaction to hearing the album. At only a few seconds long it is throwaway material but still great fun and the album doesn't sound whole if who skip it.

`Who Knew' is a more juvenile version of Kill You, mixing funny lyrics and ideas with satirical and harsh ones. Again he explains his hatred of the hypocrisy of American parents, media, and politicians who have blamed him for everything to murder, suicide, and the decline of the American youth. He explains his side in a clever way, replacing the elegance of rhetoric with his own unique blend of madness. Musically it is fairly simple, with a slight bass beat in the background and some synth style strings which are reminiscent of, ironically, Psycho.

`Steve Berman' continues the spoken interludes and features a record company producer/suit who hates the album. As always it is done in a jaunty style with some funny background music as Eminem sets himself up as a `me against the world' figure.

`The Way I Am' is as close to soul baring and honesty as we get on the album, another angry attack on fame, those who hate him and those who love him a little too much. He spits out the words with venom and typically doesn't hold back. Musically it is as melodic as he gets, with piano and bass mixing together and some church bells in the choruses which add a dark tint.

`The Real Slim Shady' was the first big hit off the album, similar to what My Name Is in commercial sensibility and melodic and lyrical content. A circus like loop repeats throughout, the chorus is a huge sing along favourite, and the verses are a hilarious destruction of celebrity. He speaks obviously of the split personality which people see in him, and of the thousands of imitators who started to appear, and his anger over being mentioned by other vacuous types now because he's famous.

`Remember Me' features various guest rappers, mostly rapping about themselves and their own experiences. This is more typical rap than Eminem's own work on the album, features great lyrics but fairly bland stoner noise. Eminem's verse is the best of the lot and raises the song by virtue of his delivery. There is more name dropping, more screaming, and more goodness.

`I'm Back' sounds quite commercial with its memorable lead line and catchy chorus. Again the target is fame and the hounds which follow whoever is the flavour of the month. Again he dismisses all the nonsense, and injects plenty of humour into the lyrics with various imaginings and one-liners.

`Marshall Mathers' stands out with Kim and Stan as a classic- musically and lyrically it wreaks of brilliance and is swamped with emotion. The confessional lyrics speak of further pitfalls of success- how family members he never knew now come to see him. He covers, Axl Rose style, many objects of his rage from boy/girl groups, useless celebrities and whoever else stupidly falls under his radar. Of course it is all tongue in cheek, but you can taste the annoyance from his relationships with his mother and wife and accusations of selling out now that he is `a big star'.

`Ken Kaniff' is the final spoken word piece, and the best/worst depending on which way your wind blows. It involves a sexual encounter between 2 characters which ends badly when one mentions Eminem. Juvenile and funny the first time, but not integral to the album.

`Drug Ballad' has a funky bass line helped along by some female vocals throughout. Eminem speaks of his love of drugs and booze which has become an addiction. He speaks of various experiences as well as what will happen/is happening if he doesn't stop. The chorus is as catchy as the singles on the album, the lyrics are clever although will be disagreeable to most.

`Amityville' isn't one of the best songs on the album. Lyrically it is tongue in cheek, but this time it sounds more like it is trying to offend just for the sake of it. Rather than targeting something genuine and slicing it apart, Bizarre and Eminem find everything taboo and recite like a love of exploitation. Musically it isn't very memorable, although the ending has some nice additions.

`Bitch Please II' gets back on the musical tracks with some nice background sounds and catchy melodies. The guests (Dre, Snoop) are more effective this time, the lyrics are more direct with each member adding their own flavour. Silly in parts covering the pride of gangsta stories but with all the humourous content you can't possibly take the content seriously. As with the rest of the album though, the style and music must be seriously respected.

`Kim' is the best track on the album, absolutely brutal in content and delivery, heavy metal in style in attitude, emotion, pain, and anger dropping from every word. Every word is shrieked in a demented way, shivers will fly up and down your spine, the chorus is catchy, the guitars and piano are haunting, and the words are utterly horrific. Basically he imagines taking his wife out of the city and murdering her after she cheated on him, the lyrics delivered with frightening authenticity. There is no humour in stark contrast to the rest of the album, it is basically 6 minutes of harrowing rage ending with the sounds of a body being dragged away. Within a few seconds you will forget that you are listening to a song; one of the best songs of the decade.

`Under The Influence' features D12 rapping along to one of the most memorable melodies on the album, and an extremely infectious chorus. The lyrics are on the `lighter' side, full of vulgarity and humour and as with the rest of the album pretty offensive if you don't realize the tongue in cheek nature.

`Criminal' is another song with South Park-esque humour (and references). Eminem raps about the criminal life that certain areas of society believes he is part of. Murder, bank robberies, kidnapping etc are all flown through with jolly glee, but the message is all about freedom of speech versus conservatism and red faced commentators who have never actually listened to the music.

Eminem's second album was a huge chart success as well as being a critical favourite. On the flip side the inevitable controversy was huge with celebrities, parents, politicians, fellow rappers, women and gay rights' groups all ganging together in disgust. There is plenty here to offend, but whether or not it should not be listened to is a futile question given that there is so much to enjoy. It is undoubtedly one of the most important and best albums of the decade bringing hard edged rap into the mainstream, giving a well deserved slap in the face to watered-down music of all genres, and a wake up call to all artists to raise their game or get left behind. Hypnotically weaving its way through the various part's of Eminem's psyche it is best to simply relax and enjoy. If you are easily offended you won't listen and probably won't be reading this; for those who are not will be treated to an album full of force and aggression, but with a lot of heart, humour, wit, and skill too.

Rating: - Words from a rap genius...

I was in the States when this album came out and it was huge (of course). It's been several years since I listened to it but I have to say it's lost none of its power. Eminem is a warped genius who offends everyone but still manages to endear himselt to everyone at the same time. This was probably the high point of Eminem's career, although some of his later albums are pretty good.

Rating: - LOVE HIS MUSIC

Okay my song owns all of Eminem Albums (even the 8Mile soundtrack, whenever we're in a car we always put this album on, my favourite songs on it is "The Kids", "Kill You", "The Real Slim Shady", "Under The Influence" and "The Way I Am". I must say that out of all of his albums this is a very comical one even though he admits he makes "Fight Music" but on such songs as "The Kids", eventhough it's ment to be a serious song about drugs but you can't help but laughing at the intro bit and the South Park characters and the kids in the song

Rating: - Energising, Disturbing, Powerful!

The first album of Eminem's I heard, now that I own them all (apart from the Slim Shady EP, though trying to work on that) I realise that this is Eminem's most agressive personality and this album is the most feircely confrontational. Others may directly challenge the powers that be, the government, etc, but in these tracks you can imagine him with veins bulging, spitting and screaming down the mic with all the raw emotion he had. Now he's rich, popular, owns his own recording label and has artists working for him, he's a business man now. He no longer has to fight on the streets with everyone who doubts him, this is what fuelled the Eminem you all listen to today. The further back you go the more the words come from the heart. Now he just says it for the shock value and the press, but on this album he will kill you if you doubt him! An experience to listen to! Think about the way you feel when you've just finished listening to it, just don't kill nobody!

Rating: - The debate continues, but I reckon song-for-song this is his best

Everyone has their favourite Eminem album. For some it was the startling debut of the Slim Shady Album, for younger fans his more recent work. Now that he seems to have retired from performing and is sticking to producing (the odd slip aside - even Eric Clapton will never REALLY retire), it's interesting to look back on his output and, for me, this is the clear winner.

There is, of course Stan and The Real Slim Shady and The Way I Am, all copper-bottomed hits. Kim is as painful to listen to now as it was when he recorded it. Since then he married her again...and divorced her again. Not since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was there so much pain in a celebrity pairing.

The best one for me, though, doesn't appear on all versions of this album - but seek out the Special Edition with its bonus track The Kids, Marshall's tribute to his love of South Park. It is the funniest thing he has ever done, and dare I say the best?

I saw the man himself when he played Milton Keynes - his last perfomances in Britain, as it turns out - and the songs from this album excited the fans most. It's easy to see why.

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