Tracks:
1. Public Service Announcement 2000 (Skit): 8/10 a truly hilarious start to the album which is a thoroughly effective attack on his critics. It makes me feel relived not to be one of Eminem's critics.
2. Kill You: 4/10 just no. Eminem usually does this kind of song well, but this is nasty, misogynistic, offensive and not even very catchy. Aside from a cool reference to Psycho and his typical rhyming skill, this is uglier than a Lord of the Rings orc and a pain to listen to.
3. Stan: 10/10 a harrowing, unbearably powerful tale of an obsessed fan which feels like a poem written by one of the greats, this is one of the best things Eminem has ever done.
4. Paul (Skit): 4/10 what? I don't get it.
5. Who Knew: 8/10 the message isn't always clear, but this works typical lyrical wonders from Eminem.
6. Steve Berman (Skit): 8/10 pretty funny, and unlike some Eminem skits it doesn't feel superfluous.
7. The Way I Am: 9/10 Eminem's serious side comes out in this melancholy yet superbly written track about the dark side of his fame. There's no question he deserves all his fame.
8. The Real Slim Shady: 10/10 this might just be Eminem's masterpiece. It's hilarious, it's ferocious, it's insanely entertaining and the writing on display here is truly awesome. There really is only one Slim Shady, and this song confirms that.
9. Remember Me?: 9/10 the question mark in the title should be removed. Thanks to its sheer intensity, you definitely won't get forget it.
10. I'm Back: 8/10 fairly typical Eminem fare, but Slim Shady never fails to entertain.
11. Marshall Mathers: 9/10 a journey into Eminem's mind, which despite containing the usual humour and sharpness, is actually a lot more compelling, deep and serious than it sounds.
12. Ken Kaniff (Skit): 8/10 I don't know what to say. It's pretty low, but with such as amazing punch-line this could be the greatest Emimen skit of them all.
13. Drug Ballad: 8/10 some of the lyrics don't work, but this is for the most part a brilliantly written song about drugs which tells its message in a far more imaginative way than many songs would.
14. Amityville: 6/10 the beat is good and it's clever, but not that clever and it fails to navigate the tightrope between effectively shocking and pure ugliness.
15. Bitch Please II: 8/10 while not the album's best song, it's still a razor sharp hip hop track with many highly entertaining guest verses from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibet and Nate Dogg.
16. Kim: 7/10 it's pretty unpleasant and to be honest it's a bit much. Still, this certainly gets your attention and the skill of the song cannot be denied.
17. Under the Influence: 7/10 an enjoyable rehash of the album's previous songs which manages to get past the ugly tone reasonable successfully.
18. Criminal: 8/10 a summary of the album's themes, this hammers the messages of this excellent album home.
Best song: The Real Slim Shady
Worst song: Kill You
Summary: The Marshall Mathers LP is Eminem's response to all his critics. While his critics have a point- occasionally it all just gets a bit ugly and similar themes are covered repeatedly- this album is certainly a perfect piece of evidence for his defenders. Crackling with raw energy, bursting with wit and endlessly entertaining, Eminem's brilliant lyrical work hits a new peak here. While extremely funny, at the same time Eminem shows his more thoughtful poetic side, which is arguably just as good, if not better than his lighter songs. A hip hop epic and Eminem's best work yet.
Final rating: 9/10
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