Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits - Music & Performance - CD

Eminem has sold over 65 million albums worldwide to date. Curtain Call - the Hits is a collection of Eminem's greatest hits like 'My Name Is', 'The Way I Am', 'Lose Yourself' and 'Stan' along with two all new studio tracks. Curtain Call is a CD that takes you from 1999 - 2005 and gives you a glimpse of what is to come in the future from Eminem! *CLEAN VERSION. Interscope. 2005.

If Eminem's Curtain Call: The Hits really is his final bow and not merely a clever denouement to his series of Eminem Show and Encore albums, it's a worthy way to retire. And even if he stages a comeback years from now, there's little question that the first five years of his career, spanning four albums plus a soundtrack, will be his popular and creative peak, meaning that the time is right for Curtain Call -- it has all the songs upon which his legend lies. Which isn't necessarily the same things as all the hits. There are a few odds and ends missing -- most notably one of his first hip-hop hits, "Just Don't Give a F**k," plus 2003's "Superman" and 2005's "A** Like That" -- but all the big songs are here: "Guilty Conscience," "My Name Is," "Stan," "The Real Slim Shady," "The Way I Am," "Cleanin' Out My Closet," "Lose Yourself," "Without Me," and "Just Lose It." They're not presented in chronological order, which by and large isn't a problem, since the sequencing here not only has a good, logical momentum, alternating between faster and slower tracks, but they're all part of a body of work that's one of the liveliest, most inventive in pop music in the 21st century. The only exception to the rule are the three new songs here, all finding Shady sounding somewhat thin. There's the closing "When I'm Gone," a sentimental chapter in Eminem domestic psychodrama that bears the unmistakable suggestion that Em is going away for a while. While it's not up to the standard of "Mockingbird," it is more fully realized than the two other new cuts here, both sex songs that find Shady sounding as if he's drifting along in his own orbit. "Shake That" has an incongruous Nate Dogg crooning the chorus, while the wildly weird "Fack" finds Eminem spending the entire track fighting off an orgasm; it seems tired, a little too close to vulgar Weird Al territory, and it doesn't help that his Jenna Jameson reference seems a little old (everybody knows that the busty porno "it" girl of 2005 is Jesse Jane; after all, she even was in Entourage). Even if these three cuts suggest why Eminem is, if not retiring, at least taking a long break, that's fine: they're reasonably good and are bolstered by the rest of the songs here, which don't just capture him at his best, but retain their energy, humor, weirdness, and vitality even after they've long become overly familiar. And that means Curtain Call isn't just a good way to bow out, it's a great greatest-hits album by any measure. [Curtain Call was also released in a "clean" edition containing no profanity.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Performer	Eminem
Music genre	Rap / Hip-Hop
Music subgenre	POP RAP / HIP-HOP
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2005
Edition	CLEAN VERSION
Is collectible	Y
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits [COMPACT DISCS] Clean
Track listing	Intro, Fack, The Way I Am, My Name Is, Stan Featuring Dido, Lose Yourself, Shake That Featuring Nate Dogg, Sing for the Moment, Without Me, Like Toy Soilders, The Real Slim Shady, Mockingbird, Guilty Conscience Featuring Dr. Dre, Cleanin' Out My Closet, Just Lose It, When I'm Gone, Stan Featuring Elton John (Live) Bonus Track
Record label	Aftermath
Songwriter	Eminem
Track name	Intro, FACK, The Way I Am, My Name Is, Stan (feat. Dido), Lose Yourself, Shake That (feat. Nate Dogg), Sing For The Moment, Without Me, Like Toy Soldiers, The Real Slim Shady, Mockingbird, Guilty Conscience (feat. Dr. Dre), Cleanin' Out My Closet, Just Lose It, When I'm Gone, Stan (Feat. Elton John), Dead Wrong (feat. Eminem), Role Model, Kill You, Shit On You, Criminal, Renegade (feat. Eminem), Just Don't Give A F**k
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N