Curtain Call: The Hits

by Eminem

Overview

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***," plus 2003's "Superman" and 2005's "Ass 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 the 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. 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, but it's a great greatest-hits album by any measure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/13/2005
Label:	Interscope / Aftermath / Universal
UPC:	0602498878965

Tracks

1. My Name Is
2. The Way I Am
3. Lose Yourself
4. Stan

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eminem   Primary Artist
Dido   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
D12   Primary Artist
Jay-Z   Primary Artist
The Notorious B.I.G.   Primary Artist
Jeff Bass   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Mark Batson   Keyboards
Luis Resto   Keyboards
Nate Dogg   Featured Artist
Mike Elizondo   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Tom Coster, Jr.   Keyboards
Elton John   Featured Artist
Dr. Dre   Featured Artist
Steve King   Bass,Guitar

Technical Credits

Trevor Horn   Composer
Paul Herman   Composer
Andre Young   Composer
Steven Tyler   Composer
Che Pope   Composer
Labi Siffre   Composer
Eminem   Mixing,Producer,Drum Programming,Executive Producer
Les Scurry   Production Coordination
Jeff Bass   Composer,Producer
Lindsay Collins   Studio Coordinator
Mark Batson   Composer
Luis Resto   Composer,Producer,Programming
Denaun Porter   Composer
Marti Frederiksen   Engineer
Martika   Composer
Mel-Man   Composer
Michael Jay   Composer
Mike Elizondo   Composer,Producer
Tom Coster, Jr.   Composer
Anne Dudley   Composer
Al Green   Composer
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner   Mastering
Malcolm McLaren   Composer
Dr. Dre   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Joe Perry   Solo Instrumental
Dido Armstrong   Composer
Christopher Pope   Composer
Tony Campana   Engineer
The 45 King & Louie   Producer
Kevin Bell   Composer
Melvin Bradford   Composer
Mauricio Iragorri   Engineer
Nitin Vadukul   Photography
Christopher Wallace   Composer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
Mark Bass   Composer
Urban Kris   Assistant Engineer
Shawn Carter   Composer
Nathaniel Hale   Composer
Anthony Mandler   Photography
Sarah Catlett   Studio Coordinator
Tom Rounds   Assistant Engineer
DJ Head   Drum Programming
Larry Chatman   Project Coordinator
Kirdis Postelle   Project Coordinator
Mike Sroka   Assistant Engineer
Scott Hays   Assistant Engineer
Marshall Mathers   Composer
Ben Jost   Assistant Engineer
Richard "Segal" Herredia   Engineer
Rouble Kapoor   Assistant Engineer
Karin Catt   Photography
Chris Wallace   Composer
P. Herman   Composer
Rufus Johnson   Composer
Steve King   Mixing,Composer,Engineer
Steve "B" Baughman   Engineer
Jeffrey Bass   Composer
Richard Stein   Composer
Von Carlisle   Composer
Ondre Moore   Composer
DeShaun Dupree Holton   Composer
Osten Harvey   Composer