Curtain Call

Rating

Album: Curtain Call
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Intro Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	0:34
2)	FACK Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:26
3)	The Way I Am Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:51
4)	My Name Is	More Info...	4:29
5)	Stan Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	6:44
6)	Lose Yourself Soundtrack Version	More Info...	5:26
7)	Shake That Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:34
8)	Sing For The Moment Album Version	More Info...	5:40
9)	Without Me Album Version	More Info...	4:51
10)	Like Toy Soldiers Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:56
11)	The Real Slim Shady Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:45
12)	Mockingbird Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:11
13)	Guilty Conscience	More Info...	3:20
14)	Cleanin' Out My Closet Album Version	More Info...	4:59
15)	Just Lose It Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:09
16)	When I'm Gone Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:41
17)	Stan	More Info...	6:20

Album: Curtain Call
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Intro Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	0:34
2)	FACK Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:26
3)	The Way I Am Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:51
4)	My Name Is	More Info...	4:29
5)	Stan Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	6:44
6)	Lose Yourself Soundtrack Version	More Info...	5:26
7)	Shake That Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:34
8)	Sing For The Moment Album Version	More Info...	5:40
9)	Without Me Album Version	More Info...	4:51
10)	Like Toy Soldiers Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:56
11)	The Real Slim Shady Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:45
12)	Mockingbird Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:11
13)	Guilty Conscience	More Info...	3:20
14)	Cleanin' Out My Closet Album Version	More Info...	4:59
15)	Just Lose It Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:09
16)	When I'm Gone Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:41
17)	Stan	More Info...	6:20

Tracks

1. Intro (Curtain Call)

2. Fack

3. The Way I Am

4. My Name Is

5. Stan

6. Lose Yourself

7. Shake That

8. Sing For The Moment

9. Without Me

10. Like Toy Soldiers

11. The Real Slim Shady

12. Mockingbird

13. Guilty Conscience

14. Cleanin' Out My Closet

15. Just Lose It

16. When I'm Gone

17. Stan (Live With Elton John)

Performer Notes

Personnel: Eminem (drum programming); Jeff Bass, Mike Elizondo (guitar, keyboards); Steve King (guitar); Luis Resto (keyboards, programming); Mark Batson, Tom Coster, Jr. (keyboards); DJ Head (drum programming).
Audio Mixers: Dr. Dre; Eminem; Steve King .
Recording information: 54 Sound Studio, Detroit, MI; Marshall's House, Detroit, MI; TransContinental Studios, Orlando, FL.
Photographers: Karin Catt; Anthony Mandler; Jonathan Mannion; Nitin Vadukul.
It's hard to believe, given his gargantuan impact on popular culture, that Eminem had only released four full-length albums by 2004. That year's ENCORE showed the rapper's artistic vitality fading just a bit, but 2005's CURTAIN CALL, an overdue greatest-hits collection, helps remind audiences that Eminem produced a stunning string of singles in a short span of time. Naturally, CURTAIN CALL eschews the artist's most controversial material ("'97 Bonnie and Clyde," for example, from THE SLIM SHADY LP), focusing instead on his highest charters, like 8 MILE's "Lose Yourself" and introspective confessionals like "Cleanin' Out My Closet" (a rant against his mother) and "Mockingbird" (a tribute to his daughter).
But even at his most sentimental and dramatic, Eminem displays a level of artistry that surpasses nearly anyone in hip-hop, if not pop music in general. Satirical, vicious, funny, and energizing, Eminem's material is never less than absorbing. CURTAIN CALL is packed wall-to-wall with winners (except maybe "Sing For the Moment," which reworks Aerosmith's "Dream On" in tiresome fashion), and at its most brilliant (like the self-reflexive romps "The Real Slim Shady" and "Stan") it's as era-defining as anything by N.W.A, Public Enemy, or even Bob Dylan. Though his individual albums are all pretty essential, CURTAIN CALL provides a valuable overview of an artist whose skills are unassailable, and whose role as a social gadfly remains as complex as ever.

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (p.81) - "This hits package captures the half-decade moment when the tortured Detroit MC ruled the zeitgeist with whip-smart gross-out humor and jolting family confessions." -- Grade: A-

Uncut (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "CURTAIN CALL sizzles with profane pop genius..."