Well, I guess it's time to get this out of the way. I really hoped this album wasn't as bad as everyone said it was. It was definitely an experience to listen to, I'll say that much. Anyway, let's get into the album.
1. Curtains Up (Skit)
This is a cool intro to the album that just takes the idea of the Eminem show and makes it sound a little grander, but slightly less interesting. Not much else to talk about.
2. Evil Deeds (Produced by Dr Dre)
I'll start off by saying that this song has a really dope beat. Dre killed it. This song's lyrical content is basically non-existent though. In some cases I can ignore lyrics if I believe that the song is dope enough sonically, but I can't make that exception here. The hook is one particular aspect of the song that is kinda catchy, but it's still pretty bad. I will say that Em's flow is pretty damn dope across the whole song (except the first verse), and sounds great over this production, however I can't say this song is dope. This gets annoying and old really quickly, this is annoyingly bad. Plus it's way too long. 1.5/5
3. Never Enough (feat. 50 Cent and Nate Dogg) (Produced by Dr Dre and Elizondo)
I like the beat of this song a fair bit, Nate Dogg's hook sounds dope as fuck though, his contribution was perfect. 50 Cent's verse was good, I liked his melodic delivery, but Nate Dogg was definitely the best part of this whole song by far. Em did well, not great, but definitely not bad either. This song was cool, but I don't think I can ever call it good to be honest. It's a real shame, because I love Nate's hook. 4/5
4. Yellow Brick Road (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
I had heard that this was apparently a classic Em song, but I've also heard people say that Revival is better than The Eminem Show too, so I think it's best to just not trust YouTube comments. The beat on this song is really dope. I liked how Em was rapping at the start of the song a lot. The hook is pretty cool, I like it. The song really started to fall apart in the second verse, which is frustrating because this song would be dope af to me if it wasn't for that second verse. I just didn't like the sound of his delivery at all. This is thankfully the longest song on the album, but it's still unnecessary. Honestly, this song is pretty awesome, it's just that small little part with Em singing I didn't like. This is pretty damn dope. 4.5/5
5. Like Toy Soldiers (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
This was the only track from this album that I'd heard is collectively loved by Em fans. I like the beat of this song a lot. The singing during the chorus is really beautiful too. This song is all about how rappers should put their beefs behind them before someone end's up being killed. This song definitely has the strongest message on the album, It's just a shame it's hidden under the rest of the mediocre songs. It is amazing though, this is really a hidden gem. 5/5
6. Mosh (Produced by Dr Dre and Mark Batson)
This song is so boring to me. The beat is good as usual, but the actual song is just so lifeless to me. Em's content and delivery is pretty good, but the whole just gets way too repetitive after a while. There's no change ups, no real crazy flow switches, and no crazy lyrical content either. 2/5
7. Puke (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The song starts off with the sounds of vomiting. Which is always great. The hook is also pure fucking garbage. The way that he sings it is annoying as hell, and if that wasn't bad enough, The verses are just as trash, if not worse. To top it all off, the beat is dope, which just makes this song even more frustrating to me. This song is fucking garbage, he's lucky the beat is great. 1/5
8. My 1st Single (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The beat on this song was really weird. It's really grating and annoying. Em doesn't even sound like he's trying at all though. He's just talking really quietly and barely putting any emphasis on his words. The lyrics make absolutely no fucking sense either. At the time I heard this, this was easily the worst Eminem song I've ever heard lyrically. It is just pure fucking shit, I can't believe that the person who made the Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show made this garbage. 0/5
9. Paul (Skit)
This is just another Paul Rosenberg skit, this one is talking about Michael Jackson and Em having a new gun, probably the least interesting Paul Skit so far.
10. Rain Man (Produced by Dr Dre)
The beat on this song was extremely dope to me when I first heard it. I've heard a lot of people say this song is really trash, but the beat really saves this song from being pure shit in my opinion. He is literally talking about fucking nothing for the whole song, the hook is awful and he ends the song by boasting about how shit this song is, but that beat is dope as fuck. This song has no redeeming qualities besides that though. As much as I like the beat, this song isn't good at all to be honest. I don't really mind how it starts and ends, but the rest is terrible. I would give this a 0/5 if it wasn't for the beat. 2/5
11. Big Weenie (Produced by Dr Dre)
This is another notoriously terrible song. This song really earns the title of being labeled garbage though. For me this is one of those songs that is so fucking terrible it's funny. This beat is so serious and actually kinda dope, but then he just comes through with that terrible hook and over the top lyrics that make him sound like such an idiot. This is only funny for like the first minute though. The rest of the song is awful. 1.5/5
12. Em Calls Paul (Skit)
This skit is really stupid. Em has a stupid voice distorter and is making a bunch of Michael Jackson references. This isn't funny at all, it's just retarded. He's also taking a shit while he's talking.
13. Just Lose It (Produced by Dr Dre and Elizondo)
Another much hated song. But also much loved. I liked this song back when I first listened to it, but in the context of the album it's even worse than it was before. The song is just dumb. It's kinda funny at times, but I just really don't like it. I can't believe I used to enjoy listening to this shit. I still like the beat, but everything else is trash. 2/5
14. Ass Like That (Produced by Dr Dre and Elizondo)
Ass Like That has a really bad reputation. I think I used to like this song too. Damn. The hook for this song is stupid as hell. The accents on this song are definitely the worst so far, this is fucking terrible. This is easily one of the worst songs I've ever heard by Em. I just hate this shit, it doesn't deserve to anything else written about it. 1/5
15. Spend Some Time (feat. Obie Trice, Stat Quo and 50 Cent) (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
This is one song that really helped to bring the album up. Obie's verse was really good, and Em's verse was actually good too. The hook is pretty lackluster, but it doesn't ruin the song thankfully. It wasn't even that bad, but it was just nowhere near as thought out as everyone elses verses. I liked 50's verse, but it wasn't anything crazy. This song is pretty good overall, if it wasn't for the average hook I'd like this a lot more. The production is also really fantastic. 4/5
16. Mockingbird (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
Now, this song's instrumental is definitely it's strongest quality by far. This song is very heartfelt and honest, with a lot of really great lines, but it really isn't a great song lyrically. The hook really ruins the song honestly. The verses aren't that bad at all, the delivery is a just really stilted and awkward at times, I like how the hook is written, and I do find it really catchy, but Em's singing is awful. Despite all that, I still like this song. It'll always hold a special place in my heart because it was a big part of my childhood, but If someone said this song was awful I wouldn't disagree. 3.5/5
17. Crazy In Love (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The singing in this song is pretty good during the chorus, but I hate the verses. Em sound's really bad. I've honestly got nothing else to say. This is fucking awful. 1/5
18. One Shot 2 Shot (feat. D12) (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The beat on this song is pretty dope, the hook is really bad, but the verses from all the members of D12 are pretty damn solid. Em even delivers a pretty solid verse, which is super confusing to me. What was wrong with him on this album? Despite the good verses, the hook is too much for me. 3.5/5
19. Final Thought (Skit)
This is just a skit where you can hear Em cocking a gun before he walks back on stage. Nothing else to say.
20. Encore/Curtains Down (feat. Dr Dre and 50 Cent) (Produced by Dr Dre and Mark Batson)
This song's beat is fucking great, but I hate the hook. Also, I was wrong, this is actually the longest song. For the whole song Em and Dre trade bars in each verse. It's a pretty cool idea. I think that Dre definitely has the strongest contributions to the song. 50 comes in for a few seconds, but he isn't really notable at all. Em's verses were also pretty average. This song is way too long, and it's subject matter is nonexistent, so it doesn't even have an excuse to be so long. The skit at the end is pretty typical for Em to do, but this whole song is just uninteresting to me. 3/5
Final Thoughts (Regular Album)
Thank fuck this album is over. Honestly, after a lot of reflection, and relistening to Em's other albums several times, Encore isn't Em's worst album. This album still feels like Em. As dumb and lyrically broken as it is, it still feels authentic. Revival felt forced, filled with corny jokes and had great rhyme schemes and good concepts with lackluster production. This album had for the most part, amazing production, which makes the terrible verses all the more disappointing. However, this album has an edge sonically on Revival, and for me, that makes it the slightly better album. This album has far more good tracks than Revival, but also contains the worst tracks in Em's discography. This album is garbage for Eminem, and honestly garbage for anyone. Em is lucky he has a few good tracks on here.
Overall Result (Original): 49/100
Favourite Tracks: Like Toy Soldiers, Yellow Brick Road, Spend Some Time, Never Enough
Least Favourite: Ass Like That, Crazy In Love, Big Weenie, My 1st Single, Puke, Evil Deeds
Bonus Tracks
21. We As Americans (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
This song has an amazing beat, amazing verses and rapping, a great concept, it's political and does everything right. This is seriously an underrated and hidden gem in Em's discography. This is my favourite song on the album. 5/5
22. Love You More (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The beat on this song is pretty good, but the hook isn't that great at all. It's just another song about Em being an abusive piece of shit essentially. This song is pretty sonically pleasing, but I really don't like the subject matter at all. It's still miles above most of the other shit on Encore though, especially in the last verse. 3/5
23. Ricky Ticky Toc (Produced by Eminem and Resto)
The intro that Em has is awful. The beat is pretty cool though. Otherwise the rest of the song is meh. It's basically just one big verse until the song ends. I can't say that the song is good. Em's lyrics are pretty consistent, but I just don't find it very interesting. 2/5
Final Thoughts (Overall)
Unfortunately not even the deluxe tracks could save this album, there was one great song though, so that was cool. This shit is still terrible. If any other rapper pulled this shit, their career would be over. What a waste of time. At least I got some good songs I guess.
Overall Result (Deluxe): 52/100
Favourite Tracks: Like Toy Soldiers, Yellow Brick Road, Spend Some Time, Never Enough, We As Americans
Least Favourite: Ass Like That, Crazy In Love, Big Weenie, My 1st Single, Puke, Evil Deeds