Last week, Eminem and Shady Records released an expanded, 20th anniversary reissue of Eminem’s landmark fourth studio album, 2002’s The Eminem Show. 

These types of re-releases are nothing new, with previously released material being repackaged and reissued by labels at the perception of any half-decent justification – see the endless barrage of Dark Side of the Moon, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Led Zeppelin IV re-releases. 

(See prior coverage of corporate album regurgitation practices here .) Often a mixed bag, projects such as this often consist of haphazardly assembled live tracks and outtakes to pad out the runtime, which is already filled out primarily by the existing album tracks which have already been shipped and sold millions of times over. 

Sometimes the occasional gem will crop up in these releases, however. Alternate takes and demo recordings can provide significant insight to the album development process, warranting varying levels of interest from listeners depending on who they are and what their relationship with the album is.

In the case of The Eminem Show, it’s an album that was an early and essential element of my own musical development. Eminem emerged on the scene in the late 90s, and I had just begun to develop my own musical understanding and taste upon the release of 2002’s The Eminem Show. 

The record was a revelation. The simplistic, rock-influenced production (primarily handled by Eminem himself,) the emphasis on exploration of one’s own issues, and the unimaginable flows and rhyme schemes were all components I would come to look for from hip-hop going forward.  

So imagine my excitement (hesitant as it may have been) upon the announcement of a new, expanded release commemorating the album’s anniversary and featuring previously unreleased content. 

It has long been my own belief that The Eminem Show stands head-and-shoulders above every other project released by the controversial rapper over the course of his career. This viewpoint is frequently challenged, as the argument for 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP being the rapper’s magnum opus is a common – and quite frankly, fairly understandable – one. 

Still, I was thrilled at the prospect of getting a peak behind the curtain, as it were. The possibility of alternate versions of songs or the existence of verse ideas that ultimately went unused as a means of assisting me in the continued piecing together of a story that has shaped my own story for over two decades was cause enough for genuine anticipation, and even excitement. 

Once the business of diving into the newly revealed content presented itself, this listener was left suitably underwhelmed. 

What we’re primarily getting here is the album as it was originally released, skit-heavy with 20 tracks, augmented with live tracks and some loose cuts from the era in which the record was released. 

Notably, eight track instrumentals are included, including those for tracks such as “‘Till I Collapse,” “Square Dance,” and “Superman.” These are an admittedly neat addition, (though the inclusion of a “White America” instrumental would’ve been nice.)

But as far as revealing anything listeners didn’t already know, this expanded edition release comes up frustratingly short. 

The live tracks featured are perplexingly almost exclusively renditions of tracks from entirely different album cycles, such as “The Way I Am” and “The Real Slim Shady” which both come from 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP. 

It’s admittedly exhilarating at times to hear the featured performances from Proof in his prime – the D12 founding rapper and best friend of Eminem would tragically pass away in 2006 – but it does little to compensate for the lack of relevant content in a release marketed as an impetus to revisit this older material.

Some loose tracks from around the time of the album’s release make the cut here, including content from the DJ Green Lantern Conspiracy mixtape series. We also get “Bump Heads,” a diss track from around 2003 which features G-Unit’s 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. 

While it’s fun to revisit, the inclusion of “Bump Heads” further skews the chronological narrative of the album, as the Shady/G-Unit/Murder Inc feud – and indeed, the existence of 50 Cent and G-Unit on the scene at all – dates much more closely in line with 2004’s Encore than with The Eminem Show.

It’s neat to see some of these tracks resurface, but there’s nothing really revelatory here. Many of us were bootlegging those Green Lantern mixtapes cuts from Kazaa at 12 years old while undoubtedly shortening the lifespans of our desktop computers to significant degrees. 

One highly overlooked and consequently underrated Eminem solo track “Stimulate” (discern the 6/8 time signature and psychedelic aesthetic) does make the cut, as apparently it had been recorded for the original album but did not make the release deadline.

Though it’s great to see “Stimulate” getting some well-deserved attention, many listeners have had it in rotation since its inclusion as part of the Shady Aftermath Sampler EP in 2002, which itself was included as a bonus disc with the soundtrack to the film 8 Mile. It has also long been present on streaming services in that capacity, so its inclusion here is also nothing about which to write home.

One included song – which, to my understanding, has truly never been heard or released prior to the issue of this album – “Jimmy, Brain and Mike” sounds much like a leftover from the The Marshall Mathers LP or even 1999’s The Slim Shady LP, and as a result fails to adhere in any sense to the narrative or aesthetic of the album, further muddying the waters of the timeline implied by this tracklist. Even if this wasn’t the case and truly was a track recorded for inclusion on The Eminem Show, one can see why they chose to leave it off the album. 

To add to the confusion, the song appears to feature a verse from current-day Eminem, whose presentation and delivery have noticeably – and understandably – changed over the course of 20 years, while subsequent verses sound like they were recorded in 2000 or 2001. 

Ultimately, this thing is a bit of a mess, and would have benefitted from the inclusion of some alternative takes, demo versions, or substantial content from the actual era from which the material here is purported to be.

As a diehard fan, this peak behind the curtain seems to have just revealed more of the same.  Still, those interested in hearing the release for themselves can get more information on how to do so here . 

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