All three of Eminem’s major label albums seem to have some kind of concept behind them. No, they’re not true concept albums by any means. However, they all seem to have a theme that runs throughout the album. With the Marshall Mathers LP, he was responding to his critics, and the theme of him being a gigantic ball of sheer hate popped up regularly. On The Eminem Show, Em takes a Sgt. Pepper’s-esque approach (not that it’s near the same quality) and has a “curtains open/close” intro and outro. With his major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, Eminem works to introduce put over the character of Slim Shady.

As with most of Em’s work, the album is exaggerated reality. He didn’t hang himself from the top bunk with a belt, and I’d feel sorry if he actually chased a teacher around with a stapler (just two examples of lyrics from “My Name Is”). He has admitted to having lived through a poor childhood with a “lawsuit-happy” mother and moving from place to place on a frequent basis. His back-story is some of what he raps about on this album, like school experiences in “Brain Damage.” The rest is in-character stuff from the “evil mind” of Slim Shady.

The album begins with “My Name Is,” which served as the introduction to much of Eminem’s work for many of his fans (including myself). The song works perfectly for that, too. Eminem’s style is that of a rapper who writes extremely strong hooks with even stronger beats. Oh, and the choruses for the first single off his 3 albums (not counting the D12 album) are incessant and do not fail to hook the public into his act, and keep them there until FAR after they’ve grown weary of it. Just look at the chorus of “My Name Is”: WHAT? My Name is WHO? My name is WHAT My name is (scratches) SLIM SHADY! I’m sure you can imagine one getting tired of such a chorus, but IT WORKS.

Dark comedy, however, is the TRUE key to this album. There aren’t any real stinkers, other than the skits, which are all unmemorable. A key exception, however, is “Ken Kaniff” - a prank call from a character who reappears on all his albums thus far). These skits are a waste of time, but thankfully they can’t overshadow the music.

So, we move to the music. “Guilty Conscience” is a collaboration with Dr. Dre, who plays the part of the “angel” while Slim plays the “devil” in people’s minds as they are about to commit a felony. Or a sin. Or something they’ll regret eventually. Well, you get the picture. They execute the concept well, with clever rhymes and an excellent beat (from here on out, just assume the beat's great - Em's got Dre on his side, and Dre knows how to produce VERY well).

“Brain Damage,” as I said before, is just a school-tale of a kid being picked on. Fun stuff, I swear. “If I Had” is one of the most honest, telling songs on the album. Eminem writes about being broke and wishing for more. The next song is the controversial “’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” where he raps to his baby in the passenger seat of the car as he drives his murdered (by him) wife to the ocean to drop off her body. Yeah, see why it was controversial? I find it funny in a sick way, but that’s just me. I never took it as advocating domestic violence, though. It’s cute.

“Role Model” is the third single from the album, and it’s an attempt at reconciling a “bad-ass” persona and a comedic persona, and it’s one of the rare moments when Em CAN come off as a bad ass. “My Fault” follow it, and it’s a narrative about overdosing a girl at a party on some ‘shrooms. Again, funny in a dark way. “Cum on Everybody” is a lightweight party/bumpngrind anthem. “Rock Bottom” is almost a re-write of “If I Had.” “As the World Turns” is a fictional biography of Slim Shady, and EASILY the funniest thing on this album. Hell, anything that uses the phrase “Go, go gadget dick!” gets at least a chuckle from me. “I’m Shady” is like a mix of “Cum on Everybody” and “Just Don’t Give a Fuck.” “Bad Meets Evil” is just… there. It’s a collaboration with Royce Da 5-9, and it’s another amusing ditty.

Finally, there’re the two “Don’t Give a Fuck” songs. “Just Don’t…” and “Still Don’t…” “Just” was released as a single from the Slim Shady EP (this is the LP, remember). It’s Eminem acting all bad-ass, and whatever… Nothing particularly special, other than the awesome beat. “Still” is, surprise surprise, Eminem putting up the bad-ass persona again. But it’s more tolerable this time, and a fitting ending to the album.

So, there you have it. The first Eminem album review I’ve written. What REALLY brings the score down are the skits, and the sheer mediocrity of some of the songs. When Eminem shines, he’s like a diamond. Otherwise, he’s gilded. This album, because much of its value is in dark comedy, can get old rather quickly. A joke gets less and less funny the more times you hear it. He’ll get MUCH better as time goes on.