So, that means The Eminem Show is essentially a holding pattern, but it's a glorious one - one that proves Eminem is the gold standard in pop music in 2002, delivering stylish, catchy, dense, funny, political music that rarely panders (apart from a power ballad 'Dream On' rewrite on 'Sing for the Moment' and maybe the sex rap 'Drips,' that is).

All this is married to a production very similar to that of its predecessor - spare, funky, fluid, and vibrant, punctuated with a couple of ballads along the way.

This, of course, encompasses many, many familiar subjects - his troubled childhood his hatred of his parents his turbulent relationship with his ex-wife, Kim (including the notorious incident when he assaulted a guy who allegedly kissed her - the event that led to their divorce) his love of his daughter, Hailie and, of course, all the controversy he generated, notably the furor over his alleged homophobia and his scolding from Lynne Cheney, which leads to furious criticism about the hypocrisy of America and its government. And it is, as he spends much of the album commenting on the media circus that dominated on his life ever since the release of Marshall Mathers. Third time around, it's The Eminem Show - a title that signals that Eminem's public persona is front and center, for the very first time. Second time at bat, he turned out The Marshall Mathers LP, delving deeper into his past while revealing complexity as an artist and a personality that helped bring him an even greater audience and much, much more controversy.

First time around, Eminem established his alter ego, Slim Shady - the character who deliberately shocked and offended millions, turning Eminem into a star.

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