Curtain Call: The Hits (Clean)

Curtain Call includes two new songs--"Shake That" (featuring Nate Dogg) and "When I'm Gone"--both written and produced by Eminem. In addition, the Curtain Call bonus track marks the album premiere of the controversial Eminem-Elton John live duet of "Stan" from the 2001 Grammy Awards presentation.

Executive produced by the nine-time Grammy winner, Curtain Call boasts all five of Eminem's gold and platinum singles to date, from the platinum, Oscar, and two-time Grammy-winning "Lose Yourself" (#1 Pop/#2 Rap) from the 8 Mile soundtrack and platinum "Just Lose It" (#6 Pop/#7 Rap) and "Mockingbird" (#11 Pop/#10 Rap) to the gold "Without Me" (#2 Pop/#5 Rap) and "Like Toy Soldiers" (Top 40 Pop). The other Grammy winners included are "My Name Is" (Top 40 Pop/#10 Rap) and "The Real Slim Shady" (#4 Pop/#7 Rap). Also heard are "The Way I Am" (Top 30 Rap), "Stan" (featuring Dido) (Top 40 R&B/Hip-Hop), "Sing for the Moment" (Top 20 Pop/Rap), "Guilty Conscience" (featuring Dr. Dre), and "Cleanin' Out My Closet" (#4 Pop/#5 Rap).

Curtain Call: The Hits spans contributions from all four of Eminem's major-label solo albums: 1999's quadruple-platinum The Slim Shady LP, 2000's nine-times-platinum The Marshall Mathers LP, 2002's eight-times-platinum The Eminem Show, and 2004's Encore, which is almost five times platinum. The three most recent charted #1 Pop and #1 R&B/Hip-Hop, with his major-label debut #2 Pop and #1 R&B/Hip-Hop. Each of his first three albums also won the Best Rap Album Grammy (Encore will be eligible for the 2006 presentation). Eminem has to date sold more than 65 million albums.

Eminem's four studio albums shattered so many sales records that you might think just about every man, woman and gerbil on the planet already owns a bulk of the songs that make up this greatest hits collection. But Curtain Call presents the perfect opportunity to have another look at the life of Marshall Mathers. Starting out in the vein of the Beastie Boys and Slick Rick, he grafted filthy verses over bubbly nursery rhyme melodies and primitive Casio beats to come up with comical singles like "My Name Is" and "Real Slim Shady." Then angst and reflection set in, resulting in rare moments of vulnerability ("Lose Yourself") and a richer musical experience ("Stan"). One of the new tracks, "When I'm Gone," is a bittersweet goodbye letter, signaling the raw emotion and youthful enthusiasm of his early days have substantially faded. --Aidin Vaziri