I'm amazed at how a couple of multi-platinum albums can cause a smart-ass thug to get in touch with his emotional side. With the release of Eminem's third major label album, The Eminem Show, it's evident that all the controversy surrounding the hard-nosed rapper has left its mark.

When 'The Way I Am' surfaced as an uncharacteristically conscious single on Eminem's last album, I thought it was simply a clever ploy to win over more fans. Clearly I was wrong. Nearly half of the 15 songs contained on The Eminem Show portray this new conscious/defensive Eminem attitude. Meanwhile, Eminem is still able to please his long-time fans by filling the other half of the album with his original "I don't give a care" style. Eminem's new approach works to his advantage, as legions of his fans will now feel emotionally connected to the rapper.

Many of the album's tracks are impressive. In fact, the first single, 'Without Me' can clearly be heard from nearly 2/3 of all cars sporting decent stereo systems. This prompts me to believe that they have it on constant repeat. It's a great song, but really it's not worthy of that kind of abuse... As well, some of the lyrics are downright disturbing ('Drips'), but that's expected of Eminem.

The Eminem Show is yet another impressive album from the original Slim Shady. After hearing the D12 album, I'd started to lose faith in Eminem, but The Eminem Show has managed to rekindle my faith. In fact, the only thing that brings this album down is Eminem's occasionally weak choruses. This album is worth picking up.

Click here to buy the album or read CDNow's album review.