Eminem: Encore (2LP, 20th anniversary, royal blue vinyl) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

The 20th anniversary edition puts Encore on coloured vinyl for the first time, across two royal blue LPs. It debuted at No. 1 in the U.S., Canada and the UK and has gone 5x Platinum in America.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 20th anniversary edition
• Royal blue vinyl

About the album

Eminem made Encore between 2002 and 2004, mostly at 54 Sound in Ferndale, Michigan, and at one point he meant it as his final studio album, which explains the title and the curtain-call artwork. When a batch of songs leaked in late 2003, he and Dr. Dre regrouped in Los Angeles to write replacements, and the album arrived on November 12, 2004, moved up a few days to stay ahead of the bootleggers. The new songs gave the album a lighter, more comedic streak than its predecessors, alongside some of his most personal writing.

Dre produced eight of the 20 tracks. The standouts are the heartfelt ones, "Like Toy Soldiers," his plea to cool down the rap feuds of the day, and "Mockingbird," a letter to his daughters that still lands hard. 50 Cent and Nate Dogg turn up on "Never Enough," D12 crowd into "One Shot 2 Shot," and "Just Lose It" was the cheeky lead single.

It picked up three Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album, and sold around 11 million copies worldwide by August 2005. For a record meant as a farewell, it has had a remarkably busy retirement.

Also at Kops: more Eminem on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Aftermath / Shady / Interscope, a reissue of the 2004 album.