cityfan31 wrote:voice23 wrote:^exactly (referring to city)
Having Berzerk at 1st, 2nd, 13th or 20th will make no difference to anything.
What a load of shit.
Albums are like songs in themselves; like a book with chapters; like a 20-part film. They may tell a story or run an overall theme, but they are made to be listened to in a certain order. MBDTF follows an allegorical tale of Kanye West's issues with fame and their relative effect on his relationships. If Dark Fantasy came last and Lost in the World was first the album would fall flat. It would be a meaningless collection of songs.
The same is true for Em's albums. Whilst Eminem has never made his albums as cohesive as Dre or Kanye's, he has worked hard on establishing a rhythmic order.
In short, having Berzerk first or last will have a major effect on the albums reception. An opener is meant to grab the listener and offer an idea of how the album will sound. Berzerk highlights that Eminem is going back to hip-hop's routes, but it would be a petty awful opener in my opinion. It doesn't have the lyrical skills to show that Eminem is once again at the top of his game. Em needs an opener that shows he has not fallen off and can hold his own both skillfully and artistically against current rappers like Kendrick, J Cole, Kanye; heck even Drake if we are to really focus on an album's composition. And note that I said artistically. I don't just want a collection of good rap songs. I want an album that forces me to listen to it through and through time and time again, because all too often with Em albums I find myself deleting the skits from any playlists I make, and playing the album on shuffle. I NEVER do this with MBDTF, Yeezus, 2001 et al. (even regarding Yeezus, I prefer the album as a concept to the tracks proper).