>I take it back. This is better than anything he's made since.


If I'd seen your first post in time I'd have said exactly what you just said above. It's his last good album. It's not great by any means; the typical, longstanding complaints about the stupid accents is real and legitimate.

But this is his last listenable album, his last truly focused effort. And re: Dre's production I actually always thought this album was vintage Dre, even after it was first released and I, like everyone else, wasn't really feeling it. On repeated listens I came to appreciate the soundscape that Dre gave Em for this one. Em wanted a serial killer feel and theme, and Dre gave him exactly that sound from front to back. On their own merits, the individual beats may not stand up to Dre's best, not even close (Deja Vu being the only true standout IMO, that I can recall). But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - it's a true listening experience from a production standpoint.

All of that said, I don't want to overstate anything - it's still not a great album by any means, it's just pretty good and has some moments. I'm just saying that it's better than we all gave it credit for at the time, and has aged better than anything Em has released since. And Dre's production fit the theme that Em wanted to a T.