If you want to hear Eminem’s original vision, do not stream the standard Encore. Instead, assemble the following playlist (available on YouTube, Spotify via local files, or by buying the 2004 bootleg vinyl pressings):
| # | Song Title | Source | |---|---|---| | 1 | We As Americans | Encore (Deluxe) | | 2 | Love You More | Encore (Deluxe) | | 3 | Yellow Brick Road | Encore (Standard) | | 4 | Like Toy Soldiers | Encore (Standard) | | 5 | Mosh | Encore (Standard) | | 6 | Mockingbird | Encore (Standard) | | 7 | Spend Some Time | Encore (Standard) | | 8 | Never Enough | Encore (Standard) | | 9 | Bully | Encore (Deluxe) | | 10 | One Shot 2 Shot | Encore (Standard) | | 11 | Encore / Curtains Down | Encore (Standard) |
(Optional add: "When I’m Gone" from Curtain Call as a secret track).
Listen to this sequence. You will hear a rapper at the peak of his powers, struggling with fame, addiction, and politics—not making fart jokes. You will hear the Encore that should have been.
1. A Fitting, Mature Finale to a Trilogy
With The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show, Eminem built a hall-of-fame run. The original Encore felt like a genuine closing chapter—darker, introspective, and politically charged. Songs like “We As Americans” (a blistering anti-Bush, anti-greed anthem) and “Love You More” (a conflicted, obsessive love letter to Hip Hop) showed an artist still hungry, not yet drowning in pill-pop humor.
2. Strong Emotional Core
3. Fewer Clunkers
The official 2004 Encore had 5-6 unlistenable joke tracks. The original version had “Puke,” “Ass Like That,” and “Just Lose It” – still weak, but fewer in number. The absence of “Big Weenie,” “Rain Man,” and “My 1st Single” alone upgrades the album by two full letter grades.
4. “Bully” & “Come On In”
Though not always on the base tracklist, these leaked tracks are ferocious. “Bully” is a menacing, piano-driven diss aimed at critics and foes (including a scathing Michael Jackson jab that predates “Just Lose It”). It’s top-tier Slim Shady menace.
In 2004, Eminem was on top of the world. Following the massive success of The Eminem Show, he planned a conceptual follow-up that wasn't just a collection of songs, but a thematic sequel. The original Encore was darker, more political, and sonically cohesive.
Then, disaster struck. Just weeks before mastering, the album leaked online. Enraged but pragmatic, Eminem scrapped nearly half the tracks, went back to the studio for 48-hour sessions, and recorded the goofy, infamous "insult comedy" songs (like Big Weenie and Rain Man) that ended up on the final retail version.
What was the original tracklist? Thanks to interviews, deluxe edition releases, and leaker confessions, we know the "Paul Rosenberg file."
In the original tracklist, "Mockingbird" (track 6) sat alongside "Like Toy Soldiers" and "Mosh." It was intended as a deep album cut, not a lead single. The tone was somber from the start. "We As Americans" opens the album with a tense guitar riff and Eminem rapping: "I'm just a man, but I'm the leader of a whole nation / Amazing, the shit that I'm tastin'..." It is directly political, angry, and sharp.
Had the original Encore been released, it would be remembered very differently. Here is why:
Had Eminem stuck to the original plan—or released the album before the leaks occurred—the critical trajectory of his career might look different.
The Flow: The original tracklist feels like a natural progression. The Eminem Show was serious, introspective, and grand. The Original Encore follows that thread with "Like Toy Soldiers," "Mosh," "We As Americans," and "Mockingbird." It paints a picture of a superstar grappling with politics, fatherhood, and fame. eminem encore original tracklist
The Low Points: The released version of Encore is often criticized for its "bipolar" nature—one moment he is dissecting the Iraq war ("Mosh"), and the next he is making fun of a puppet ("Ass Like That") or rapping about bowel movements ("My 1st Single"). The original tracklist minimizes this whiplash, offering a more consistent "Adult Eminem" experience.
Eminem has released many albums since 2004 (Relapse, Recovery, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Kamikaze, Music to Be Murdered By). He has reconciled with his past, become sober, and even acknowledged the flaws of Encore. But he has never released a definitive, remastered version of the original tracklist.
For fans, the "original Encore tracklist" is more than a set of songs. It is a parallel universe—a timeline where the leak never happened, where the sleeping pills didn't win, and where Eminem ended his classic run with a fourth consecutive masterpiece. Instead, we got a fascinating, flawed, and deeply human artifact of an artist in crisis.
And perhaps that is its own kind of legacy. Encore is not the album Eminem wanted to make. It is the album the internet forced him to make. And that story, of artistry versus chaos, is as compelling as any song he ever wrote.
’s fifth studio album, Encore (2004), is widely regarded as a significant "fall from grace" after his classic three-album run. While it debuted at No. 1 and sold millions, the critical consensus labels it a "messy," drugged-out, and uneven project. The "Original" vs. Released Tracklist
The album’s quality was severely impacted by high-profile leaks that forced Eminem to record several "last-minute" replacement tracks while under heavy drug use.
The original tracklist for Eminem's "Encore" (2004) features the following:
Features on the tracklist are:
While there is no "official" original tracklist released by Shady Records, the "OG Encore" is a widely discussed piece of hip-hop history
. In 2003, roughly a year before the album's release, several key tracks leaked online, forcing Eminem to scrap his original vision and record replacement songs like "Rain Man," "Big Weenie," and "Ass Like That" under heavy drug use.
The following is the reconstructed tracklist most fans and historians believe was the intended version of The "Original" Encore Tracklist (Reconstructed) What If Encore Never Leaked? - fLaMEd fury
In 2004, Eminem was on top of the universe. The Eminem Show had sold 10 million copies. 8 Mile had won an Oscar. He was a global pariah and a pop hero simultaneously. Then came Encore — an album fans have spent nearly two decades debating: brilliant finale or bloated farewell?
But the album we got isn’t the album he made.
The original tracklist for Encore leaked months before release. It was darker, tighter, and more personal. Here’s a reconstruction based on interviews and session leaks: If you want to hear Eminem’s original vision,
Original Encore Tracklist (circa early 2004):
Then everything changed.
In mid-2004, the unfinished album leaked onto peer-to-peer networks. Eminem was furious. In a panic, he scrapped three of the most aggressive, political tracks: "We As Americans," "Love You More," and the infamous "Bully" — a venomous, homophobic attack on critics and (allegedly) Michael Jackson. He rushed into the studio and recorded three new, goofier tracks to replace them: Rain Man, Big Weenie, and My 1st Single — songs that fans now routinely call the worst of his career.
The result? The Encore we know is split in half. Disc 1 (tracks 1–11) is classic Eminem: political rage, pop satire, and heartbreaking addiction confessions (Like Toy Soldiers). Disc 2 (tracks 12–15) is a fart-joke carnival, where he mocks his own legacy.
Had the original tracklist survived, Encore might be remembered differently — a lean, angry sequel to The Eminem Show. Instead, it became the first true sign that the pills were winning. The leaked originals eventually appeared on Encore’s bonus disc — buried, like ghosts of a better album.
In a way, the leak saved Eminem. The rushed, silly tracks were so poorly received that even he seemed embarrassed. He went quiet for four years. When he returned with Relapse, he was sober. But Encore — in both its leaked and released forms — remains the perfect, messy monument to a genius starting to crack under his own weight.
The story behind the original tracklist for 's 2004 album is one of the most famous "what if" scenarios in hip-hop history. While no official original tracklist was ever released, Eminem has confirmed that a massive leak forced him to overhaul the album's direction, replacing polished masterpieces with hastily recorded, "goofy" songs. The Leak That Changed Everything In late 2003, several high-quality tracks intended for were leaked online, later appearing on a bootleg titled Straight from the Lab
. Because these songs were already circulating, Eminem felt they could no longer be part of the main project. The Original Vision vs. The Final Product Eminem has stated that would have been on the same caliber as The Eminem Show
if the original tracks had remained. The original opening was planned to be "We As Americans," followed by "Bully".
Below is a comparison of the confirmed and highly probable original tracks versus the last-minute replacements that many fans criticized for their "goofy" tone: Original Track Intended for Encore Final Replacement on the Album "We As Americans" (Moved to Bonus Disc) (Unreleased officially) "Big Weenie" "Love You More" (Moved to Bonus Disc) "Spend Some Time" "Crazy in Love" "Christopher Reeves" (Cut after the actor's death) "Brand New Dance" (eventually released on The Death of Slim Shady "Come On In" (Became "6 in the Morning" on "One Shot 2 Shot" The "Goofy" Filler Era
Under pressure to meet release deadlines after the leaks, Eminem flew to Los Angeles to record new material with Dr. Dre. Struggling with worsening drug addiction and writing songs in as little as 25–30 minutes, he produced tracks like "Rain Man," "Ass Like That," "Big Weenie"
. He later admitted these songs were "pretty out there" and likely should have been left off the record. reconstructed fan-favorite tracklist
that combines the best of the leaks with the highlights of the final album?
Eminem’s fourth major-label album, Encore, remains one of the most polarizing and fascinating chapters in hip-hop history. Released in November 2004, the project was intended to be the grand finale to the legendary run established by The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show. However, a massive online leak forced Eminem to scrap his vision and record new material in a matter of days. Features on the tracklist are:
The result was a disjointed project that swapped introspective classics for bizarre, slapstick humor. For years, fans have obsessed over the "original" tracklist—the version of Encore that was supposed to cement Eminem’s legacy before the leak changed everything. The Leak That Changed Everything
In early 2004, several high-quality tracks intended for Encore surfaced on peer-to-peer sharing networks. In an era before streaming, a leak of this magnitude was devastating. Eminem, fueled by frustration and a growing dependency on sleeping medication, decided that if fans had already heard the music, it was no longer "valuable."
He retreated to the studio and recorded several replacement tracks in a blurred, manic state. These songs—notably "Big Weenie," "Rain Man," and "My 1st Single"—featured nonsensical lyrics and toilet humor that stood in stark contrast to the polished production of his previous work. Reconstructing the Original Tracklist
While an official "pre-leak" tracklist has never been released by Shady Records, Eminem has confirmed in interviews and his autobiography, The Way I Am, which songs were pulled. By looking at the tracks moved to the Encore Deluxe Edition bonus disc and songs that appeared on later projects, we can reconstruct the masterpiece that almost was. The "Lost" Pillars
These three tracks were the emotional core of the original album but were moved to the Deluxe Edition bonus disc after they leaked:
"We As Americans": A politically charged anthem that famously drew Secret Service attention for its lyrics about the President.
"Love You More": A raw, brutal look at a toxic relationship, considered by many to be superior to "Love the Way You Lie."
"Ricky Ticky Toc": A classic Shady flow over a minimalist, hypnotic beat. The Replacement Casualties
To make room for the three songs above, Eminem added what are now considered the "middle-stretch" fillers. In the original vision, the following songs likely never would have existed: "Rain Man" "Big Weenie" "Ass Like That" "My 1st Single" What the Original Experience Would Have Felt Like
The original Encore was designed to be a darker, more mature reflection on fame. Without the "silly" songs, the album maintains a consistent, moody atmosphere.
A Focused Narrative: Songs like "Yellow Brick Road" and "Toy Soldiers" would have felt more impactful without being interrupted by fart noises and burps.
Political Weight: With "We As Americans" and "Mosh" back-to-back, the album would have been the most significant political statement of Eminem's career.
The Perfect "Encore": The album ends with Eminem literally shooting the crowd and himself. In the original context, this was a haunting metaphor for his retirement from the industry. The Legacy of the Encore Leak
The Encore leak didn't just change an album; it changed Eminem’s career trajectory. The critical backlash to the "silly" songs led to a five-year hiatus before he returned with Relapse in 2009.
Today, fans often create "OG Encore" playlists, swapping out the filler tracks for the leaked gems. When listened to this way, Encore transforms from a flawed experiment into a worthy successor to The Eminem Show. It remains a "what if" that continues to spark debate in the hip-hop community.
Here’s a review of the original, leaked tracklist for Eminem’s Encore (often referred to by fans as the “original version” before the 2004 leak forced changes).