Eminem Album: “Relapse”

An album like Encore would have destroyed any other rapper. Em has what it takes to get past it though. That said, I was still worried about how good Relapse was going to be as soon as I heard that it was actually coming out.

After the Marshall Mathers LP I never thought I would say this again, but this is by far the darkest album Eminem has ever put out. Almost every song has something to do with rape, murder or incest. By the time I got half-way through the album it was getting really old and kind of had me wondering if this guy should have ever left rehab.

Once it got to "Old Time's Sake" though, things started picking up again. I was actually feeling the songs a little bit. I was actually smiling by the end of it. The last four tracks are fantastic (not including the skit) and made me realize that he's gone through a lot the last few years and that's probably got a lot to do with how dark the first half is.

I think he had to get this album off his chest. It's nowhere near his best, but a lot has happened since the Eminem Show (first of all Encore, and then all his drug issues and probably some other stuff too) so you can't expect him to just pop out another classic like it's no big thing. This is a necessary step to him coming back, and even though it wasn't great, it ended well enough to where I'm convinced Relapse 2 is going to be some of his best work. If you haven't got it yet, don't buy the whole thing, just get a few tracks off of it. I recommend Bagpipes from Baghdad, My Mom, and Old Time's Sake and every song after it. Don't prove me wrong Em, I'm willing to look past this and Encore if Relapse 2 is going to be as good as I think it is.

*Oh and please, if you're going to vote or comment on this review, why don't you go back and listen to any of his albums before Encore and then listen to this. I'm not a fanboy or a hater. I just call them like I see them. Just read the above if you want to know what I think about this album, and keep your fanboy/hater garbage off my review. I'm here to seriously talk about music.

The new songs are awesome. Music Box is easily my favorite of the new ones and the third verse of that song is straight fire from Em. There are no weak songs on this refill. Dre holds it down well providing even more haunting beats. Elevator reminds me of The Eminem Show which is my favorite Eminem album to date so this has me really excited for Relapse 2.

Eminem's "Relapse" is a rare thing, a hip hop album that dares to both examine personal issues, in this case, drug addiction, while being as creative as possible. As such, we can be stunned with the occasional perversity of his newest work, be it the incest, graphic violence, sexual assault, and Christopher Reeve jokes, each a bit more extreme than the last, at least for the first half of the album. But that's Eminem's dark sense of humor at work; none of the graphic elements are meant to be taken seriously, a point I hope people keep in mind.

The amusing skit, "Dr. West" segues beautifully into "3 am", a lyrically masterful song, where Eminem rhymes at a rapid-fire pace to Dr. Dre's eerie, horror film-inspired beat. Here we see Eminem's imagination at work, creating an engrossing story that references his real drug problems using the extended metaphor of Slim Shady's murder rampage. The majority of the following songs use a similar theme.

"Old Time's Sake" begins the second, less fictional part of Relapse, with Eminem and Dr. Dre teaming up to enjoy a pleasant smoke together. The track, with a very 90's-era sounding beat, brings a sort of nostalgia, quite fitting with the reflective elements that make up the end of Relapse. "Deja Vu" is the most brilliant moment of the album, with Eminem detailing a near-fatal drug-fueled crash while simultaneously giving a darkly comedic slant to everything simply by his frank, personal descriptions of everything. "Beautiful" follows, a pleasantly bright spot in the sea of the album's dark material, with enough optimism to pick up the listener after so many heavy elements. "Underground" ends the album on a seriously strong note, directly addressing the world in a flurry of lyrics that illustrate why Eminem is so respected in his profession to begin with.

I enjoy this album more after each listen. Do yourself a favor and purchase the whole thing. I can't wait for Relapse 2.

Must Download/Listen:

Deja Vu

Beautiful

3 A.M.

Underground

My star rating has nothing to do with the quality of the music on this record. It is reflective of the fact that fans who already purchased Relapse were forced to purchase the same album again if they wanted the extra 7 songs. Eminem said that he released this record so that the fans didn't have to wait for his new stuff. So, why not make an EP available for those fans who already bought Relapse in May? How dedicated are the fans that waited until December to buy it??? I know you can buy the MP3s but I prefer to buy the disc. The fact of the matter is that this album was released not for the fans but for the $$$.

This takes me back to the days when I first heard The Slim Shady LP. I remember how off-the-wall it was and the way it felt like a breath of fresh air. If you can remove the memories of past albums from your mind and listen to this as if it's your first time hearing Eminem, it's almost like you can relive it.

When I first heard Stay Wide Awake, it reminded me of the feeling I got after Role Model made its way through my speakers. It was just different and gripping. The cadence on this track is powerful. The beat is in a death-grip that isn't released until it has been drained when the third and final verse comes to a close.

These are the kind of records that will keep me checking for future releases. They keep me wondering how Relapse 2 will turn out. It's like the result of watching too many late night horror flicks. The way that Wu Tang was influence by those old Kung-Fu screenings. You got the beats/samples along with the themes/lyrics. It's the same concept with a slasher twist. It isn't just the words, it's the music as a whole. Even the skits are dark.

It's good to have Shady back in an actual experience to take you through, instead of just an alter ego to exploit.