Eminem - Relapse Review

Posted by Joshua George on 05.19.2009

It's "3 A.M." in the morning and what are you doing? If you're like me, you're listening to this CD wondering if it's going to be the "Same Song and Dance" or if we're going to say "Hello" to a new "Mr. Mathers".

You can't question that Eminem is possibly one of the most, if not THE MOST talked-about rappers in the industry today, and you could even argue that he's one of the most talked-about artists in the music industry as a whole. We began our true relationship with Slim Shady in 1999 and we last heard from Marshall Mathers when he put out his 2004 effort entitled Encore and then we got a nice long five year wait before we get to hear another word from this guy. Turns out, while Dr. Dre has been trying to Detox, Eminem has been focusing on Relapse to bring us what we want. The question is, has he brought us what we want, or are we left wanting?


Total Runtime - 1:16:43

I will say that when I first got this album I was almost so anxious that before I opened it, I had to say a prayer over it to the gods of rap that it would be as good as his previous efforts if not better. I can't say that I'm completely happy with what I found, and yet at the same time I can't say that I'm too disappointed. Eminem decided to bring us a new CD that has, in my opinon a few too many "pop" tracks and a little too few angry/hard tracks. However, I will say that this CD is not one that you can just listen to a couple times and know the true value of it... let's dig in and take this one track by track.

"Dr. West (Skit)" is our chance to hear the demon in Eminem's head dragging him back to the drugs and the alcohol that he was able to get away from during his stint in rehab. After hearing this, you think -- damn, I'd probably do drugs too if I heard that voice ever. Immediately following this, we get one of the singles from the album "3 A.M." This is a kind of marriage between a poppy feel and some insane and crazy dark lyrics. Eminem's been so hopped up on drugs that he's not sure what he's done, but he'll take responsibility for killing the dead people everywhere. This isn't unusual for us to hear however, this beat is just fuckin' bangin'. I find Em's high pitch in his voice somewhat hard to follow because it tends to grate on me a little bit, but with a beat like this and lyrics that make you wonder what's wrong with this guy -- you can't help but let this song grow on you. With the pitch of his voice I almost feel like we're about to take a trip back to The Slim Shady LP.

Following "3 A.M." is our typical Eminem mom song entitled simply "My Mom" which talks about how much drugs his mom used to and how she used to basically force feed him valium and paint thinner and various other things. He claims that he's the way he is because he's like her in the song. The beat we get for this is a very typical Dre beat, and I know that by me saying that you can figure out exactly what I'm talking about. Eminem doesn't use quite as high of a pitch in his voice on this one, so you feel a little more at home listening to this. I firmly believe that this is one of the better tracks on the album, but note that I don't consider it the best.

After the trip down memory lane with his mother, we might as well turn to something a little more... ummm... gross? We hear "Insane" which is the shortest of all the songs (not including skits) on the album weighing in at only 3:01. Fortunately we can handle this song being a little shorter because the lyrics are completely ridiculous. I would say that this whole album is probably NSFW considering I don't know many places that you could go and play Eminem in a work environment -- but this song is the most NSFW of all of them I believe. If you aren't sure what felching is, you're about to find out and while I do have to say that the lyrics are gross, in some sick way, I can get behind this track. It's one of my favorites on the album simply because of the complete gross factor, and the fact that his rhyme pattern is fun to follow with a beat that fits perfectly. It's almost like this song was meant to be the way it all fits together.

"Bagpipes from Baghdad" is the song that you've all been hearing about. Apparently Nick Cannon feels like he's able to beat Eminem up in a fight because of the shit Em talks about Mariah Carey in this song. The funny thing is that Eminem has always spent time making fun of major people in the music industry and rapping about anything from fucking them, to killing them, to pistol-whipping them and various other things. What's any different about him saying shit about Mariah? Just because she's someone that's "big" in the industry (and trust me, I use that term loosely), and Nick just married her about a year ago, now all of a sudden she's supposed to be immune to Eminem? The fact that they "allegedly" dated at one point just makes her more fair game considering Em's never really kept his love life secret from his fans. There's a constant bagpipe melody being played in the back with some strings over a basic 808 beat. It's simplicity allows you to focus on the lyrics which are out of the park.

After we finish this up, we seem to take another trip back to The Slim Shady LP with an introduction. "Hello" reminds of exactly who he is. There's a nice easy beat being played in the back again so we can spend more time focusing on the lyrical prowess of Em. He likes to test his waters with singing a little bit again here on this track as he "sing-speaks" the hook for us on this one. Again, we have another track that's lyrically solid -- the only thing I can say is that this is another one of my favorite tracks and I think you'll notice that my favorites are the ones that weren't released as singles.

"Tonya (Skit)" is a skit where a girl's Onstar system stops working and she's walking in the rain. Of course she yells for a car to stop and we're to assume that our very own Marshall is the one that is driving and picks her up. Upon getting in the car, she gets duct taped... big surprise there, right? This is probably the worst skit on the album and I'll likely skip this every time I listen to the CD. After this though we hear "Same Song and Dance". This is a little more what I expected this album to be. It's a darker song that reminds me a little bit of a bouncier, less intense version of "Kim". He gets a slam in on Lindsay Lohan and we all chuckle a little bit. Everyone knows that she's a joke at this point, so why not?

"We Made You" is easily one of my least favorite tracks on this album. Sure it's funny, the video is hilarious with the incorporation of a guitar hero-like video behind him... but at the same time it's a little too poppy for what I wanted this CD to be. It's funny that he's basically using this song to rip on everyone in the industry from Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Palin, Jessica Simpson, and Ellen. There are plenty of others that he mentions in this song, but it's your basic "Azz Like That" meets "My Band" feel. It's ok... that's about all I can say for this one.

It's weird that he would follow up such a poppy song with a song like "Medicine Ball" but here it is. Makes me question the ordering a little bit. The beat behind him on this one is fairly hard with a choral/string-like background and the lyrics come flowing out just like it's nothing. He spends this song talking about home abortions, people hating him, and the fact that we're all just in his "medicine ball". There's plenty in this song that will make everyone talk shit about how this music isn't appropriate for children (no shit) and it will no doubt get at least a few people stirred up and pissed, which of course, is his plan. There's nothing like a new Eminem album to stir up the industry and get everyone talkin shit about each other. We get another couple of stabs at Christopher Reeves which is getting somewhat old, but it's kinda funny the way he does it on this track. Check this one out for sure. It would only be appropriate that we get our latest edition of what "Paul (Skit)" thinks. Turns out he's fed up... as usual. Humorous though for sure.

"Stay Wide Awake" is our next track and makes me really wonder why, with material like this and "Medicine Ball" and some of the later tracks, he couldn't have made the first CD back after five years more like this. Eminem has a beat that feels like it could be an extension to "8 Mile" with a little bit of an edge and some lyrics that will of course back up the beat talking about the cold world and killing bitches with power tools and knives and the likes. Good, dark, angry -- the kind of Eminem that I was hoping to hear for the entire return album.

The next song is in my top three tracks of the entire album. "Old Times Sake (Ft. Dr. Dre)" gives us a chance to hear another typical Dre bounce beat and even a few GREAT verses from Dre. None of the verses that Dre hits us with are lyrically on top of the world, but Dre has the ability to just fit in perfectly with a beat to a point where you feel like he just belongs there. This track is amazing and the way that Dre and Eminem work together on a track is bar none the best out there. I challenge you to find me a better collaboration than these two because anytime they come together, magic happens and it's complete and total gold.

"Must Be the Ganja" is our typical drug song with a nice and easy beat in the back. Whatever's gotten into Em... he doesn't mind it and neither do I. This song slows down the pace of the album and gives us a sort-of "breather" if you ask me. There's nothing really crazy lyrically on this song, and there's really nothing musically crazy on this song so it's just a cruise control track. I wouldn't turn to it, and I wouldn't skip it, but I'd let it just play as a part of the playlist while it goes. Eventually this song breaks down into a kind of trippy slow sounding voice and we segue directly into "Mr. Mathers (Skit)". This is basically them trying to bring him back to life after he apparently ODs.

The next track is "Déjà Vu" which allows us to have a continuation of the paramedics bringing him to the hospital. In this track we have a good, hard but simple beat with Marshall seemingly just spitting the truth over the top. He talks about how much he used to drink and how bad of a pill problem he had and how it drove him to feel alone. This is one of these songs that kind of creeps you out because it seems so real (and it honestly may be) -- and if you've ever taken pills before to help you sleep, or to dull some pain, this one will definitely hit pretty close to home. He even takes this second to tell us that his last bout of "the flu" was more like a bout of methadone that put him in the hospital. This is a must hear.

"Beautiful" utilizes a sample from "Reaching Out" by Queen + Paul Rodgers which are now Queen - Paul Rodgers (thanks Mitch). This is the fifth and final single that was released prior to the album's release. This track is another slow one that allows you to take the time to relax and just listen. This is another song that sort of fits more of what I thought this return album was going to be. I had a hard time listening to this song the first few times I listened to the album, but you'll find that this is one of those songs that the more you hear, the more you'll like it.

Finally we can get out of the way "Crack A Bottle (Feat. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent)". This is a skip track every time for me. I can't get behind it no matter how hard I try. The lyrics aren't bad and the beat is whatever, but 50 Cent has basically NOTHING to offer to this track, and I know they were thinking radio play when they made this one, but I'll straight out say that I think it sucks. Dre's verse is pretty good, but I always expect that Dre's verses are going to be good. I wish we could've put this track closer to the beginning of the album so I could skip it sooner. After this we take our newest adventure into Steve Berman's office with "Steve Berman (Skit)". This flips everything we've ever heard from Steve to him actually having a set of balls with Marshall while wearing a bullet proof vest and brandishing a firearm himself. We also get the basic announcement that we're going to have two albums... hopefully the second album will be the homerun we were all looking for. This one was close -- but not quite.

Finally, we close out the CD with a track that is EXACTLY what I wanted this CD to be full of. "Underground/KenKaniff" has possibly the hardest beat of all of the ones on this album and the lyrics have that intense edge that we want out of Em on his first CD back. He's able to spit over top of this beat in one rhythm while the hook switches the beat up, so it feels almost like we get two different songs combined in one. This one is a definite trip back to some of his better work, and it's probably a little more natural for him. We hear the word "faggot" or some variation of it 5 times within a 30 second period. He appears to be back in a rhythm with his "middle-rhyme" and the things that made us love him. This is what I hope we hear MUCH more of out of the second CD. I'll also say that Ken Kaniff cracks me the hell up. It's funny, and I love that we're closing another album with him. You can hear two more tracks "My Darling" and "Careful What You Wish For" if you purchase the CD from eminem.com

So let's recap, shall we?

Skip Tracks: "Tonya (Skit)", "We Made You", "Crack A Bottle"

Blast Tracks: "3 A.M.", "My Mom", "Insane", "Hello", "Stay Wide Awake", "Underground/Ken Kaniff"

Best Track: "Underground/Ken Kaniff"

Worst Track: "Crack A Bottle"

The 411: Upon first listen to this CD, I would've given it a 7. I don't really feel that I would've done it justice if I hadn't listened to the CD another 10 times before writing this review. This album when listened to a minimum of 10 times only goes up in value. There are a few songs that you can't really feel until you've heard them a few times. Pay special attention to the lyrics and how they fit with the beats, and you'll find that this CD is well worth the money you'll spend to buy it. I got a digital copy, and I'll be going out today to buy a copy at the store. I would recommend that anyone who has liked Eminem from the beginning buy this album. If you're just starting out with Eminem, this might not be the album to start with, but I promise that if you get a little experience with Em, you'll love this album. Why spend anymore time reading and not listening? Get out there and buy this album.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]