Ironically, though, with his 6th major LP, Recovery getting leaked roughly a week ago, I read more than a few reviews of Eminem's latest album, and with the tracks I had heard (mostly just "Not Afraid" and "No Love"), I somehow led myself to believe I would dislike this album. All of that went out the window as soon as I heard the first track.
So, gettin' straight to the point, if you just started really listening to rap (which I truly believe most of these listeners have), you probably missed the last decade, where Slim Shady sold more records than any music artist in the world, despite a five-year gap between his last two albums of the decade (2004's Encore and last year's Relapse). You prolly also missed his infamous struggle with drugs which explains the hiatus. I say that to say this, at the second track of the album, "Talkin' to Myself", Em says, "I'm back". From the standpoint of a dedicated fan, I'm not sure I believe that.
The entire album feels forced. Sure, he's regained his passion for music, and sounds as if he actually listened to this album before releasing it (unlike Encore, and to a lesser extent, Relapse), but one thing that struck me as odd is that Em is rapping as if he has something to prove. This is the main difference between this album, and his first three, The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show, all of which saw huge commercial and critical success. He didn't have to try on those albums; he just did him, and it worked to perfection. It seems as if he's been listening to the critics as of late, with lines such as, "them last two albums didn't count/ Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin' 'em out" ("Talkin' to Myself"), and went into the studio this time around with a chip on his shoulder. Eminem is probably the most controversial rapper since 2Pac. But in the past when faced with controversy and facing critics, he simply went into the studio and lyrically and blatantly made a mockery of every obstacle in his way, much to the delight of consumers. Recovery submits to the demands of people like Nick Cannon who called Relapse "a mediocre (at best) Eminem record that sounds like it was written in 2001" and shows a somewhat desperate Em experiment with a pop-oriented sound, much more commercial-sounding than his previous albums.
The production of the album is excellent in my opinion, though, when compared to most of today's rap albums. Em ventures away from strictly using beats from Dr. Dre and himself, and employs producers such as Boi-1da, Jim Jonsin, and Just Blaze (remember that guy? From back when Roc-a-Fella was hot?) who equally provide sick beats that would excite most rappers. The bad thing to that, though, is that the such different sounds can make an album sound inconsistent without proper transitions, which Recovery lacks. I personally don't think a song like "W.T.P." (short for White Trash Party), a rare party song from Em should be followed by a track such as "Going Through Changes", probably the most personal song on the album. But hey, that's just me.
Unlike most mainstream rappers, Eminem has never been one to rely on guest appearances to carry an album, especially not from artists such as P!nk, Lil Wayne (whom he says he came close to dissing out of pure jealousy on "Talkin' to Myself"), or Rihanna. Aaaand yet, those are three of the four guests featured on the album; the fourth being some singer named Kobe (not the knock-off Michael Jordan, thankfully). That backs my claim that Em appears to actually be trying to impress opponents with this album, as opposed to just being himself and being the best as he did in the past.
When it comes down the actual lyrics, Em's tries out the new norm in today's rap game, and tries to implement punchlines into his style. He doesn't use the run-of-the-mill, simile-based punchlines, though (which everyone refers to as metaphors for some reason, go figure), or even what I deem the Young Money punchlines (a simile-based punchline missing the word "like" or any such phrase; i.e. "it's goin' down; basement" as opposed to "it's goin' down [like a] basement"), but rather emphasizes the cleverness of comparing two unlike things with lines such as "need I remind you/ that I don't need the fuckin' Swine Flu/ to be a sick pig?" ("Won't Back Down" feat. P!nk) Some critics have been complaining that Em gets too "singy-songy" on most of his hooks. I agree with that, but compared to most other rap hooks, which usually just repeat a particular catchy phrase till it's stuck in your head for 82 weeks (see "Pretty Boy Swag"), I'll gladly take the singy-song hooks that keep me interested, while carrying the song as opposed to filling the space between verses.
All in all, I think Eminem set out to make an album that disproves naysayers, and regains the trust and happiness of his long-time supporters, as well as gain some of rap's newer ears who may have clung to rappers such as Wayne and Drake in Em's absence. I think this album definitely does that, and will definitely be one of the more lucrative albums released this year. Does that make it a GOOD album? Arguable. Is it Eminem's best album (as I've heard some fans prematurely claim)? Not at all. But it's more tolerable than Encore as well as Relapse, and that shows something at least. I'm not sure what that something is, but Recovery shows it.
In closing, Eminem at his worst is probably still sicker than your favorite rapper. While I don't feel he's at his best on this album, he's at the best Em fans have seen him since the Show, and better than most fans have probably ever seen him. Overall rating: 4 out of 5.
~Trufe
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