Album Review: Eminem's Recovery

After the release of his last album Relapse, which was perceived with lukewarm reviews, rap star Eminem needed to put out an album that calling stellar would be an understatement.  With his sixth studio album Recovery released on Interscope Records, he’s done just that.  He’s recovered.  The album even contains lyrics where Eminem apologizes for his poor performance on Relapse in the track “Not Afraid.”  But he also states that he’ll never go back to that style.  And fans seem receptive to that because Recovery has been sitting pretty at No. 1 on top of the Billboard Top 200 charts for the last four weeks.

Although Recovery is selling, the style on the album still seems to be that of the old Slim Shady—one that is full of swearing and attacks.  The first track “Cole Wind Blows” is full of derogatory comments towards women, but hey, he's Eminem.  He even comments that no one listens to his words, anyway.  But Eminem decided to refrain from personal attacks on the album, even stating his reasons in the track “Talkin’ 2 Myself” featuring Kobe.  Em says that he almost made a song dissing Lil Wayne, but it would only have been out of jealousy.  The irony of this lyric is that Lil Wayne has a cameo on the album in the track “No Love,” which samples the Haddaway hit “What Is Love.” Eminem also says in the track that he almost took a stab at Kayne West, but has publicly said that would have been career suicide.  It’s also a breath of fresh air that we don’t have to hear about his troubled relationship with on-and-off-again baby mama Kim Mathers.  I don’t know how much more I could take of listening to his problems with Kim without personally hiring him a therapist.  So kudos, Marshall.  Eminem also takes a second in this track to thank fans for being patient with him over the last couple of years, which gets him some brownie points and even makes you almost feel bad for him. 

The two most radio-friendly songs on the album are of that nature because of their collaborations: “Won’t Back Down” featuring Pink and that song you’ve heard spinning on repeat “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna.  Although “Love the Way You Lie” is a relatable rap ballad, Eminem adds his harsh style back in when he says, “If she ever tries to...leave again I’m gonna tie her to the bed and set this house on fire.”  It seems a little below the belt considering the irony of Rihanna’s past “situation,” but if she’s cool with it, I guess we should be, too. 

We get it that Eminem gets away with being a little crazy.  He even admits it when he says “I’m a little bit sicker than most” in the track “No Love.”  But he seems to have gotten back to his essence on this album, letting go of whatever it was that was preventing him from excelling with Relapse.  At least he’s staying true to himself.  This is one of Eminem’s best records to date despite its borderline offensiveness.   

Image courtesy of Interscope Records

Katherine Epstein for Citadel Digital © 2010

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