Recovery Review

[cloudburst]

Hey guys,
I run a music site and we have recently reviewed Eminem's album "Recovery." Just thought you might like to give it a read and give any feedback if you like?

When I first heard of the release of Eminem’s seventh studio album I wasn’t too excited following his recent work, especially as this was originally intended to be “Relapse” Part Two, but as Eminem puts it himself “The last two albums don’t count, Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushing ‘em out”. Following the opener “Cold Wind Blows” you’d be forgiven for thinking that Recovery was going the same way as his recent, less inspired work, but this is one of very few low points on this album which can only be described as a phenomenal return to form. It’s a strange choice to open the album and a reminder of 2009’s Relapse – the only good thing about it is it shows how far Eminem has come on in the one year since that release in the following tracks.

Things pick up with the next track “Talking to Myself” which is the first of many highlights. It starts off with Eminem thanking his fans for sticking by him throughout the last few years when his work has been below usual Eminem standard and this is also where the lyric about his last two albums not counting comes from, for this alone it would have made a much better opener. He also mentions that he almost made ‘diss tracks’ about Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West and is thankful he didn’t as he would have “had his ass handed to him. He’s not the only one who’s thankful he didn’t either. Throughout this album there are none of the disses or Slim Shady gimmick tracks such as “Without Me”, “The Real Slim Shady” or “We Made You” that Eminem is probably better known for by casual music fans and the more commercial market but is nowhere near his best work.

This is followed by the forgettable “On Fire”, which although is not the worst song on the album it is a needless filler. The albums first surprise is next in the form of a duet with Pink on “Won’t Back Down”, which doesn’t meet the standard of later duets on the album with Lil’ Wayne and Rihanna, however it is good enough to warrant a place on the “Recovery” in its own right.

The stop – start beginning of the album continues with “W.T.P” (White Trash Party), another track that wouldn’t be missed if it wasn’t there in all honesty.

Another surprise follows on the next track “Going Through Changes”, this time in the form of a sample from Black Sabbaths 1972 single “Changes”. Although Eminem has shown on previous albums he is probably the most adventurous and innovative Hip-Hop star in the world right now such as sampling Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, sampling Black Sabbath is something I never thought I’d hear from Eminem but it works an absolute treat and creates on the highlights of the album. This is the first of two Black Sabbath samples as 1980’s “Heaven and Hell” is later samples on “Almost Famous” although the latter is not as memorable.

“Going Though Changes” marks the start of seven tracks which could easily stand alongside any of Eminem’s best work. Lead single “Not Afraid” is next and is a very strong track and although is doesn’t sum up the album like many lead singles, it does seem to sum up a new attitude for Eminem and for that it makes an ideal lead single. “Cinderella Man” a few tracks later is another highlight and sums up this attitude in the opening line the opening line is “I’m not even meant to be here right now, so fuck it!” That along with some of the lines on “Not Afraid” give me the impression that as Eminem had previously retired and could have died due to his well published drug problem he feels as he has nothing to lose and is, mind the pun, not afraid to become even more innovative and try things such as sample lyrics by Black Sabbath, something that previously would have been unthinkable and something that can only be good for music.

“No Love” featuring Lil’ Wayne also uses an unpredictable sample in the form of Haddaway’s 1993 dance track “What Is Love”. The first two minutes are entirely dominated by Lil’ Wayne, the biggest selling Hip-Hop act of the last few years but as soon as Eminem comes in, he completely blows him out of the water and just shows how much better he is, but you get the feeling that on this form no rapper in the world could get anywhere near Eminem. “Space Bound follows”, starting off using exactly the same tune of R.E.M’s “Drive” which continues throughout but still sounds completely original. The fact that “Space Bound” isn’t completely overshadowed by the previous “No Love” is a compliment to the track itself, like “Won’t Back Down” it isn’t one of the highlights of the album but warrants its place no question.

The length of the album starts to shown on “25 to Life”, a very good track but by this time it is only natural that you will begin to switch, the consequence of the inconsistent start with the needless filler tracks which harm the album more than help it. Following “25 to Life” is “So Bad”, another song which wouldn’t be missed if it had been left out.

As I’ve previously mentioned the other unexpected duet on this album, “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna works very well and although it is probably the most commercial song on the album it is still one of the best and will undoubtedly be one of the biggest songs of 2010.

The penultimate track of the album, “You’re Never Over” is also a very strong track although I am not a biggest fan of Eminem’s singing on the chorus but overall it would be a very good close to the album but there is an untitled bonus track that follows. This untitled track reminds me of Eminem’s earlier work and closes the album in the opposite way I expect Eminem to advance in the future.

“Recovery” is a fantastic album that is as good as any of Eminem’s previous work, so much so that it makes his greatest hits album, “Curtain Call” look inferior. The only downside to the album is the stop start beginning which adds needless length to the album. Overall “Recovery” is 77 minutes long and like I said it is only natural you switch off and not give later tracks, such as “25 to Life” the attention they deserve, a problem that would be easily solved if “Cold Wind Blows”, “On Fire”, “W.T.P” and “So Bad” weren’t on the album. Recovery; Never has an album been so aptly named, and if this is Eminem’s recovery I cannot wait to hear the fully recovered Eminem as this is an absolutely amazing album and, without doubt, the biggest surprise of 2010.

Thanks