Eminem - Relapse Review.

TheRealProtege · 05-08-2009, 06:21 PM

Eminem “Relapse” Review
Submitted by Chris DeLine on May 8, 2009 – 11:03 AM

The idea of relapsing isn’t one that’s solely aimed at addiction, especially so in the case of Eminem. Coming four and a half years after Encore, Relapse is a wildcard; an album coming from an unpredictable emcee, one of the world’s most popular and recognizable musical figures, and one that has been looming his entire career. Relapse occurs when you fall back into an old pattern or habit, and with Relapse, Marshall Mathers’ alter-ego drifts back into familiar subject matter, the bulk of which is accompanied by the beats produced by his longtime collaborator and mentor Dr. Dre. But over the course of the album, there is an increasingly broad disparity between who Mathers is, what he’s been through, and what people expect from the character he’s developed. And throughout the album, the main struggle isn’t to find a lyrical rhythm or a solid beat; after a failed reconciliation with his ex-wife, the murder of his close friend and multiple bouts with addiction and stints in rehab, the struggle is to find which former self Mathers has now reverted back to.

Relapse opens with “Dr. West,” a skit that captures a meeting between Mathers and a counselor in a treatment facility, with the two discussing a plan for action in an exit interview. Immediately, the counselor guides Mathers toward an alarming resolution; acknowledging that it’s alright if he relapses. And, immediately following the introduction, is “3am,” a thematically violent song that alludes to Silence of the Lambs and a preoccupation with blood and gore. Following that with “My Mom,” an ode to the drug dependency that was passed onto him from his mother, Relapse quickly begins to represent a return to the themes and approach that gained the emcee such notoriety with both The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP.

And for the majority of the album, only a few songs divert from this trend. “Insane” recalls stories of child molestation and suicide, “Hello” focuses on drug abuse, and the abduction skit “Tonya” is followed by the aptly titled “Same Song and Dance” which touches on a mixed bag of the previously mentioned themes. “I guess it’s time for you to hate me again,” taunts Mathers on “Medicine Ball,” as if to say that he’s firmly planted himself in the persona that stood alongside Marilyn Manson as two of the most notorious musical figures of the 1990s.

The song is followed by the skit “Paul,” a phone message from Eminem’s longtime attorney and manager Paul Rosenberg, “You gotta be fucking kidding me. I mean with this Christopher Reeves shit? You know the guy’s dead, right? And then the whole gay stepfather incest rape thing… I don’t have your back on this one, I can’t even fucking handle it—I’m done.” The issue with poking fun at Reeves in “Medicine Ball” isn’t that it’s in poor taste, but rather that it’s desperate. Reviving the comparison, the song compares nicely with Marilyn Manson’s forthcoming album The High End of Low. The album is being touted as his most shocking in years, and the first single is the shock-for-shock’s sake “Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon.”

Ten years ago, most people were able to see through the shtick. But now that the shock-rocker is far past his prime, the relentless need to impress a wow-factor upon his audience only succeeds in being stale. Likewise, Mathers has long since lost his shock factor. The concluding concept of Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette’s 2005 documentary, The Aristocrats, best illustrates the relationship with the shift in culture and perception of taboo. The film captures numerous comedians retelling a notoriously filthy joke, and eventually concludes that culture has shifted past the point of shock: nothing’s shocking (but Jane’s Addiction figured that out over 20 years ago). So, when the majority of Relapse continues the approach of earlier Eminem albums while simply going out of the way lyrically to encourage outrage, Mathers comes across just as rudimentary as the stories he’s unfolding.

As the album progresses, however, there is a slow shift in Mathers’ lyrical focus. In particular on the tracks “Déjà Vu” and “Beautiful,” which stand out as honest attempts at offering intimate thoughts. Through “Déjà Vu,” Mathers recalls his own drug dependency and the terrifying memories of his daughter’s reaction to his declining health: “Look at my daughter’s face, mommy something is wrong with dad I think/He’s acting weird again, he’s really beginning to scare me/Won’t shave his beard again and he pretends he doesn’t hear me.” The song continues by following the progression and acceptance of falling back into the same patterns that lead to his situation in the first place: the relapse.

“Beautiful” on the other hand, is absolutely bizarre given the landscape of the album’s other songs. It is the longest track on the album, stretched out to six and a half minutes, and revolves around the idea of self-inspiration and becoming comfortable with with one’s self. Following a lament to his children, Mathers concludes: “God gave you the shoes that fit you, so put ‘em on and wear them/Be yourself man, be proud of who you are/Even if it sounds corny, don’t ever let no one tell you that you ain’t beautiful.” But before the song has a moment to settle in, the album’s first single, “Crack a Bottle,” comes crashing in, immediately reverting back to the lyrics typical of the majority of the album.

If you take Emimen’s lyrics seriously, Relapse is a schizophrenic journey through the thoughts of a mind torn between reality and a twisted sense of intrigue and fascination. If that’s the position you’re taking, the final song, “Underground,” will do nothing but enforce the belief that Marshall Mathers is sick. The song is the most over-the-top culmination of shock on Relapse, flirting with taboos with descriptions of violence, sexually explicit lyrics and homophobic rhetoric, “60 sluts, all of em dying from asphexia, after they shit piss through a Christopher Reeves sippy cup… faggoty faggoty faggoty Raggedy Ann and Andy, no Raggedy Andy and Andy.” But on the flip side of that is a line that cheekily winks at the character people expect of him, “the fucking Antichrist is back.”

Whether or not you digest Eminem’s Relapse as an album built on a foundation of poor taste, or simply a return to a character, it’s startling in its inconsistency. This is the first of two albums Mathers has set for release this year, and it fails to find a balance between storytelling and reflection. To some degree that likely reflects the lengthy recording process, with Dre and Mathers recording over two albums worth of material, and the difficulty in having to sort through the tracks for what songs should be used on which record. But the greater issue here is that there is no firm grip by Mathers on either character or reality throughout the album. Relapse is a collection of songs that neither fails to tell a story, or deeply reflect on the life of the man behind the mic. And as such, the feeling that is taken away from the album isn’t that Mathers has relapsed into a former version of himself, but rather that he is now uncertain of who he has become.

JoshNeal123 · 05-11-2009, 04:02 AM

People expect way to much. For real this review is wack. People expect something that's going to make them quit believing in god and worship Eminem or something. The way they pull Eminem's album apart is like they think they could make something better themselves, or that anything else that has dropped lately compares.

First it was "Oh we wan't the old em we want him to go back to slim shady days". So he does it and now you expect something different. Get the fuck out.

Wesey · 05-11-2009, 05:27 AM

^^^ REAL FUCKIN TALK!!!... We wanted the Slim Shady back with his jokes in songs and serious outlooks and his just fuckin sick and twisted tracks so we got it... Now people complain? DA FUCK!?

m0nghead · 05-11-2009, 10:12 AM

im with you fellas, everyone wanted slim shady, they got it... not complaining?!! Can't fookking win! Either way the album is fire... pure god damn genius im my personal opinion! (before the haters start jumping!)

juanr3 · 05-11-2009, 08:52 PM

i think it's a really good album. Part of it is that we expect too much. But who the fuck gonna listen to this track for track 1,000 times like the other one's. its mad dark, not funny dark but just dark. murder, rape, murder, death, drugs, murder on and on.

DaKillahWitNoFace · 05-11-2009, 11:35 PM

the albums sick,this review is way to in depth.

Jmingledude · 05-13-2009, 09:27 AM

Album is awesome, i never liked eminem til now

celticspride · 05-13-2009, 01:19 PM

reviews on point fuck you niggas

IbeWazir · 05-20-2009, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshNeal123

People expect way to much. For real this review is wack. People expect something that's going to make them quit believing in god and worship Eminem or something. The way they pull Eminem's album apart is like they think they could make something better themselves, or that anything else that has dropped lately compares.

First it was "Oh we wan't the old em we want him to go back to slim shady days". So he does it and now you expect something different. Get the fuck out.

Eminem did not go back to the Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers LP days. If you think that then you need to go back and listen to those albums again, then listen to Relapse again.

G-WesT · 05-20-2009, 08:44 PM

Basically if ur an eminem fan your gonna love relapse... Slim shady is bacc bitches!!!!! And if your not an emienm fan listen 2 somethin else....

Hydro Man · 05-21-2009, 03:42 PM

I liie dthe album I wuz a skeptic who thought it wuz actually gonna suck. But to Me Em is still on top of his game lyrically he still flows wit the best of them and his delivery is way on point. The album flows very well together each track ties in with the other and towards the end his flow starts changing along with the concepts....flowing into relapse 2 maybe???? just an idea. 4 out of 5 is my rating cant wait for the next one

Tha Unit On Top · 05-21-2009, 04:56 PM

I like the album, but you have to take it as a concept album like one review had, its basically an album that plays out like a slasher movie, crazy ass muder, rape, etc, thats what it is, sick crazy Slim Shady say the craziest shit you can think of, mixed in with Deja Vu and Beautiful. Fucking people think he believes this shit, he even said it, he said Dre said people wanted you to lose your mind, thats what he did, the say the craziest shit you can, people really think he is all fucked up and wants to rape and kill people. Take it for what it is, you dont have to be that smart to understand what he did with this album. Now the question is do you like that or want him to do something different?

I like the album, minus a few songs, I think 3am, Beautiful, Deja Vu, Underground and Stay Wide Awake are the best songs, and even the Dre track too. Dont really like My Mom or Insane, thought he wasted a dope ass beat talking about getting raped and shit, couldnt even listen to that shit. I dont mind the whole Slim Shady shit, but I want more of the Em Show album, storytelling, but not about crazy twisted shit, he could go into his drug problems which he did, but how it affects his life, his kids, his music, shit about Proof, etc, I dont know what R2 will be, will it just be the another slasher album, which if thats the case then its fucking stupid, why they didnt make it a double album, to do this album then drop basically the same album again if thats the case, fuck that. R2 should be deeper, have more subject matter on the album, I mean he still has it, still shows why he is one of the best, Underground he rips apart, Deja Vu and Beautiful and even the two bonus songs, dude is still ill, it just all depends on the subject matter of the album, if he does the slasher movie album, killing everything he can, critics kill it, if he rap about personal shit, real life shit, and uses his lyrical skill to make heartfelt meaningful songs, the critics will call it a classic. Its all about the content of the album. I enjoy the whole SS shit at times, but this aint 10 years ago and shit, he is older, I'm older, some of it here and there is fine, but from Em I want more content, use his skill to rap about real shit, not rape/murder and drugs all the time.

05-08-2009, 06:21 PM	#1
TheRealProtege The alias is Protege Join Date: May 2006 Location: ThA WiLd WeSt Posts: 1,962 Repped: 139 Repped 582 Times in 167 Posts Neg Reps: 135 Neg Repped at 78 Times in 67 Posts	Eminem - Relapse Review. Eminem - Relapse Review. Eminem “Relapse” Review Submitted by Chris DeLine on May 8, 2009 – 11:03 AM The idea of relapsing isn’t one that’s solely aimed at addiction, especially so in the case of Eminem. Coming four and a half years after Encore, Relapse is a wildcard; an album coming from an unpredictable emcee, one of the world’s most popular and recognizable musical figures, and one that has been looming his entire career. Relapse occurs when you fall back into an old pattern or habit, and with Relapse, Marshall Mathers’ alter-ego drifts back into familiar subject matter, the bulk of which is accompanied by the beats produced by his longtime collaborator and mentor Dr. Dre. But over the course of the album, there is an increasingly broad disparity between who Mathers is, what he’s been through, and what people expect from the character he’s developed. And throughout the album, the main struggle isn’t to find a lyrical rhythm or a solid beat; after a failed reconciliation with his ex-wife, the murder of his close friend and multiple bouts with addiction and stints in rehab, the struggle is to find which former self Mathers has now reverted back to. Relapse opens with “Dr. West,” a skit that captures a meeting between Mathers and a counselor in a treatment facility, with the two discussing a plan for action in an exit interview. Immediately, the counselor guides Mathers toward an alarming resolution; acknowledging that it’s alright if he relapses. And, immediately following the introduction, is “3am,” a thematically violent song that alludes to Silence of the Lambs and a preoccupation with blood and gore. Following that with “My Mom,” an ode to the drug dependency that was passed onto him from his mother, Relapse quickly begins to represent a return to the themes and approach that gained the emcee such notoriety with both The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. And for the majority of the album, only a few songs divert from this trend. “Insane” recalls stories of child molestation and suicide, “Hello” focuses on drug abuse, and the abduction skit “Tonya” is followed by the aptly titled “Same Song and Dance” which touches on a mixed bag of the previously mentioned themes. “I guess it’s time for you to hate me again,” taunts Mathers on “Medicine Ball,” as if to say that he’s firmly planted himself in the persona that stood alongside Marilyn Manson as two of the most notorious musical figures of the 1990s. The song is followed by the skit “Paul,” a phone message from Eminem’s longtime attorney and manager Paul Rosenberg, “You gotta be fucking kidding me. I mean with this Christopher Reeves shit? You know the guy’s dead, right? And then the whole gay stepfather incest rape thing… I don’t have your back on this one, I can’t even fucking handle it—I’m done.” The issue with poking fun at Reeves in “Medicine Ball” isn’t that it’s in poor taste, but rather that it’s desperate. Reviving the comparison, the song compares nicely with Marilyn Manson’s forthcoming album The High End of Low. The album is being touted as his most shocking in years, and the first single is the shock-for-shock’s sake “Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon.” Ten years ago, most people were able to see through the shtick. But now that the shock-rocker is far past his prime, the relentless need to impress a wow-factor upon his audience only succeeds in being stale. Likewise, Mathers has long since lost his shock factor. The concluding concept of Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette’s 2005 documentary, The Aristocrats, best illustrates the relationship with the shift in culture and perception of taboo. The film captures numerous comedians retelling a notoriously filthy joke, and eventually concludes that culture has shifted past the point of shock: nothing’s shocking (but Jane’s Addiction figured that out over 20 years ago). So, when the majority of Relapse continues the approach of earlier Eminem albums while simply going out of the way lyrically to encourage outrage, Mathers comes across just as rudimentary as the stories he’s unfolding. As the album progresses, however, there is a slow shift in Mathers’ lyrical focus. In particular on the tracks “Déjà Vu” and “Beautiful,” which stand out as honest attempts at offering intimate thoughts. Through “Déjà Vu,” Mathers recalls his own drug dependency and the terrifying memories of his daughter’s reaction to his declining health: “Look at my daughter’s face, mommy something is wrong with dad I think/He’s acting weird again, he’s really beginning to scare me/Won’t shave his beard again and he pretends he doesn’t hear me.” The song continues by following the progression and acceptance of falling back into the same patterns that lead to his situation in the first place: the relapse. “Beautiful” on the other hand, is absolutely bizarre given the landscape of the album’s other songs. It is the longest track on the album, stretched out to six and a half minutes, and revolves around the idea of self-inspiration and becoming comfortable with with one’s self. Following a lament to his children, Mathers concludes: “God gave you the shoes that fit you, so put ‘em on and wear them/Be yourself man, be proud of who you are/Even if it sounds corny, don’t ever let no one tell you that you ain’t beautiful.” But before the song has a moment to settle in, the album’s first single, “Crack a Bottle,” comes crashing in, immediately reverting back to the lyrics typical of the majority of the album. If you take Emimen’s lyrics seriously, Relapse is a schizophrenic journey through the thoughts of a mind torn between reality and a twisted sense of intrigue and fascination. If that’s the position you’re taking, the final song, “Underground,” will do nothing but enforce the belief that Marshall Mathers is sick. The song is the most over-the-top culmination of shock on Relapse, flirting with taboos with descriptions of violence, sexually explicit lyrics and homophobic rhetoric, “60 sluts, all of em dying from asphexia, after they shit piss through a Christopher Reeves sippy cup… faggoty faggoty faggoty Raggedy Ann and Andy, no Raggedy Andy and Andy.” But on the flip side of that is a line that cheekily winks at the character people expect of him, “the fucking Antichrist is back.” Whether or not you digest Eminem’s Relapse as an album built on a foundation of poor taste, or simply a return to a character, it’s startling in its inconsistency. This is the first of two albums Mathers has set for release this year, and it fails to find a balance between storytelling and reflection. To some degree that likely reflects the lengthy recording process, with Dre and Mathers recording over two albums worth of material, and the difficulty in having to sort through the tracks for what songs should be used on which record. But the greater issue here is that there is no firm grip by Mathers on either character or reality throughout the album. Relapse is a collection of songs that neither fails to tell a story, or deeply reflect on the life of the man behind the mic. And as such, the feeling that is taken away from the album isn’t that Mathers has relapsed into a former version of himself, but rather that he is now uncertain of who he has become. __________________ The new motto is...WHOEVER soundclick.com/protegerebelflag

05-11-2009, 10:12 AM	#4
m0nghead Its Shaaaaaaaady Join Date: May 2005 Location: London Posts: 57 Repped: 2 Repped 3 Times in 2 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	im with you fellas, everyone wanted slim shady, they got it... not complaining?!! Can't fookking win! Either way the album is fire... pure god damn genius im my personal opinion! (before the haters start jumping!) __________________ "What if I was white" Sticky ft Eminem

05-20-2009, 08:44 PM	#10
G-WesT EM.AYE.ARE... Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: SouTh CeNtraL, LOs AngeLes Posts: 821 Repped: 24 Repped 69 Times in 22 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Basically if ur an eminem fan your gonna love relapse... Slim shady is bacc bitches!!!!! And if your not an emienm fan listen 2 somethin else.... __________________ EMxAYExARE

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05-11-2009, 04:02 AM	#2
JoshNeal123 Jay Daniels Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,184 Repped: 86 Repped 489 Times in 99 Posts Neg Reps: 17 Neg Repped at 87 Times in 44 Posts	People expect way to much. For real this review is wack. People expect something that's going to make them quit believing in god and worship Eminem or something. The way they pull Eminem's album apart is like they think they could make something better themselves, or that anything else that has dropped lately compares. First it was "Oh we wan't the old em we want him to go back to slim shady days". So he does it and now you expect something different. Get the fuck out.

05-11-2009, 05:27 AM	#3
Wesey Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 354 Repped: 12 Repped 57 Times in 28 Posts Neg Reps: 2 Neg Repped at 10 Times in 8 Posts	^^^ REAL FUCKIN TALK!!!... We wanted the Slim Shady back with his jokes in songs and serious outlooks and his just fuckin sick and twisted tracks so we got it... Now people complain? DA FUCK!?

05-11-2009, 08:52 PM	#5
juanr3 Veteran Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,238 Repped: 32 Repped 65 Times in 10 Posts Neg Reps: 5 Neg Repped at 1 Time in 1 Post	i think it's a really good album. Part of it is that we expect too much. But who the fuck gonna listen to this track for track 1,000 times like the other one's. its mad dark, not funny dark but just dark. murder, rape, murder, death, drugs, murder on and on.

05-11-2009, 11:35 PM	#6
DaKillahWitNoFace Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Queen$, New York Posts: 2,536 Repped: 706 Repped 1,782 Times in 202 Posts Neg Reps: 1 Neg Repped at 7 Times in 5 Posts	the albums sick,this review is way to in depth.

05-13-2009, 09:27 AM	#7
Jmingledude Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 129 Repped: 3 Repped 22 Times in 15 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 9 Times in 8 Posts	Album is awesome, i never liked eminem til now

05-13-2009, 01:19 PM	#8
celticspride Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 686 Repped: 47 Repped 11 Times in 5 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 2 Times in 2 Posts	reviews on point fuck you niggas

05-21-2009, 03:42 PM	#11
Hydro Man Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 166 Repped: 5 Repped 24 Times in 17 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 4 Times in 4 Posts	I liie dthe album I wuz a skeptic who thought it wuz actually gonna suck. But to Me Em is still on top of his game lyrically he still flows wit the best of them and his delivery is way on point. The album flows very well together each track ties in with the other and towards the end his flow starts changing along with the concepts....flowing into relapse 2 maybe???? just an idea. 4 out of 5 is my rating cant wait for the next one

05-21-2009, 04:56 PM	#12
Tha Unit On Top BISD November 23rd Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,143 Repped: 631 Repped 2,443 Times in 345 Posts Neg Reps: 78 Neg Repped at 120 Times in 83 Posts	I like the album, but you have to take it as a concept album like one review had, its basically an album that plays out like a slasher movie, crazy ass muder, rape, etc, thats what it is, sick crazy Slim Shady say the craziest shit you can think of, mixed in with Deja Vu and Beautiful. Fucking people think he believes this shit, he even said it, he said Dre said people wanted you to lose your mind, thats what he did, the say the craziest shit you can, people really think he is all fucked up and wants to rape and kill people. Take it for what it is, you dont have to be that smart to understand what he did with this album. Now the question is do you like that or want him to do something different? I like the album, minus a few songs, I think 3am, Beautiful, Deja Vu, Underground and Stay Wide Awake are the best songs, and even the Dre track too. Dont really like My Mom or Insane, thought he wasted a dope ass beat talking about getting raped and shit, couldnt even listen to that shit. I dont mind the whole Slim Shady shit, but I want more of the Em Show album, storytelling, but not about crazy twisted shit, he could go into his drug problems which he did, but how it affects his life, his kids, his music, shit about Proof, etc, I dont know what R2 will be, will it just be the another slasher album, which if thats the case then its fucking stupid, why they didnt make it a double album, to do this album then drop basically the same album again if thats the case, fuck that. R2 should be deeper, have more subject matter on the album, I mean he still has it, still shows why he is one of the best, Underground he rips apart, Deja Vu and Beautiful and even the two bonus songs, dude is still ill, it just all depends on the subject matter of the album, if he does the slasher movie album, killing everything he can, critics kill it, if he rap about personal shit, real life shit, and uses his lyrical skill to make heartfelt meaningful songs, the critics will call it a classic. Its all about the content of the album. I enjoy the whole SS shit at times, but this aint 10 years ago and shit, he is older, I'm older, some of it here and there is fine, but from Em I want more content, use his skill to rap about real shit, not rape/murder and drugs all the time.