Opening Opinion:
8.9/10
I gotta
admit this is an album I loved more in 2009 then now 8 years later. Maybe it’s
the fact Eminem himself hates this album. Maybe it’s the fact he did a 180
degree turn a year later with Recovery. Regardless this is a good album. Lets
get into it, in depth.
“Dr.
West” is the intro. It’s creepy. Em wakes up after the doctor tempts him with
pills. “3 a.m.” is very disturbing. In fact its one of his most graphic songs.
Em goes on this kind of serial killer journey. Well get used to it cause it’s a
reoccurring theme on Relapse… The next song, “My Mom” is funny. It’s produced
by Dr. Dre(like most of the album). Em raps about his mom doing drugs and
making him do drugs…which I am sure is mostly exaggerated. “Insane” is just
that. Em raps about a being messed with sexually by a step dad as a kid. I like
his flow here, but again its hard to stomach some of these subjects.
Mariah
Carey and Nick Cannon get attacked on “Bagpipes from Baghdad” The beat is
really good. “Hello” has a playful sound to it. “I lose a pill and I’m recklessly
wrecking the house” raps Em. I really like the chorus and the hard a** beat. It’s
kind of a song to the ladies….kinda. “Tonya Skit” is just goddamn disturbing.
It does set up the next song, “Same Song & Dance”. Em raps about his victims
which are pretty famous I guess.
“We
Made You” is the party track, but it’s a really dope one. Nobody but Eminem
could put this together…the video too..omg..lol. “The Enforcer, looking for
more women to torture” He does a lot of name dropping too here: Kim Kardshian
and Jessica Alba just to name a couple. “Medicine Ball” is one of my favorite
tracks also. The beat is hard af. “You can’t get pregnant if I bisexually wreck
ya” smh lol. “There’s penis with 2 balls
on the floor so you know who did it”. He impersonates Christopher Reeves too.
“Paul skit” is where Paul Rosenberg protests Eminem like he
normally does lol. “Stay Wide Awake” Is just like “Same Song & Dance” but
longer…. “Old Time’s Sake” features Dr. Dre. The song is pretty dope. “Speak of
the devil it’s the attack of the Rain Man…” Yeah he was possessed on this album
I guess lol. “Must Be the Gangja” is a f***in bad song. The chorus is lazy and
the beat just sounds like the other similar songs.
“Mr.
Mathers Skit” is ok but ultimately rather skippable. Em is picked up by
paramedics. “Déjà vu” is a dope track. Em is starting to recover off the drugs.
He raps about his personal problems with drug overdose. “Beautiful” is just
that, a beautiful song. This song goes perfectly with the previous song. I LOVE
the chorus. I feel the song is very relatable, unlike most of this album. “Crack
A Bottle” features 50 Cent and Dr. Dre. I feel 50 really steals the show here
unlike what Dre did on “Old Time’s Sake”.
“Steve
Burman Skit” is funny. His skits are always funny. Steve basically threatens Em
after getting the album. Its here we learn there was supposed to be a Relapse 2,
which turned into Recovery. “Underground” is the last official track. This 6
minute track helps the album retain that classic Em feel. Its hard hitting song
with an outrageous chorus. I really like it. The end of the track features Ken
Kaniff the gay Eminem fan. Yeah he’s been on every Em album I think except
Recovery.
The 2 bonus tracks are good. “My Darling” takes disturbing
to a spiritual level. Dr. Dre is on the track also. Its just a weird song that
fits in perfectly with the first half of Relapse. “Careful What You Wish For”
sees Em tackle his career and how it has affected his personal life….
Closing Opinion: 8.8/10
While it didn’t age particularly well, Relapse is still a
nice comeback for Eminem. It certainly is not skippable in his great
discography.