Album Review: Eminem- Recovery

Average Rating: 9.8/10
Overall Rating: 9.5/10

          1. Cold Wind Blows (9.5/10)

          2. Talkin’ To Myself Ft. Kobe (10/10)

          3. On Fire (8.5/10)

          4. Won't Back Down Ft. Pink (10/10)

          5.W.T.P (9/10)

          6. Going Through Changes (10/10)

          7. Not Afraid (10/10)

          8. Seduction (10/10)

          9. No Love Ft. Lil Wayne (10/10)

          10. Space Bound (10/10)

          11. Cinderella Man (10/10)

          12. 25 To Life (10/10)

          13. So Bad (9.5/10)

          14. Almost Famous (10/10)

          15. Love The Way You Lie Ft. Rihanna (10/10)

          16. You're Never Over (10/10)

          17. Here We Go (10/10)

    Coming back after a slump is never easy. NAS barely came back to his legendary status since Illmatic came out, Jay-Z couldn’t return to his golden days no matter how hard he tries, 50 Cent is having almost as hard of a time as Jay-Z, and Eminem was slumping since Encore came out. But for Recovery, Eminem decided to take on a different direction and concept; he wanted to make a more serious, mature album, showing a much different and better side of himself.  So can a new concept bring Eminem back to his golden age? Only the quality on his second album after his hiatus “Recovery” can tell.

     Recovery generally went on a very different direction than Eminem’s last album Relapse, it was far more serious, the tracks where a lot smarter, it was more open, and really the tracks on Recovery where the tracks that people would want from a returning Eminem album. In a nutshell, Recovery was smart, open, and honestly nothing what Relapse was, even Slim Shady was removed most of the album, which honestly gave it a really positive effect.

     Recovery was Eminem’s longest album, it had 17 tracks, and no skits, therefore making it long enough for him to open up about what he experienced during his recent years, and have many of the subject matters we’ve been wanting Eminem to talk about since he came back from his drug addiction and hiatus.

     Eminem opened up about so much on this album. He talked about his tough time around music and how he almost killed his own career in the strong, rock-influenced “Talkin’ To Myself”. He talked about how he planned to change his life and how he tried to get out of depression in the deep and strongly emotional track “Going through Changes”. He talked about starting a new life after his drug addiction, and finally beating his demons in the uplifting first single of the album “Not Afraid”. he talked about his reasons why he’s still rapping in the metaphorically strong “25 To Life” where he talks about hip-hop like it was a girl, and he talked about Proof in the late tribute to him on the album’s best track “You’re Never Over”.

     Eminem talked about other subject matters on the album. He talked about domestic violence in “Love The Way You Lie” which featured Rihanna and was one of the best tracks on the album. he talked about how he’s over his haters in “No Love”, one of the most rhythmic tracks on the album, thanks to his, and Lil Wayne’s verse. He talked about his trust issues while being love struck in the guitar-based “Space Bound” a great track for the radio, and one of the best of Eminem’s career, and he talked about his rise to fame in some very hardcore and strong metaphors with a banging beat in the track “Almost Famous”.

    Eminem had some battle-oriented tracks on the album too, where he’s just constantly spitting punchlines and rhyme after rhyme after rhyme. “Won’t Back Down” was one of them, it was very intense, and one of the best lyrical tracks on the album. “On Fire” was just rhyming, but it was the worst on the album, it could have had a better beat, but still it was a great track and “Cinderella Man” also plays a role as one of the best tracks on the album, it had a very strong beat, as well as some strong battle oriented lyrics to complement its production.

     With all those serious and the battle oriented tracks, it’s hard to believe that Eminem still had some fun on the album. He brought Slim Shady in the album for two tracks with “Cold Wind Blows”, which just kept taking shots at celebrates, it felt like a song that should have been on Relapse due to its content, and “Here We Go”, which was just plain old classic Slim Shady. Eminem also talked about pimping girls, sex with them and generally was just bragging on himself in “So Bad” and talked about a white trash party in the album’s only party oriented track, “WTP”.

     Recovery was definitely one of hip-hop’s most polished albums, and possibly nearing Eminem’s best album. I think that this was more or less the Eminem people where waiting for, he was serious in some tracks, he had fun on some tracks, and he went back to his sources in some other tracks, what more can be wanted? The album was well balanced, well concepted, well thought of, and possibly flawless, or at least almost flawless. I think that this was overall the return Eminem wanted and needed, and it was the return that the fans wanted too. Recovery was an opener to a new chapter in Eminem’s career, let’s see if he can keep this chapter on track with how it started.