Eagerly awaited by fanboys and naysayers alike. Here’s my track by track take on the just-leaked Eminem album “Recovery” (in stores June 18th):
Cold Wind Blows (produced by ???)
Oh nicely played, Marshall. Yet another track about how you hate fame. Surely if you hate it so much you should just quit instead of raping everyone for their cash while you moan about having too much.Oh that’s just the intro… The rest is just Marshall flowing quite nicely about stuff we’ve heard him rap about a million times before.
Key phrases: something about piss and Mariah Carey.
Talkin’ To Myself (featuring Kobe) (produced by DJ Khalil)
Eminem goes emo – again. Stellar production as always from Khalil and a proficient chorus from newbie Kobe, but Eminem seems determined to stick to this “my life sucks” mantra. Name checks Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West as people that he wrote diss songs for, but said he would “have got killed” by them. Pretty sure Weezy can’t kill anyone. Not with those arms.
Key phrases: “hit the bottom”, “I let them down”, “I’m all alone”
On Fire (produced by ???)
Surprisingly Eminem sounds good on this. The chorus is dog shit (which Eminem acknowledges mid-song), but Em comes hard spitting verses with venom we haven’t heard from him since the olden days. Doesn’t say anything new but when Eminem hits his stride he doesn’t have to. Perhaps there is hope for this album after all.
Key phrases: “sulphuric acid”, “Ironman”, “This ain’t a song it’s a warning”
Won’t Back Down (featuring Pink) (produced by DJ Khalil)
Ah the much commented-upon Pink collaboration. Her voice barely registers in the intro, but perhaps that’ll change in the final mix. Eminem comes with a highly aggressive flow and spits venom as you’d expect in a song called “Won’t Back Down”. Oh wait, Pink isn’t just mixed badly – she just sounds so average on the hook that my brain apparently turned her mic down.
Key phrases: “you’re addicted/ I’m dope”, “Gasoline”, “Lit match”
W.T.P. (produced by ???)
Shady in perfunctory swagger rap track. Down hill from here?
Going Through Changes (produced by DJ Khalil)
Uh-oh… As I feared, Eminem reverts back into Emo-nem. “Can’t everyone just give me time? I’m going through a lot of stuff, you know? It’s hard. Leave me alone! No wait, buy this album about how I want you to leave me alone!” Okay, Marshall.
Key phrases: “Inside I’m dying”, “I need help”, “All time low/ I sit at home in my home theatre”
Not Afraid (produced by Boi-1da)
Decidedly average track. Operatic backdrop, emotive delivery, so-so lyrics. He’s not afraid to take a stand and to lead people through “the storm” like a peroxide Jesus, apparently. At least he’s cheered up a bit AND as the debut single from the album, refreshing to see Em not reverting to the ol’ comedy single route.
Key Phrases: “Face my demons”, “Hold my ground”, “I feel like the king of my world”
Seduction (produced by DJ Khalil)
Okay, so Eminem seems to go full circle on this track: “I feel like I’m morphing/ into something that’s so incredible that I’m dwarfing/ all competitors” – definitely changed his tune. Happy Marshall. Khalil’s production is average at best, saved from complete inadequacy by the warm strings rising up in the hook. Eminem seems to be flowing for fun on this, showcasing some of the best examples of polysyllabic acrobatics in recent times – but the song content is very average: he’s just trying to chat up some girl, as if being a hip hop megastar doesn’t equate to pussy. Who you tryna kid?
Key phrases: “I am awesome/ you’re just awe struck”, “Come here girl”, “Verbal seduction”
No Love (featuring Lil’ Wayne) (produced by Just Blaze)
I won’t lie, I cheered when I heard the sample of “What is Love?” by Haddaway. Just Bleezy just made up for arse-fucking the A-Team theme . I don’t know if I’m still in shock from the ace sampling on the production, but even Lil’ Wayne comes hard (no homo). His flow is at times, very nice – something which I have been critical of in the past, Eminem is fucking aggravating on the chorus though. Luckily, Eminem out does Weezy’s flow and raps circles around his pint-sized, Predator-alike co-star. Very good, actually (ignoring the chorus).
Key Terms: “Ain’t cool for you to sound cocky anymore”, “Never break my stride”, “Never take my pride”.
Space Bound (featuring ???) (produced by ???)
Eminem spits one for the ladies over a terribly plain acoustic guitar-laded production. Boring as fuck, but I had fun pretending that the dude on the chorus was Cee-Lo Brown (alas he isn’t). But oh wait, then he flips it so that he reveals that he’s talking about a girl and not a woman, leading us all along. Clever Marshall – it has been done before and way better.
Key phrases: lots of shit about “love”
Cinderella Man (featuring ???) (produced by ???)
Booming production, emotive delivery, so-so lyrics. Notice a theme here? The production seems to have Timbaland’s finger prints all over it, will be interesting to see who it’s by. The backing track gives the sense of an epic march towards *something*, it’s just a shame that Eminem spits such mediocre nothing-raps.
Key phrases: “How much in your face am I?”, “You pussy”, “The last album… sits in the trash”
25 to Life (featuring ??? (but her voice is annoying)) (produced by ???)
Another stringed-production. ANOTHER one for the ladies. A few knuckle-gnawingly dodgy punchlines (“You keep treating me like a staircase/ it’s time to fucking step”). The more that Eminem raps with this passionate delivery the less impact it has, especially when he’s lamenting the break down of a marriage. Oh wait, he then reveals he’s married to hip hop. Just doesn’t work.
Key phrases: “You can no longer control me”, “This is how I fucking get repaid”, “Oh now I’m special?/ Didn’t feel special when I was wit’ you”
So Bad (produced by Dr. Dre)
Nicely gutter production from Dre (as always), shout outs to Johnny Drama (“Word to Johnny Drama/ I keep my entourage wit’ me”), perfunctory Eminem flow and – you guessed it – generally so-so lyrics. It’s just his version of the classic battle raps wherein you just say how good you are without actually saying suttin’ that means suttin’.
Key phrases: “I’m just a hopeless romantic”, “I told you I’m Shady”, “I’m so good that I’m so bad”
Almost Famous (featuring ???) (produced by ???)
Production comes hard, Eminem sounds angry, the lyrics are about nothing but now it’s more entertaining nothings at least. Plus he fits one of the longest words in the English language into one of his bars. Whoever is on this hook deserves to catch a beating; how can one voice be so annoying? Better.
Key phrases: “Get off my dick”, “Get of my antidisestablishmentarianism, you prick”, “Nobody fucks with him”
Love The Way You Lie (featuring Rihanna) (produced by Alex da Kid)
Oh look it’s a boring song about “the wrong [feeling] right”. One for the 14 year old girls to get to number one. Rihanna is decidedly okay on this too, Eminem sounds as boring as he was on the last album. One from the executives, me thinks.
Key phrases: “the wrong feels right”, “high off of love”, “next time show your strength”
You’re Never Over (produced by ???)
Another low point. An attempt at something uplifting comes off as so boring that it sounds like Eminem rapping a Disney morality tale.
Key phrases: something about “believe”, “achieve” and other such High School Musical-isms.
Here We Go (produced by ???) (BONUS TRACK)
Now this is more like it! Eminem still isn’t talking about anything important, just useless non-sequiturs but when his flow is this ON POINT then it’s hard to concentrate on what he’s saying anyway. Nice way to end the album.
Key phrases: None, but that doesn’t matter.
—
OVERVIEW
A confused album in which Em can’t decide if he’s upset or ecstatic, but always rapped with emotion (sometimes to it’s detriment). Better when he’s styling out raps about bullshit. Garbage when he’s moaning about fame, we’ve heard that all before.
Score: 6.9 out of 10
Take It Personal 
If you listened to the album properly youd have noticed that Spacebound isnt a track for the ladies, the song has a twist at the end, eminem tricks you into thinking hes rapping about his relasionship with woman when hes actually rapping about his relasionship with hip hop, how hes done so much for it, not cheated on it but it still turn its back on him when he didnt release a 5 star album. I read your whole review and you seem to be the one whos confused. You cant make an album that covers many different emotions without it sounding confused or contradictory, fact is eminem is the jollyest hes ever been, when you hear him pissed off on recovery, its because hes rapping about his rap partner proof dying, critics miss treating him or just general aggraations. I really dissagree that the album as a whole sounds confused, sellout, weak, or anything that anyone has said in their reviews, ive been an eminem fan since 1999 and im telling you Recovery is a return to form, its up there with The Eminem Show and definitely the best rap album in years. You just need to let it grow on you playa lol
i agree…most of the songs are really good…much better than the relaps…but i bet that day by day some tracks will come out that eminem didnt decide to put on album but are better than some on the album..
dumb review
classic album
wow.. did u listen to the album? i cant say i really dont like 1 track on this album. your pathetic nd should stop writing reviews. dont quit your night job
seems to me that the reviewers brains must have been jettisoned into space before he listened to the album,its a truly great album .peace out.
seems to me that the reviewers brain was jettisoned into space before he listened to the album, maybe he should stick to ricky martin albums in future.peace and love
first review ive read that I actually agree with
recovery sucks mega monkey ballsack,
relapse was way fucking better
Man, you’ve not even listened to this album have you. This is a fucking disgrace of a review and you just sound pretty stupid. Its probably the best album lyrically for ages. The wordplay and metaphors are different class, but I suppose you probably don’t know much about that. You’d have been better waiting to see how well the album is actually received by the public rather than embarrasing yourself in advance. Granted there are a few cheesy moments on it, but give it another listen and think about it at the same time. Feel free to re-review after that. Unlucky.
I take it all back.
I love Eminem and this is teh bestest album evar!!1
Oh fuck off, it’s average at best. Get a life, Stan.
The album is static at best and grating without rose tinted glasses like all you faggots seem to flounder for any time someone who once was good to great keeps putting out crap.
You’re like the mike tyson fans who kept saying he’d come back.
Gone are the days of zig zags and this bag of this weed and in are the sing song crap he’s been leaning on for 3 albums. Three albums that all his original fanbase hated fyi.
Now I know you all stole your older brothers old albums and sat in your room with it on repeat until eminem was infallible but he’s not.
I cant tell you how quickly I started flipping through tracks when I started hearing the same old regurgitated catch phrases, again.
Mariah, the dig on micheal j fox, the same old, same old, same old, same old. Everything else is more singsong.
When I heard the single I was a bit curious and stole it as soon as it dropped. Flipped through it, hated it, listened to the whole thing, still hated it, listened once more and then flipped through it again. It’s awful.
I’d rather listen to Immortal Tech for good rap then switch over to Elbow for good singing, this cross over shit blows, just like late rage did.
Smashing pumpkins wondered why people went ass over teakettle after falling off with all their softer shit for their remake of “The beginning is the end is the beginning” It’s simple, people want you to improve on your best shit not switch into a genre you can’t do and aren’t expected to.
He missed his mark and I dont think people even would have wanted that.
Clearly Eminem wanted to show you, so you know you’re dealing with some fuckin marshmellow, little soft yellow punk pussy, who’s heart’s Jello.