The road to recovery can be a long one. One must find the inner strength, and belief to will their way back into shape, or in Eminem's case, will his way back into the limelight. Before his return to the mic with last year's Relapse, the world had waited a total of 4 years to hear any new material from the controversial Detroit MC. 4 years away from the mic, could have spelled "Career Suicide" for anyone else, but Eminem isn't just anyone. Relapse featured a Detroit rapper still suffering the effects of his much-storied drug addiction to percription meds, after the tragic death of his best friend Proof, and his divorce from his on again-off again- relationship- with the mother of his child, Kim. The man was only a shell of himself, and the ending result was an unfocused, unbalanced body of work. Knowing he let his fans down a bit, Slim Shady decided to sit back and deliver a more cohesive, more bold, more focused project. Originally entitled Relapse 2, Eminem scrapped the whole idea when the new material he was recording was taking a different turn. The finished product is perhaps, his best body of work since The Eminem Show. The road to redemption begins with the album's opening cut "Cold Wind Blows", as Em explains why there is a method to his madness , while poking fun at the likes of Michael Vick, Elton John, and his favorite target, Mariah Carey (and that's all in the first verse!). Em comes out swingging, and bites his tongue for no one, dropping devilish lines like: "I set the world on fire/ Piss on it/ Put it out/ Stick my dick in a circle/ But I ain't fuckin' around." Later adding, "I'll show you pussy footin/ I'll kick a bitch in the cunt til it makes her queef and sounds like a fuckin whoopy cushion.." With lyrics like these, it takes fans back to Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP days. The lyrical tirade continues on the sadistic "On Fire" where Slim takes his homicidal lyrics even further: "Shit dissin me is like pissin off the Wizard Of Oz/ Wrap a lizard in gauze/Beat you in the jaws with it/ Grab the scissors and saws/ And cut out your livers, gizzards, and balls/ Throw you in the middle of the ocean in the blizzard with Jaws.." The first 5 or 6 songs is a lyrical euphoria, and you can tell that Eminem really put his all into making an album that his fans can really enjoy. Em touches on that topic on the album's first single, "Not Afraid" (" And to the fans/ I'll never let you down again/ I'm back/ I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact/ Let's be honest/ that last Relapse CD was 'ehhhh' ") Things begin to get serious on the introspective track "Going Through Changes", which samples "Changes" by English rock band Black Sabbath, and argubaly-the-best-song-on-the album. Eminem recounts his dark days addicted to pills (which almost cost him his life), his fall out with ex- wife, Kim, and Proof's death. Other standout tracks are the triumphant "Cinderella Man", "Talkin' 2 Myself" featuring up and coming crooner Kobe (Fabolous' "Imma Do It") and the rap ballad "Love The Way You Lie". The latter, features Rihanna on the hook, as Em discusses the topic of domestic abuse. Rihanna sings: "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/ But it's alright because I like the way it hurts/ Just gonna stand there and watch me cry/ But that's alright because I love the way you lie." The song is a departure from songs we're used to hearing from Eminem, and who better to have sing the hook than Rihanna, given her situation with ex- boyfriend, Chris Brown last year? While this album is great in a lot of areas, it is not with out a few minor flaws that keep this album from being a classic. The most disappointing song is the Lil' Wayne-guested "No Love". Not only does Eminem rap circles around Lil'Wayne. Just Blaze's sample of Haddaway's "What Is Love" is unispiring. Other downers are "W.T.P." and "Space Bound". The album's closer is the Proof tribute, "You're Never Over". Em sings and raps about the only person who actually believed in his skills as a rapper way before the world knew Marshall Mathers. The tribute is sincere, honest and true, and a great way to close out an album. What Eminem has done with Recovery was reintroduce the world to one of the finest talents hip hop has ever witnessed. The passion, the drive, the ambition, and the hunger is all there. Now Eminem doesn't have to walk the road to recovery alone, because now, we can all walk along with him. I rate this 4.5/5
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