Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > May > 18 > Entry
CD review: Eminem - ‘Relapse’
Eminem
‘Relapse’
(Interscope)
B-
“I’m just so (expletive) depressed/I just can seem to get out this slump/ If I could just get over this hump/ But I need something to pull me out this dump” - Eminem, “Beautiful”
Look, we understand Marshall Mathers has had a rough couple of years. His early mentor and best pal Proof died in 2006. Rumors of grief-driven drug use and food binges abounded. Chances of a comeback seemed slim and shady, especially given the strangely placeholding feel of his 2004 album “Encore.”
But there’s depressed and then there’s just being a jerk and there’s no particular evidence on “Relapse” that Eminem knows or cares about the difference. The horror-show lyrics which seemed funny and raw a decade ago, when Eminem was the most galvanizing figure in popular music, seem like weak beer here.
There’s Em as an escaped psychopath, whacked on Klonopin going on a black-out killing spree (“3 a.m.”).
There’s Em turning a rape at the hands of his stepfather into a sitcom in “Insane.”
There’s Em yammering about Mom and her pill problem again (“My Mom”) and complaining about Mariah Carey (“Bagpipes from Baghdad”). Carey seems to have gotten over him; he should probably do the same. Em’s mom probably has moved on, too.
As anyone who has seen the unfortunate video to “We Made You” can attest, for a guy who has spent the last couple of years on his rear watching TV, his cultural targets aren’t exactly up to date. (The most recent one is Sarah Palin, which is at least from the past 12 months.)
Two things saves this slab of bad vibes from complete degradation. The first is Dr. Dre, one of the best beat-smiths who ever lived. Dre discovered Mathers and with him rediscovered himself; Eminem enabled Dre’s career to have the third act virtually unheard of in hip-hop. Having him back at the reins, supplying beats for all but one song, gives the songs deep focus bass and rich drums.
The second is Em’s withering disdain for the celebrity culture he knows he’s a part of. When he takes cheap shots at folks like Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian, he must know he’s not that much farther up the celebrity food chain. It doesn’t make up for all the raping and killing and drug-gobbling in the lyrics, which he really should be moving past by now. But it does give “Relapse” a savage cynicism that makes this symphony of self-loathing one of the year’s nastiest albums.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment Categories: Reviews
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.
By lol
May 18, 2009 1:44 PM | Link to this
This review is ridiculous…the album is a concept album and has clearly gone over your head…go back to reviewing sarah harmer albums..
By Gabriela
May 18, 2009 4:27 PM | Link to this
eminem is freeken awesome. his lyrics are just comical and i don’t see why people seem to get offended.
By Cliff
May 18, 2009 6:48 PM | Link to this
Can’t review an Eminem CD if you don’t get his music. Rolling Stone seemed to like it.
By Kathy
May 18, 2009 9:13 PM | Link to this
can somebody that isn’t a teenager please comment on this page cause it’s painfully obvious that the 2 before me aren’t 20 yet! I agree I used to be a fan of his music until the 3rd CD when I kept hearing the same formula over & over. I now have gotten over him
By HelYa
May 19, 2009 9:33 AM | Link to this
I don’t even know you why do I care what music you like?
By TGrass
May 19, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
I do think he’s pretty talented, so I’m not gonna trash him personally. Some people think he’s great, and that’s why Baskin Robbins has 31 flavours… but realize that this flavour is BUBBLEGUM. It’s not really supposed to have an important message. You’re just supposed to “groove” to it and not think about it. If you listened to it, and the lyrics “really meant something” to you, then you are mentally 13 years old. My advice would be to grow up and listen to music (where people actually sing and play instruments).
By AudioPhile
May 19, 2009 10:31 AM | Link to this
This music is bubblegum… it’s not supposed to have “a message”… You’re just supposed to “groove” to it. If the lyrics “meant something” to you, then you are mentally about 13 years old. My advice is to grow up, and listen to music (where people actually sing and play instruments).
By Victor
May 19, 2009 4:39 PM | Link to this
Sorry, it just isn’t that good. It lacks the cool, the nerve and the musicality of his older stuff. It is like a Wierd Al Yankovick parody of Eminem. Not bad, just not great, and I have come to expect great from him.
By Matt
May 20, 2009 3:26 AM | Link to this
I agree that a few of the songs seem stale, but I think that most of them are excellent. Most people just hear the violent lyrics and fail to understand their deeper meaning. For example, I believe that 3am is a metaphore for the complete loss of control that he experienced while he was on drugs; he doesn’t know how the “bodies” got there, but he “must have killed them” means that he is willing to accept responsibility for the things he did while he was abusing pills even though he doesn’t fully understand why he spiraled out of control. This is the kind of album where you have to actually LISTEN to the lyrics instead of just picking up on the name drops and specific references.
By brendan
May 21, 2009 3:40 AM | Link to this
Over 13 years old and definately listen to more “real” hip hop (big fan of nas, mobb deep, HOV, Pac, Biggy all the heroes)than the guy that tried to write a review here, and most of the people that commented…first off if youre gonna write a review on the cd, delve into the cd, don’t just go on your own small and pitiful theme for the album and say nothing about it…This cd while not the most mature cd is nonetheless lyrically a classic. I have never seen such lyrical flow and wordplay on a cd since reasonable doubt…even if that one is about the hood and this one is about rape and murder and insanity…secondly you talk nothing of deja vu a beautiful story song that flows like the 8 mile song that isn’t lose yourself (blanking on name)…mention nothing of “Hello” a lyrical gem that has much in it…and im out of characters