Official Eminem "Relapse" Discussion Thread

[Lunatic]

is this a retail/grouprip, or some shitty web rip?

its retail, not grouprip, but definitely better quality than a shitty web rip.

[J.E.]

1. Intro - Good opener. Gives the album a "dark tone" to begin. I like it.
2. 3 AM - Simple beat, but I like it. Real cinematic, horror like; fits the concept pretty well. Lyrics are for the most part, on point. Accent gets annoying at times, but gets more and more tolerable with each listen. The beat fitting the concept so well is the overall highlight of this track. I've liked this track more and more with each listen. - 4/5

3. My Mom - Loving the horns on the beat. Dr. Dre did his thing on here. The chorus is absolute crap though, extremely, BEYOND annoying. The accent is fucking terrible on here. Cool subject matter, he's been there, done that though. The beat is oh so hot though. This track got worse with a 2nd listen though. Gets a pass for the beat - 2.5/5
4. Insane - cool beat. Cool/weird subject matter, fucked up with the stepfather rape. Gets annoying at times. Avg track, not as annoying as "My Mom" though. - 2.75/5

5. Bagpipes from Baghdad - Experimental beat imo. it's pretty cool. Very annoying song though; so bad. Lol at the Nick Cannon line though. - 2/5
6. Hello - Simple beat, but average imo. Wack hook. Wack delivery. - 2.25/5
7. Tonya - N/A

8. Same Song & Dance - Ok beat. Ok concept, terrible delivery of ideas. Just awful. Such a bad song overall. - 2/5
9. We Made You - Typical Eminem first single. We've all heard it. - 1/5

10. Medicine Ball - I like this beat. The accent ruins it though. Makes it very annoying. Ironic hook, yes I do hate this  - 2.25/5
11. Paul - N/A, but fucking hilarious
12. Stay Wide Awake - I really like this beat, SO DOPE. The hook is real good as well. Accent is gay and fuck on this. Lyrics are on point. - 3.5/5
13. Old Time's Sake  - Simple beat, but again, I really like it. The accent isn't as bad, but the hook in his normal voice is better. I like Dre's parts. - 4/5

14. Must Be The Ganja - As Meho said, vintage Snoop/50 beat. Judging off "I Get High" or "Smoke Some Weed", this would still be better for Lloyd Banks or Ice Cube. The beat is cool like that. Don't like what Em did with it at all though. Not as bad as some of the other cuts on this album though. - 3/5
15. Mr. Mathers - N/A
16. Deja Vu - Great beat, great hook. Definitely one of the best tracks on the album. - 4/5

17. Beautiful - The one moment on the album of the of the best of Eminem, and surprisingly, it's the 1 beat Dre didn't do. But Dre's beats are great on this, this song is best b/c of Em's performance being easily, his best on the entire album. - 5/5
18. Crack a Bottle - Always liked this beat. Don't like the hook at all. Em's verse is cool. Dre murders this shit. 50's singing is ok, not bad as some said. - 3.5/5
19. Steve Berman Skit - N/A

20. Underground - Grimey beat. Vintage Eminem on this one. Good way to end the album. - 5/5

Awful album.

So the average is 3.116/5

I haven't listened the entire album yet but my guess is that I'm gonna end up saying it's 3- 3.75/ 5

[Lunatic]

^well i feel it's even worse than 3.1/5, even if that is the average.

[Retro]

can i get a link please

[Retro]

thank dude, gonna listen to it now.

[operation stackola]

I'll have to check this just for the Dre beats. I've got every Eminem album, but they just don't have any replay value for me (with the exception of a song here and there). I'll buy an Em album, listen to it for a couple weeks straight, and hardly ever listen to it again (most of his shit just sounds like parodies to me). Just reading some of the posts in this thread isn't making me want to hear this any time soon (especially if it's worse than Encore, which is his worst album, IMO).

[westsiderider323]

luna hook up that link brah

[Lunatic]

luna hook up that link brah

got cha

[OcToExtraordinaire]

These are probably the best Dre beats since The Big Bang.

"Dre fell off", "Dre is done"...

[The Watcher]

em just did a whole album where he doesn't say shit

what the fuck is this? i didnt mind encore cause i thought he was just trying to prove his name sells, but now a second album which is exactly like encore? i wont be buying this album at all. 'my mom' is ok and 3am is decent, the rest of this album is unlistenable. perhaps someone needs to force feed him some drugs so we can get some decent music out of him again. seriously, this guy is just putting out an album for the sake of it. the lyrics on most of the songs sound like they're put together by a 5th grader, his flow is insane but he isn't saying SHIT

this album gets a 3/10 from me

[Lunatic]

^for real; glad to see others share the opinion. This is an utterly terrible album.

[Action!]

The only reason Dre's production on The Documentary was so fine was it being made for a version of Detox and Game getting the leftovers after the project got scrapped.  And, as it goes, 3 of them were originally 50's but that's besides the point because the og intent was for Detox, not Game.   That said, Dre did fine with this release.  He delivered the goods and had a cohesive product.

Lyrical/creative analysis

Relapse begins with Dr.West.  We're dropped into Marshall Mather's checking out of Rehab for his abuse of alcohol and pills.  Marshall is having a conversation with Dr.West concerning his concerns of relapsing into addiction post-rehab and controlling himself through the 12-step program.  He is encouraged by Dr.West to give into drugs to get through his worries.   As the pressure builds on Marshall Dr.West transforms into an alter ego.  It is his devil that is unleashed.  An alarm clock rings, it's a nightmare.

He wakes up at 3 AM.  The door is unlocked, Marshall has relapsed, and is now Slim Shady.  The usual dosage of grotesque depictions of violence occurs as Shady describes his memory murder.  A review of Marshall's experiences with addictions are included prior to relapsing are included.  He's up late at night, can't sleep, and wishes to sleep so he returns to his drugs.  3 AM tracks the transformation from Marshall to Slim Shady; by the third verse Shady is in full mode.  

He takes us back to the beginning, to the days of his youth, to the day when his addiction began.  This act is part of the 12 steps.  One must admit they're addicted, that they're powerless.  He tells us that through his Mother actions that that he exists today but that despite the outside circumstances he is no different then his Mother.  This is less of a critique as it is more of a review.  There is no hatred for his mother, only the realizition that this is how events in his life went down, this is how he became who he is today.

The story of his past continues as Shady tells us of the rape he received as a child from his step-father. Always aware of the gossip, on the chorus Shady addresses those who wonder about his mental state.  He continues to face what has haunted him.      

Shady then focuses the light on the thoughts that race through his head today: failed relationships, hatred and jealousy, and insecurities about accepatance.  He demonstrates that he is Shady and he is insane.  He gives in to the perceptions.  

His continued desires to be accepted are expressed on Hello.  Another source of why he turns to addictions are described - women.  Tonya transitions the story of external problems from his past to his issues with females.    
Shady's past experiences with relationships are described on Same Song & Dance.  We Made You continues as a lighter variation of Same Song & Dance, this time focusing on female celebrities.  

Medicine Ball continues the tale of addiction and how Shady constantly attacks the world as if it were his playtoy.  This all roots from the belief that people have got to hate him.  

Paul comes in as a voice of reason, he comes in as the perception of us the audience.  Shady responds to the critique by telling the world to accept it, this is who he is, it's a part of Marshall, and dares the audience to delve into the sick thoughts within on Stay Wide Awake.  He continues to appeal to this recommendation on the next track Old Time's Sake.  The track also begins to address another addiction - Weed.  Must Be The Ganga confirms the depth of his addiction.  

Mr.Mathers continues to tell us that Mathers has been gone on this cd and Shady has only existed.  We know why, Marshall overdosed on medication that he used to try to fall asleep.  Deja Vu is no longer Shady. Eminem is back and he tells the story of his recent addiction until his overdose.  During the track Shady is present but is underneath as a whisper.  

Marshall comes out and tells us his truth on Beautiful.  He reviews his career, his position in life, his current actions, his thoughts, and his fears.  It's his truth without the devil, without Shady.  He's told us his story in the past 16 tracks - his you, his alter ego, his addictions.  Marshall knows all this but it doesn't matter, this is therapy.  It doesn't matter that he's said this already, that he's expressed his contempt for his mother, his hatred for the world, his desrive to be accepted - none of this matters.  This is Marshall Mathers.  You are are you.  This is what he wants to do.  You do what you want to do.  He's being himself.

Crack a Bottle is the celebration of this realization, of being yourself, of his career and what he has done.  His therapy is nearly done.  He has made it through his post-rehab phase.  Eminem is ready to come back so he visits Steve Berman.  Berman is the audience who's waited for Eminem, who's tired of his antics - Berman represents the world outside of Marshall.  

Underground concludes the album.  Eminem is back to form.  He resorts back into his battle flow,  his crazy rhymes, his passion, and he's ready to prove the world he's back.  He's admitted to his story and he even makes fun of his own material via Ken Kannif - We Made You's corniness and poppiness is made fune of.  

In conclusion of this lyrical analysis, honesty and self-expression is why I dig Encore and it's why I dig Relapse.  It's all deliberately planed out.  It's the story of Marshall Mather/Eminem/Slim Shady.  A story is told of part of what he's been up to the in the past couple of years.  His accents are on purpose, his lack of emotion on tracks is on purpose.  They all serve to be part of the collective whole.  That's why I dig this.  It's not just a collection of random tracks that sound hot like on most albums.  

As do the beats match what's being spit?  I would say yeah they do.  Even those more manufactured towards consumer appeal such as We Made You are picked at via Ken Kannif.

True, other artists would have done something different but Eminem made it his own.  That's why I dig this shit.  He only presents what he knows and doesn't tell us otherwise.  He doesn't rap as if he's slinging weight or packing heat or as the hot headed Shady he used to be.  He even know the material itself is kind of contrived and tells us this but he doesn't care because it's something he has to go through, this is how he wants to be represented.  

I say it's as good as Encore.  I'll stick with my og score of 6.5/7 out of ten.  Why? I don't know.  Lack of re-playability for one.  But it's still all dope.  

[westsiderider323]

awww man and i thought i was disappointed when i heard Paul Walls new album earlier only tracks im feelin is We Made You Crack A Bottle and Stay Wide Awake everything else is pretty wack 

[Lunatic]

awww man and i thought i was disappointed when i heard Paul Walls new album earlier only tracks im feelin is We Made You Crack A Bottle and Stay Wide Awake everything else is pretty wack 

yep, awful album.

[Matty]

'Deja Vu' is the best track on the album. one of the only tracks where the production and the delivery actually fit together and eminem isn't doing a stupid voice or a terrible hook.

the beats i like the most - 'Medicine Ball' and 'Must Be The Ganja' 'My Mom' and 'Hello'. i can think of artists who would do a much better job on these though. for example - 'Must Be The Ganja' would be the IDEAL beat for snoop or even knoc

i got a feeling Dre-Day will be into 'Underground' for the big opera/orchestra dramatic tones.