Built on the ashes of a broken marriage, the death of a close friend, addiction issues, and the customary laundry list of targets, Eminem’s Relapse is a commanding, disturbing, overwhelming assemblage of music. The return of Marshall Mathers is going to be big business, that’s for damn sure, but what’s really big is just how cavernous and sinister this record turns out to be.

Bolstered by some of Dr. Dre’s best beats in years, Relapse finds the rapper running efficiently between what’s expected of him as a favorite of the squealing teen crowd and what he’s capable of as one of the cleverest artists in hip-hop.

Interestingly, despite what some may have heard on the sub-par singles, Eminem’s biggest target is actually himself. Relapse unpacks his closet with reckless abandon, flinging out limitless drug references and disconcerting tales of molestation and murder steeped in pain and candor. There’s no turning back and something tells me Em knows that.

Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield makes a rather fitting comparison when he says that Relapse is a lot like Richard Pryor’s 1982 Live on the Sunset Strip. While Pryor’s live audience doubtlessly shuffled and deliberated over whether or not to laugh at Pryor’s stories of freebase addiction and self-harm, so too will Eminem’s audience move towards this record. With Dre’s beats pulsating, it’s hard to know whether it’s acceptable to rock out to verses about passing out in the car or a parent drugging himself into a trance in front of his child.

With two exceptions, Eminem handles his Relapse on his own. The guest spots are limited to Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, giving the album an intimate quality as though no other MCs were close enough to impose on songs so delicate.

Relapse’s lesser moments come where expected, as Eminem launches a puny round of passé couplets at celebs on “We Made You.” While Dre’s beat is still stellar, the verses leave a lot to be desired and the track almost sounds like a compromise. Judging Relapse on the basis of this single would be a huge mistake, of course.

Article Author: Jordan Richardson

Jordan Richardson is a Canadian freelance writer and maple syrup enthusiast. His film reviews can be found at the Canadian Cinephile's Reviews and his music reviews are located at the Canadian Audiophile's Reviews and News. Mr. …

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