Eminem, 'Relapse'

Release date: May 19, 2009
Record label:  Shady/Aftermath/Interscope
Official Web site: http://www.eminem.com/

The buzz: Since his last album, 2004’s inconsistent “Encore,” the Detroit rapper has remarried and divorced his long-suffering target Kim, lost his best friend in D12 collaborator Proof, overcome an addiction to sleeping pills and, as noted by the “Steve Berman” skit on his new LP, missed the entire record industry self-destructing. Can Slim Shady’s return revive his career…and reinvigorate the record-buying masses?
 
The verdict: “I know you’re probably tired of hearing about my mom,” Em admits early on and, well, there is a whole lot of déjà vu on “Relapse.” Subject-wise, the rapper goes on—and on—about mom, murder, pills, female celebs (Britney, Lindsay, Kim Kardashian, Mariah), rape and, very occasionally, his own faults (most successfully on “My Mom,” where, after attacking her pill use, ironically notes that he’s become “my mom”). Musically, the record belongs to Dr. Dre, who produced all of the 20 tracks save one. That means big drum claps, some odd piano tinkling, synth and horn blasts and a little more repetition than usual; the five-to-six-minute songs (“3 a.m.,” “Stay Wide Awake,” “Beautiful”) drag. That said, Eminem sounds refreshed, jovial and perfectly fine reviving his best moments—and the Christopher Reeve battle rap on “Medicine Ball” is pretty shocking. Here’s hoping “Relapse 2” (coming this fall) offers a little something new—and not just the use of Auto-Tune (“Bagpipes From Baghdad”).
 
Did you know? The album’s oddest sample comes during “Beautiful,” which features a vocal and a guitar riff from the Paul Rodgers-Brian May collaborative 1996 non-hit “Reaching Out.”

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