Eminem - "Relapse"

If you read my Black Eyed Peas review, you will know that I'm not a rap fan. Disregard that for a moment.

This review is late because I didn't buy "Relapse". My friend burned it for me, and I just popped it in for a listen. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it. Eminem tells stories with the beginning songs of "Relapse"...of drug addiction, abuse, assault...in "My Mom", Em talks about how his mom got him hooked on prescription drugs. "Insane" is about being sexually abused by his stepfather. "3 A.M." is about the consequences of doing drugs. But behind all these dark life stories, Eminem includes some of his trademark humor, including breaking the musical fourth wall in "Medicine Ball" (He says a few slightly offensive lines about Christopher Reeves and then apologizes for the fact that so many words rhyme with Reeves).

This album is produced quite well by Dr. Dre. He makes a couple cameos as well, one of which is the song "Crack a Bottle", which, despite the assinine lyrics, is very catchy.

Overall, the beats and rythyms of all of the songs are great, but Marshall Mathers' lyrics are too contrived to be considered great. This is why I don't recommend you buy the whole thing, but you might want to invest in a few tracks.

Key tracks: "3 A.M.", "We Made You", "Crack a Bottle", "Medicine Ball", "Beautiful"