Eminem - "Recovery" [Review]

Eminems lukewarmly received "Encore" album was released in 2004, and we were forced to wait 5 years for some new music.  Relapse was greeted with open arms and although no one placed it on the same lofty pedestal as "The Marshal Marthers LP", it was still a critical and commercial success.  Less than a year later we learned that "Recovery" would be releasing and as an Eminem fan, this made me extremely happy.  The one year gap is the shortest amount of time between releases in his career, which says to me that Slim has a chip on his shoulder.  And a hungry emcee usually means an emcee at the top of his game.  This could just be the Eminem fanboy in me speaking, but I think with "Recovery", that's precisely the case.

Seeing as how the leak is all we have to go by right now (I'm still buying when it releases, so shut up), I'm not 100% on the production credits.  But according to Wikipedia, Dr. Dre only produced 3 tracks on the entire album.  I knew Em wanted to work with new producers and I was very curious to see how this would pan out.  If you think about it, we've RARELY heard Em rhyme over anything but a Dre or Eminem beat (not counting features on other albums, which were also often Dre or Eminem beats).  It's an interesting sound that I happen to love.  "No Love", for example, features Lil' Wayne and is produced by Just Blaze.  A lot of folks on the internets trashed the song for using the "Night At The Roxbury" sample, but I happen to think the song works.  Much of the album is dedicated to his struggle with drugs and the recovery process.  But thankfully it's done in a way that comes across as informative rather than whiny and over emotional.  While not quite on the level of word wizardry that was "MMLP", Em's bars are still ridiculous as ever, and I dare a rapper to try and diss him right now.  "On Fire" in particular has list of quotables that some people may not fully grasp until next week.

Even with the great production and obviously great rhyming, there is one short coming to the album if I'm being 100% honest.  There's no light hearted humor here.  The skits are absent.  The signature silly lead single is nowhere to be found.  And while Em is sure to make you laugh out loud a few times throughout the album (as always), there's a decidedly more serious approach to the album as a whole.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but after literally laughing out loud to songs like "Marshal Mathers" and "Rain Man", the lack of humor and comedy on the album is a tad disheartening.

Another full length LP in 2011 may be asking a bit much, but I'm thrilled to have had Em give us two strong albums in back to back years.  Do yourself a favor and BUY this album when it's released!