Recovery (2010)

The first thing that I am going to say about Recovery, is that it is very much made to appeal to the mainstream radio audience. Eminem has always been mainstream and on the radio, since Slim Shady LP, but this album features a few guest singers such as Pink and Rihanna. Really, Em? To quote a tweet by rapper D-Sisive (Who is super cool and overlooked, but, that's not the point) "Old Eminem would make fun of new Eminem".

I don't know, at this point, he was almost 40, and he has definitely mellowed down. So I really can't expect him to rap about subjects that he was rapping about in earlier albums.  This album is just boring. The beats are really lame, and made by producers who have never worked with Eminem before this. Most of the beats sound like something a wannabe producer would make on FL studio.

But anyways, most of the tracks are forgettable, and aside from the singles, if you were to play a song from the middle without giving me the name, I couldn't tell you what was playing. That's how boring everything is.

Speaking of the singles, they were pretty huge. Not Afraid was kind of something of an anthem about getting better and being confident. It's honestly okay, and it has a wonderful message, but I don't know, the overly poppy feel of the song just bugs me. It's not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the idea of the song. And that's about it.  The other popular single from the album is Love The Way You Lie. Which is just my least favorite Eminem single, it's success was probably fueled on the star power of Rihanna. I really can't say too much about it, it's about being in an abusive relationship, and it's pretty much radio pop to the core.

I have pretty much the same opinion on Space Bound.

The final single is No Love, which features Lil Wayne. Now the odd thing is, despite how much I hate Lil Wayne for what he stands for, he delivers a surprisingly alright verse. Em's part is also just alright. This song is the one track that I kind of like, I don't know what it is, it has kind of a swaying beat that samples "What is Love" by Haddaway. It's a dumb sample, but, yeah, the song is probably the best on the album, and yet, it's not all that good.


Overall, while this album is a lot more focused than the last 2 albums, it's radio pop, for the most part, and that's just something that I can't stand. I can appreciate the emotion and work that went into this album. But it's still my least favorite Eminem album to date...

Rating-4/10
Favorite track-No Love
Least favorite track-Cinderella Man