Ah, re-releases. Great in theory, and frustrating in execution. When artists re-release an album, it would seem like a great reward for the fans who support that music, and a great addition for the new or casual fans by providing them with incentives to buy it. Unfortunately, the fans who already bought the album when it came out feel cheated that they have to pony up more money for something that consists primarily of something they already own. The fans who haven't purchased the album by this point have no desire to do so at any point, and the fans who will buy it end up paying more than they did when it was at discounted opening day prices.
Yet there was still that same sort of giddy feeling when it was announced that Eminem would be re-releasing the best selling rap album of the year, Relapse, with seven additional songs, five of which were new for the album. The background for Relapse: Refill helps explain the re-release. Originally, Eminem had planned on releasing a sequel to Relapse, appropriately titled Relapse 2, later in 2009, with content that was still similar to the original. In late November, with no release date set for the sequel, Eminem announced that he had decided to take Relapse 2 in a different direction, and would release it in 2010. However, he still wanted fans to hear what he had originally planned for the album, so he would put five of the songs from the studio session onto a re-release of Relapse, as well as putting two songs already out in the public ("Forever" and "Taking My Ball") in order to boost sales. It's also just great hearing any new material released by Eminem, regardless of what it is.
As for the album itself, it will certainly hold up Slim Shady's fans until the sequel is released. As far as the original Relapse disc is concerned, it's still an impressive listen (check the Lasso archives from last year for the original review). Unless Eminem replaced the entire disc with "Big Weenie" from Encore on a 76 minute loop, I'll assume that nothing's changed from the original. Although it should be noted that in the time since the original review, "Must Be the Ganja" has grown in to an oddly infectious tune, while "Hello" has developed almost no replay value whatsoever and become worse with every listen.
The second disc that contains the seven new songs is certainly worth a listen. It starts with the single "Forever," which features Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, and was released back in September. It may have been a little late, considering that the single reached its peak position of #8 on the Billboard charts four and a half months prior to Refill's release, but the reality is that the song is great. Drake may be Lil Wayne's protégé, but unlike his mentor, he actually has talent and charisma, and it really shows in his opening verse. He is followed by Kanye, whose verse is as witty, funny, and brilliant as his College Dropout raps ("Superbad chicks givin' me McLovin/You would think I ran the world like Michelle's husband".)
Coming in third is Wayne, who not only doesn't suck as usual, but is actually good. His voice isn't grating, he isn't saying any stupid third grade level metaphors, and his words actually tend to rhyme, so it all adds up to a verse that, while still the worst on the song, is impressive. Of course, Eminem decided to be a jerk and murder everybody on the song in the span of 57 seconds, not only rapping incredibly well, but at a pace twice as fast as everybody else, while still enunciating his words clearly and ferociously, making his verse nothing short of a victory lap. Kanye may have the best verse in terms of lyricism, but Mr. Mathers had the best performance by far.
Following "Forever" is the first song of unreleased material, the Dr. Dre assisted "Hell Breaks Loose." It's a nice song, but it doesn't pick up any steam until Dre's verse and Eminem's second verse, where the beat hits a stride and the lyrics become satisfactory. Dre really shines by rapping in a lightning fast manner, unheard of for him, and while it sounds like it may have been done with some editing in the studio, it's irrelevant because the resulting sound is pleasant. The biggest problem with the song is that the beat often has too much going on, which is hard to describe, but makes sense when listening to it.
After that is "Buffalo Bill," which is the only weak track of Refill. The beat is plain boring, the lyrics don't stand out at all from the numerous other tracks on the full album with the exact same subject matter, and the song just never clicks.
"Elevator" is up next, and it's a bit of a different taste on the album for two reasons. One is that Eminem produces the track himself, which is a change from the almost exclusively produced Dre beats that Eminem had used in 2009 (All of the tracks except for "Beautiful" were produced by Dre on Relapse.) The second is that it's the only track on Refill with some actual serious subject matter, bringing up how his personal life has been deliberately misconstrued by the media. But the song doesn't reach nearly the same personal level as either "Déjà Vu" or "Beautiful" from the original release, and as such, the song never leaves a memorable impression.
The next song on the album is "Taking My Ball," which was released originally for the Renegade edition of the video game DJ Hero. By all accounts, the song should be terrible. It has a cheesy beat, Eminem's infamous Arabic street vendor voice, and some really off-putting lyrics. But for some reason, the song works. This is mostly due to the how good the beat actually is, especially during the chorus, which is infectiously catchy, and while the lyrics are pretty mediocre, they fit in with the whole vibe of the song incredibly well, making it a notable pick from the album.
The best track on the album is the haunting "Music Box," which features an almost perfect Dr. Dre beat, and a memorable chorus. The song also benefits highly from Eminem using his normal voice on the song, because even if he's talking about the same subject matter as he has been talking about for the entire CD, it all sounds better when Eminem is putting more emphasis in the lyrics like he does on "Music Box." Ending the album is "Drop The Bomb on ‘Em," which is just kind of...there. It's not a particularly great song, nor is it the best song to end the album on, but it's still a worthwhile listen.
It may be a pain to be forced to pay more money for little in terms of new material, but in the case of Relapse: Refill, it's a great way for die hard Eminem fans to divulge in some new material while they wait for the proper studio album. Of course, that may all change if the release date for Relapse 2 gets pushed back as the year draws to a close, but for now it's sufficient.
