So why is Eminem’s Relapse on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
ItBy 2009, when Relapse was released, you could call the Eminem/Dre partnership a “long time” one, dating back to The Slim Shady LP from a full decade earlier.
This older version of Marshall Mathers, if not wiser, is more experienced, and certainly revitalized after a long battle with depression and drug addiction – fueled in part by a marital breakup with Kim (a rocky relationship that you can track throughout Eminem’s album history) and the loss of his close friend, Proof.
With all of that going on, “Crack A Bottle” and “Old Time’s Sake” are two of the most celebratory and best tracks that Eminem has ever produced. Both are helped greatly by Dr. Dre’s presence in front of the mic alongside Em, and with “Old Time’s Sake,” 50 Cent also checks in with a great verse as well.
Just as both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have made some of their best all-time work in collaboration, I feel very much the same about Eminem and Dr. Dre. Their styles mesh wonderfully – Eminem’s often sarcastic tone and otherworldly ability to hit precise vocal rhythms, Dre’s old school flow, bass voice, and booming confidence.
And that’s not even getting into Dr. Dre’s all-world producer skills (he’s listed as a producer on 18 of Relapse’s 20 tracks). The bombastic hook on “Old Time’s Sake” especially is just incredible.
And speaking of bombastic hooks, see “My Mom,” a track where we check in with Mathers’ latest feelings about the relationship with his mother (uh… it’s a whole thing).
“We Made You” is another fantastic Eminem/Dre collab, with the good doctor solely in the booth on this one. Charmagne Tripp adds a really fun, swinging element on vocals with this one.
And “Déjà Vu” is a strong change up track where we get the much more serious side of Eminem.
I’m always struck by Eminem’s ability to match a confessional narrative style with hyper specific details. Here’s an example with this one – you get precisely where he’s coming from, even if you’ve never had substance abuse issues.
Wow, what the f— happened last night? Where am I?
Man, f—, am I hungover, and goddamn, I
Got a headache, s—, half a Vicodin, why can’t I?
All systems ready for take off, please stand by
Some stats & info about Eminem – Relapse
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Hip Hop, Rap, Hardcore Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Relapse released? 2009
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #260 out of 1,000
Eminem’s Relapse on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Eminem’s Relapse that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
So crack a bottle, let your body waddle, don’t act like a snobby model you just hit the lotto.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.