Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Negative: 4 out of 28
  1. For an artist who has sold 30 million albums, his latest release is brutally short on hooks and, most of all, fun. The subversive humor is long gone, and his cultural references (David Cook? Austin Powers? Yet another dis of Mariah Carey?) remain dated.
  2. The album is a sprawling, confusing, self-indulgent mess. Nonetheless, there are real glimmers of brilliance here.
  3. Marshall Mathers tackles his most complicated subject...himself.
  4. Two fundamental problems: he's got an incredible amount of energy, raging away in the high-pitched voice that Eminem haters can't stand, with little to say that he hasn't already said before; and the beats are often middling.
  5. It is, finally, the comeback we figured he'd manage eventually, and if his newfound honesty and self-awareness becomes more pattern than anomaly, Recovery will be seen as a turning point in his career.
  6. This album is audible therapy, complete with several cuts of Eminem apologizing, taking responsibility for being a terrible rapper, and promising to get better.
  7. Sadly, a piecemeal approach to production (Dr Dre has just one credit) leaves the album lacking an abiding mood and drowning in fashionable soft-rock samples.
  8. What Eminem hasn't let go of is his taste for melancholic bombast in production.
  9. Uncut
    40
    Fairly generalised misogyny pervades the album, though it would be churlish not to not that tracks like "White Trash Party" or "On Fire" both display flashes of Eminem's wit. [Sep 2010, p.92]
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 1313 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. PeteR
    Jun 26, 2010
    10
    Great album. His best since The Eminem Show. No other rappers out there today can even compare to the lyrical and mic skills of this guy.
  2. Aug 12, 2010
    10
    This is Em's return to form, as 'Recovery' is his strongest album since The Eminem Show. Strong, focused, and truly memorable, 'Recovery' isThis is Em's return to form, as 'Recovery' is his strongest album since The Eminem Show. Strong, focused, and truly memorable, 'Recovery' is as moving as any of his previous albums, probalby even more so with the new direction he's taking with this CD. His flow has never been better, and whatever "ring rust" he may have had is now gone, and he is killin' them one by one in 'Recovery'. He won last year for "Best Rap Album" with 'Relapse', so I can only predict that he will undoubtedly win this year as well. Anyways, the album isn't perfect, as some songs such as "Seduction", "W.T.P.", "On Fire", and "So Bad" don't seem to belong in the album. They have a "Relapse" vibe to them, and I think he should have included them in 'Relapse' not here in 'Recovery'. Despite that, the songs are all great, especially "Not Afraid, "Going Through Changes", "Love The Way You Lie", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "No Love", which really bring this album alive and become instant classics. I really loved this album and I hope Em has something as good as this prepared for the future. Anyways, ignore the pathetic critic score of 62-for they don't know nothing of Rap/Hip-Hop-and buy this CD. This is Rap-and Eminem-at its best. Full Review »
  3. NoahD
    Jun 28, 2010
    10
    Eminem has always made it crystal clear that pleasing his critics is the last thing he aims for when applying his trade in the studio. With Eminem has always made it crystal clear that pleasing his critics is the last thing he aims for when applying his trade in the studio. With the majority of the above critiques blasting this album, we begin to understand why he feels this way. It has never been more evident that his fans get what the critics don't. Mike S. said it best: when the critics are left to compare Eminem to his past self it's obvious he is in another stratosphere altogether. This album cements Em's legacy as the greatest rapper alive. I firmly believe that critics will change their tune years from now and come around to the reality that all of Em's are already aware of. Full Review »