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Recovery Image
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 1313 Ratings

  • Summary: Eminem continues his forward momentum with confrontational, angst-ridden rap that digs deep into the psyche on his new album.

Top Track

Love the Way You Lie
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn But that's alright, because I like the way it hurts Just gonna stand there and hear me cry But that's... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Negative: 4 out of 28
  1. No matter how cleverly he's rhyming, which varies, he could use subject matter beyond married-to-the-game and his traditional obsessions. But with Shady in the shadows, rarely are these themes lifted by Em's long-recessive sense of play.
  2. Recovery is his most casual-sounding album in years, with odes to a "white-trash party" ("W.T.P.") and songs that hearken back to his freewheeling early records--rhymes as goofy and imaginative as they are violent and profane.
  3. A wide array of producers means that Recovery isn't as consistent as Eminem's best albums--his second and third--but there are significantly more highlights here than on either of his previous two.
  4. Recovery is thwarted by similarly ill-fitting decisions.... The central salvation is Mather's enduring virtuosity. Throughout Recovery, he weaves dazzling internal patterns and clever word play.
  5. This album is audible therapy, complete with several cuts of Eminem apologizing, taking responsibility for being a terrible rapper, and promising to get better.
  6. Marshall Mathers tackles his most complicated subject...himself.
  7. Out of all the depressing aspects of Recovery, the worst is the realization that for listeners the album takes the opposite arc-- the more he motors on about having reclaimed his passion for hip-hop and finally figured out who he is, the more draining the album becomes.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 18 out of 269
  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. BobB.
    Jun 24, 2010
    10
    Great great album, Eminem is totally back to form. Lost the accent, lost the corny joke tracks, just pure fire.
  3. TJP.
    Jun 22, 2010
    10
    Awesome album. Keep up the good work EM!
  4. Jun 21, 2020
    10
    In my opinion - his best album. I good remember those times when i was a teenager, hanging out in the streets with my friends and don't careIn my opinion - his best album. I good remember those times when i was a teenager, hanging out in the streets with my friends and don't care about nothing, just enjoying life at it's fullest sense of a word. I guess that was the only album where Eminem was speaking from his heart, without using any alter-egos, that's one of the main thing that make this album so unique, still to this day. Expand
  5. RobM
    Jun 24, 2010
    9
    Recovery is Eminem's best album since The Eminem Show and is, in my opinion, his third best album so far (behind the Marshall Mathers LP Recovery is Eminem's best album since The Eminem Show and is, in my opinion, his third best album so far (behind the Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show respectfully). 90% of the material on this CD is absolutely brilliant and getting rid of the pointless skits was an inspired decision. Theres no more Steve Burman or Ken Keneff... thank god. An amazing album. Expand
  6. Apr 2, 2011
    8
    While this album does not have the variety and ground breaking songs and lyrics of old Eminem classics such as The Slim Shady LP (1999), TheWhile this album does not have the variety and ground breaking songs and lyrics of old Eminem classics such as The Slim Shady LP (1999), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), and The Eminem Show (2002), it is a big improvement on Encore (2004) and Relapse (2009). The only things that keep this album from being a classic are the lack of funny Slim Shady songs, no extremely homophobic or sexist punchlines, terrible chorus, and terrible collaborations. This album however has some solid lyrics, and Eminem's skill of rapping is at an all time high. Expand
  7. Jan 25, 2020
    0
    just doing my part ........................................................

See all 269 User Reviews

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