Customer Reviews

Relapse: Refill

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While I can't agree with the decision to make these tracks available ONLY by re-purchasing an album that came out 7 months ago, the bonus tracks are (mostly) worth the hassle. Here's a track-by-track review from a fan who's been following Shady since the first underground leaks in 1998.

Forever:
Only throwaway track, not worth the 4 minutes it takes to get to Em's verse. This belongs on one of the B-Artist's albums and not here.

Hell Breaks Loose:
A good Em and Dre track. Dre sounds like he's trying a bit too hard to switch up his style though.

Buffalo Bill:
A solid, demented track with the lyrical quality we've come to expect.

Elevator:
Might be the catchiest hook of Em's career and the best of the bonus tracks. This was the right single to release.

Taking My Ball:
Never been a fan of the poppy, celebrity-focused songs but it's a decent track.

Music Box:
Great intro, beat and lyrics. The bells in the beat make me laugh coming out around Christmas time...

Drop The Bomb On 'Em:
My favorite track on the album. It sounds like he got hungry again but ran out of people to battle.

My star rating has nothing to do with the quality of the music on this record. It is reflective of the fact that fans who already purchased Relapse were forced to purchase the same album again if they wanted the extra 7 songs. Eminem said that he released this record so that the fans didn't have to wait for his new stuff. So, why not make an EP available for those fans who already bought Relapse in May? How dedicated are the fans that waited until December to buy it??? I know you can buy the MP3s but I prefer to buy the disc. The fact of the matter is that this album was released not for the fans but for the $$$.

I have listened to this album at Least a dozen times before posting this review. From the Start to finish this has got to be the best rap album to come out in the last several years. Its Raw and Fresh like it could of been a debut album from an unknown taken to yet another level. The Rap and the Beats are going to be the next " new sound" for all other Rappers (and producers to follow). Eminem once again has proven that he is the best rapper walking the planet Earth today. And Dr Dre is of course Two steps ahead of the rest!! A flagship album that Directs the future of music!!!

Highest recomendations!!!!

One of or THE best rapper(s) of all time, at least one of the best artists in the past 10 years.

A Few tracks stand out, but it's obvious this is NOT his best work.

Regardless, I will support him in everything he does, if you were to pick 1 CD not to buy of Em; this is it.

Good overall, but lacking his origanal awesomeness.

Forever 5/5
Drake, Kanye and Wayne are outstanding but Em just comes in and has one of his best verses in years.

Hell Breaks Loose 3/5
Great beat by Dre, and the lyrics are on point but I was expecting a little more from this track. The hook is what kills it for me. Still a solid track.

Buffalo Bill 4/5
Accent is perfect for this beat. Em's flow is crazy but I'm just tired of him rapping about serial killers even though it's entertaining. Great track.

Elevator 5/5
Great hook, this is the Eminem I love, poking fun at people and just killing it lyrically. Nobody in the rap game can see this guy right now.

Taking My Ball 4/5
A bouncy track, sounds like a first single on one of Em's albums. Much better than We Made You. Don't let the sound of this track fool you, his wordplay is crazy and it has a very catchy hook.

Music Box 5/5
My personal favorite on Refill. Great intro and Em kills it from start to finish, and the beat is on point. Love this song, one of Em's best in a very long time. He's rapping in his normal voice and he sounds hungry.

Drop The Bomb On Em' 5/5
This song could replace Music Box as my favorite on the album because this song is just raw. This beat sounds like its from the Chronic 2001 album and Em just murders the beat. Flow is insane and he is just telling every rapper in the game to watch out and beware because he's back and on top of his game.

I wish Em didn't put Taking My Ball and Forever on here because we all have these songs. But there still great tracks, and if your a huge Eminem stan you will pick up this album. He should of just put it out as an EP but Interscope just wants to make some money so they threw the original Relapse on there. This tracks are definitely not Relapse leftovers because every track on here would be standouts on Relapse. These tracks are definitely tracks that were slated to appear on Relapse 2 but since Em re-did Relapse 2 he could afford to put them out. If songs like Elevator, Drop The Bomb On Em' and Music Box are getting cut from Relapse 2, Em must have something up his sleeve.

Relapse 2 will be a classic, trust me. "I want to make songs people can play a hundred, thousand times over"- Eminem

Sounds like a man ready to make a perfect album.

I bought the new 2 CD set because of 'Elevator' which shows Eminem back in top form.

Many reviewers have already described the first disc, but the 7 new songs on this album more than justify fans to purchase this new CD set.

I think that this album was really good. the first 3 albums were fantastic. Encore and Re-up werent really all that, but relapse was very good i think his lyrics are jenious. refill made relapse better thats why i give this a 5. Recovery in my opinion i give a 3 1/2 stars becuz it dont sound like eminem. bad meets evil has its songs but i say eminem when he's psycho is just great. thats slim shady. he needs to stay slim shady not recovered marshal lol.

this is a great cd the best songs on this cd are

Disc 1.

3 A.M.
My Mom
Insane
Same Song And Dance
We Made You
Medicine Ball
Bagpipes From Baghdad
Crack A Bottle
Underground


Disc 2.


Forever
Buffalo Bill
Music Box
Drop The Bomb On 'Em

To be honest,I first bought Relapse when it first came out,Had it for a while,then got rid of it,kinda was into it after a while.Then i bough Refill in early 2010,then got rid of that,for some reason its one of those albums that i get into,then out of.Im Way more of a Dr.Dre fan,than a Eminem fan,so im more of a fan of the Production(beats),than Eminems rapping(which is pretty good,and weird lol).My number one reason im going to rebuy this album is for the Dr.Dre beats,and because like all hip-hop fans should be is about the beats,then rapping should come second.Plus im an Eminem fan,and this is one of my favorite albums from him since Marshall Mathers LP.This LP can make you laugh,mad,and confused at the same time,as he constantly disses Christopher Reeves(Who passes,and lived in pain in his last years),which i find very shady(no pun intended).

My 5 Favorite Songs Are
1)Forever(A Drake song,im a fan of Drake a lot more,Drake had the best Verse,Em is 2nd)
2)Beautiful(Em showcases his producing abilities once again,as he conveys a sad,but inspirational song)
3)Undeground(Em is a psycho also a song prod.by Dr.Dre with 50 Cent,this song showcases Ems lyrical ability,as hes his old slim shady self again
4)Must Be The Ganja(Dr.Dre is a monster,guess thats why he partnered up with Monster to make Beats By Dre headphones,great beat/lyrics,must hear by Em & Dre)
5)Drop the Bomb on 'Em(Once again,you can tell im a huge Dr.Dre fan,Dre gives Em another banger like always,and Em finishes the job by killing this beat lyrically)

After a 5-year hiatus, Eminem returned in early 2009 with Relapse promising a second album tentatively titled Relapse 2 later that year. As Relapse 2 began to materialize as a completely different album and realizing his promise would go unfulfilled, Eminem re-released Relapse as Refill featuring a second disc with 7 additional tracks. What began as a nice gesture, turned into a double-dip marketing scheme. Most fans don't want to purchase the entire album again for the additional seven tracks, so I'll say this before you read any further: If you already have Relapse, I'd recommend acquiring these seven tracks through a different source. If you don't have Relapse (a CD which I awarded 5 stars in my Amazon review), then it's worth your money to get Refill.

Relapse was a challenging album that it took me a while to warm up to. It took me even longer to listen to these seven tracks consecutively. The first time I tried to listen to them, nothing really caught my attention and I didn't return to it for a time. The more I listened to it, the more that stood out, and the more impressed I became with them. While not all perfect, these are pretty impressive songs that weren't just tossed onto a second-disc as an afterthought. While some sound like they were taken directly from Relapse, others fall somewhere in between the sound of that album and Recovery.

The first track "Forever" is actually a song by new rap star Drake that features a verse by Drake himself, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. Between each verse is an auto-tuned chorus by Drake that gets repetitive pretty quickly especially when it's used five times in the song. I don't listen to very much hip-hop, but I was entertained by Drake's verse, while I found Kanye's verse pretty weak and even a bit embarrassing. Lil Wayne's verse is catchy and memorable, despite how out-there it is. I doubt he was very coherent when he was recording it, to be honest. With all bias aside, Eminem's verse puts these three to shame. Working with a little over a minute, Eminem's verse is one of his strongest ever; lyrically, it's strong as one would expect but his delivery is what's really impressive. He goes all out here, making keeping up with him virtually impossible. The "you dealing with a few true villains..." part is hard to say quickly let alone rap as fast as he spews it. I applaud him for this. While this is not technically an Eminem track and it takes over four minutes to get to him, it's worth the wait and you'll likely find yourself returning to the song, if not just for his verse. (5/5)

"Hell Breaks Loose" features Dr. Dre and is probably a better collaboration than "Old Times Sake" from Relapse. Dre changes up his rap style a bit for this track, but it works. Even with Eminem sporting the fake accent, it's a strong track. (5/5)

"Buffalo Bill" is the weakest track on the album. It's got a weak, annoying chorus and Em sounds a bit like Cypress Hill at the beginning of the track. With that said, even as the weakest track it's still got multiple listens from me. (4/5)

"Elevator" was the single from these seven tracks and it's got the catchiest hook of the seven, so it's clear why. It's one of the most appealing songs, the one that first grabbed me from these tracks. (5/5)

"Taking My Ball" is juvenile, ridiculous, and immature but is one of my favorite songs on here. Sometimes it's clever, sometimes it's simply childish; a lot of people will shake their head over it, but I love it.. (5/5)

"Music Box" has a thumping bass line throughout the song that makes this track unbearable through earphones, but sports one of the strongest chorus' of the seven tracks. Lyrically, it's more of the same rape/murder/stalking theme from Relapse. (4/5)

"Drop the Bomb on `Em" sounds like an outtake from The Eminem Show, which is not a bad thing at all. Out of Eminem's solo tracks, it's probably the strongest of the five tracks. It's definitely the furthest in style from Relapse. (5/5)

Eminem's intention of supplying fans with these seven songs to hold them over until the next album was a nice gesture, but he should've released them as an EP rather than repackaging it with an album almost all of his fans already have. These tracks are worth having and I give him credit for not double-dipping with sub-par material. If you're an Eminem fan and you don't own Relapse then buy this...You'll only spend a couple extra dollars at most. If you already own that record, I'd recommend utilizing an alternative source to get these tracks.

REFILL (7 TRACKS): B+
RELAPSE (ORIGINAL ALBUM): A-

(My review for Relapse can also be found on this site)