Blu wrote:cityfan31 wrote:^That's one way of looking at things.
I think there's another perspective you can have.
When Relapse came out it divided everyone - even those in on this forum, his 'harcore' fans - were split down the middle. Myself, I was bemused when We Made You came out, confused when 3AM came out and I remember being overjoyed when Insane leaked because it was undeniably 'Eminem'. Over time I learned to love and appreciate the album as I realised that it being different didn't make it bad.
Lets remember that the songs that stood out for the majority on Relapse were Deja Vu, Beautiful and Underground. Why? Because the songs addressed some real issues, they had poignance and in Underground's case, it had his old sound.
Lets also remember the reception that Forever got, followed by Drop The World. Those were almost unanimously seen as a huge step in the right direction.
So at this point, Em had a decision to make. Carry on, release Relapse 2 as he had anticipated or try and see if there was another album he could make. For me, his motives were an acceptance that while Relapse had its place, Relapse 2 would have been overkill. He HAD done the accents to death. He also wanted to prove to himself, and the critics that he could make a hit record, that he could climb back to the top and finally, that he could make music that you'd want to play 1000 times over.
Songs like GTC, Not Afraid (corny or not), 25 to life, Cindarella Man and Space Bound have something about them that elevates them. Yes, you might love songs on Relapse for their technical skill and for the beats, but Em put it like this: once you've heard 3AM once, you've got the joke.
I don't see him listening to his fans as a cowardly compromise of his principles, I see that as a strength and just him developing as an artist. I don't buy this pressure from Interscope either on the basis of that blatantly obvious prediction. Eminem is a big enough artist to not have to withstand that kind of pressure. Even if there was input from Interscope, the result was a brilliant album that brings so much more to the table than Relapse 2 would have (as just an extension on Relapse).
So I say to you, don't lose respect for Em for simply trying to give the fans and the world the album they were screaming out for. And don't tell me that Em made music he didn't like on Recovery because he showed so much hunger and passion that I don't believe is fake.
Post is so last year.. but it is extremely well thought out.
I was procrastinating like mad obviously. Actually, it was in my summer holiday so that's OK
