Critical Response of "Recovery"

[S.T.A.N.]

Upon its release, Recovery received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[38] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[38] Despite viewing its structure as inconsistent, Allmusic writer David Jeffries gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and praised Eminem's performance as potent and energetic, writing "It may be flawed and the rapper’s attitude is sometimes one step ahead of his output, but he hasn’t sounded this unfiltered and proud since The Marshall Mathers LP".[28] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson noted "gratuitous nastiness" as a weakness, but stated "Eminem's lyrical craftsmanship is second to none on new album, and there are flashes of new maturity".[29] PopMatters writer Mike Schiller praised Eminem's "sense of self-awareness" and maturity in his lyrics, but ultimately viewed "his hateful asides and misogynist tendencies" and inconsistent shifts in subject matter as the album's flaws.[33] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times regarded Eminem as "frustratingly limited in his topical range" and called Recovery "the most insular of all his releases".[31] Andy Gill of The Independent gave it 3 out of 5 stars and expressed that "there's nothing here quite as witty or engaging as" on his previous work.[39] Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot gave the album 2 out of 4 stars and wrote that it "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".[40] Slant Magazine's M.T. Richards called the album's material "unsurprisingly hollow" and panned Eminem's lyrics, writing "there's nothing altogether endearing about his facade: shouting earnestly one track, cackling devilishly as he kicks a woman in her pussy the next... his punchlines rarely resonate; his nasal bark of a delivery grows tiring fast; and his pop culture references... are inane".[35]
In contrast, The Daily Telegraph commended his "undeniable sense of empathy and humanity" and lyricism, writing "he pushes his metaphors and multiple rhymes to the limit, switching between anger and remorse, pride and self-loathing, all the while revelling in his own complexity".[41] BBC Online's Mike Diver found its varied production as a weakness, but ultimately praised Eminem's introspective lyrics and wrote that he "is more genuinely impassioned than he’s sounded in years".[42] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen it 4 out of 5 stars and called it Eminem's "most casual-sounding album in years".[34] Despite perceiving its longevity as a weakness, The Detroit News writer Adam Graham gave Recovery a B rating and lauded Eminem's personal themes of recovery.[43] Boston Herald writer Martin Caballero perceived a maturity in his lyrical themes and called it "a classic Eminem album, packed with black humor, bleak introspection and furious multisyllabic rhymes".[44] The Boston Globe's James Reed wrote that "Eminem cuts a ferocious presence on 'Recovery', by turns defensive and vulnerable".[45] Steve Jones of USA Today called it "a strong return to the form" for Eminem and praised his transition in "tone and attitude" from previous albums, stating "He aims for substance over shock value, vividly spilling out details of his various tribulations".[36] The A.V. Club's Sean O'Neal gave it a B rating and viewed its guest artists as complimentary to his performance, stating "while the endless atonement metaphors threaten to make Recovery a maudlin affair, at moments like these, Eminem soars over his lowered expectations".[46]
New York Daily News writer Jim Farber gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "if the new music lacks the edge of the albums the star now disavows -- and if it even veers into the gooey at times -- Eminem's great gift, his flow, never sounded more fluid or changeable".[47] The Guardian's Paul MacInnes praised Eminem's lyricism, but viewed its production as a weakness and wrote "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".[48] Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss gave the album 2½ out of 4 stars and comended Eminem's "dazzling internal patterns and clever word play", but panned its production and called it "monochromatic and monotonous".[30] The Observer's Kitty Empire expressed a mixed response towards his lyrical themes and described the album as "a long march through Mathers's contradictions, punctuated with splatter-flick levels of lyrical gore".[49] Sputnikmusic writer Adam Downer gave it 3 out of 5 stars and stated "self-deprecation is a horrible color on Eminem".[50] Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post viewed that its songs are "weighed down by some brutal samples" and described the album as "a morose picture of an artist grappling, and often losing his grip".[37] Pitchfork Media writer Jayson Greene gave the album a 2.8/10 rating and perceived a lack of lyrical depth, stating "Eminem spends nearly half of Recovery insisting he's the best rapper alive, but for the first time in his career, he actually sounds clumsy".[32] Newsday's Glenn Gamboa expressed a mixed response towards the album's "excess" and wrote that "For long stretches, Eminem sounds like a slugger in the midst of a slump, looking to try anything to recapture a bit of his old magic".[51] Giving it a 7/10 rating, RapReviews writer Jesal Padania noted various inconsistencies and found the album "enjoyable", while writing "One individual might completely love it, another hate it - for pretty much the same reasons... not his best, nor his worst, but either people will listen incessantly or barely at all. There is no middle ground".[52]