Well... some of the spitting is better than that on
Recovery. And the beats are of course WAY better. But I feel the major letdown of
Recovery IS the production.
And the lack of Em hooks. I don't feel the songs are letdowns though and if they were produced by Em himself and / or Havoc and Mr. Porter (all)... I think it would of been so much more powerful and consistent. And a much much better album.
I think people too easily bash
Recovery now and believe me, I'm by no means its biggest fan as I love
Relapse and saw
Recovery as a compromise to appease what he felt were alienated fans. I felt he went back on his word and compromised himself for others, which... is not good.
However, like I was saying - I think it's too easily dismissed due to the remembered bad elements of it like the production, the odd bad puns and the hooks.
But when I actually examine
Recovery, almost every track is good-classic to me. The album isn't a classic of course, it's far too patchy and inconsistent (again, the production is to blame for this) and lacking any true musical direction to feel like a classic.
But, just take a look at the best tracks from it, which are, to me:
-
Cold Wind Blows- On Fire
- W.T.P.
- Going Through Changes
-
Space Bound-
Cinderella Man- 25 to Life
-
Almost Famous- You're Never Over
Those are all significant highlights for me.
So, is
Hell: The Sequel better than those tracks. Or, do the heights of the EP reach the heights of
Recovery... personally I think no. Eminem's rapping may be more complex or well-executed in places on the EP and the whole thing is certainly more consistent...
But, just in musical terms, as whole songs - I don't think there's anything on the EP that is in the same ball park as "Cinderella Man" or "Almost Famous" . The songs don't feel as 'big' or commanding.
Though "Above the Law" sounds like "Almost Famous"' cousin. And is fucking awesome.That wasn't the aim of the material on the EP though so, it's a bit 'wrong' to compare them. As they have totally different aims, but I suppose you could just state which one for you is better, just as in... a matter of fact. Just like I'd say
Goodfellas is a
better film than
Dude Where's My Car?. But, they're aiming for different ideals, and have entirely different goals.
So it doesn't make much sense to compare them.
This comparison obviously isn't that extreme, Em's still basically just slapping sluts and proclaiming how cold hearted he is but, I was just making a point.
There's a lot more direction in the songs on
Recovery too. Which is why I would say it's better in one sense. Again though, I'm not saying that's necessarily a good argument as a Bad Meets Evil EP doesn't have the same aims as a solo Eminem LP. But just for the sake of discussion, you have a concept like "Almost Famous", or "Cinderella Man" and, the execution is very good. And, there's a direction to his madness, rather than it being
totally random puns.
So yeah I'd say that as a
consistent presentation:
Hell: The Sequel takes it (due to production, and track sequencing btw, which is near spot-on). But, as for which reaches the best heights or which resonated with me more, and excited me more... and which houses music that is BIG and lasting - I'd have to say
Recovery.
