MMLP2 - Full track by track review

Eminem has certainly been through the wringer in terms of his last few album releases. Encore was awful by anybody’s standards, Relapse was odd to the point it seemed to lose its way and Recovery sold well with a return to form lyrically, however a much more serious Eminem was far removed from the original Shady. So how does MMLP2 shape up, the blonde mop on top is back but does the style, humour, shock value and skill come with it? I have been eagerly awaiting this release since the Berzerk single first hit the web and will try to offer a detailed review of Eminem’s seventh major studio album, and probably the artist’s seventh consecutive number one record.

The opening track; 07:14. That is one hell of lengthy intro. Compare this with the public service announcements of previous albums in this mould and you can see an obvious deviation from the theme. This is not entirely the case however. The track ‘Bad Guy’ sets the scene just as the previous introductions have, this time more emphatically than before. Rather than a warning from an anonymous voice we get one from the man himself, or in fact the men. Eminem addresses the two sides of his split personality using Stan’s brother to kidnap and kill Marshall in a revenge plot that harks back immediately to the first MMLP. Some way to start your comeback album.

Mathers had told Rolling Stone Magazine this album was no sequel, however, the intro is followed by a skit which is a clear continuation from the song ‘Criminal’. Eminem ends up dead, this time choosing to shoot himself. Two tracks, two deaths. Is Marshal showing us the internal conflicts going on inside his head? For me this leaves only one character left standing, Shady. These wonderings and possible over analysis are almost called out on track three ‘Rhyme Or Reason’ where Mathers sings, “there’s no rhyme or reason for nothing”. Maybe so, but for me a conflicted and contrary Mathers is always a good one.

Track four is, for me, the worst track of the album, I know it is part of the character but I have never been a fan of the women hating side. Whilst this track doesn’t delve into the raw anger of the likes of ‘Kim’ it isn’t as cleverly put together as ’97 Bonnie and Clyde’ either, it falls somewhere between the two and doesn’t really work in the context of the album for me.

It is up and up from here on in. I’m sure ‘Survival’ will be written off as a song you’re not allowed to like ‘coz it’s too commercial’ but I don’t care. I love it. In the same vein as ‘Till I collapse’, ‘Sing for the moment’ and ‘Wont back down’ there is nothing better to get you going than one of these anthemic songs. The termpo and word play are spot on and Skylar Grey’s hook sticks I your head very successfully. This is followed immediately by a complete change of pace and style with ‘Legacy’ slowed down and distorted with Mathers becoming much more introspective. This theme continues throughout the album taking new forms on different tracks and it is this that gives the album it’s interest making it much more than just humour or shock value.

The theme continues on the track ‘Asshole’ though the pace is right back up and the production is much more in your face. The content now broadens and Mathers starts to look once more at the society in which he exists. When you hear him talking about wearing a bullet proof vest to go and watch Batman you may think we’re right back in MMLP1 territory but this feels a little more reined in than before, like he has become a little more self aware and wants to showcase skill over shock.

‘Berzerk’ and ‘Rap God’ are up next and I’m going to throw ‘Monster’ in here too as these were the three main singles to precede the album launch. ‘Berzerk’ announced his comeback and working with Rick Rubin clearly paid off. A Beastie Boys influenced, noisy and confrontational track that certainly grabs attention. ‘Rap God’ is ridiculous. If ever there was a pure demonstration of skill it is this, any doubt in anyone’s mind about Mathers' linguistic ability is smashed to pieces by this track. Another collaboration with my absolute least favourite female on the track ‘Monster’ has already been compared to ‘Love the way you lie’ but in my opinion is not the same style of song at all. For me it is a better track but definitely another one for Radio One to abuse.

‘Brainless’ once again chronicles the rise of a picked on loser, put down by an uncaring parent, that finds strength in his words. Not a new concept for Mathers but nonetheless another good song. Someone recently suggested to me that rap has lost its edge because artists are no longer struggling against anything. Now they have found success all we get is rap about money, women and drugs. If Mathers has re-discovered his muse in this inner torment then I can’t knock it, it's a good track.  I am not going to go into ‘Stronger Than I Was’ however, I’ll never understand why Mathers has this desire to sing badly on a track but it’s his album I guess.

MMLP2 does not however fade away at this point. Instead the style switches up once more and the humorous side of Mathers comes to life. I love the tracks ‘So Far…’ and ‘Love Game’. The constant switching up of styles, the hill billy beats the social commentary all come together as a 41 year old man admits he never has and probably never will grow up. The only featuring rapper on the album, Kendrick Lamar, does not disappoint in his part as the old and the new stand up and show the rest of the rap world just how good Dre really is at spotting and nurturing amazing talent.

And so to the close. ‘Headlights’ is possibly the most shocking song on the album. I can honestly say I never thought I would hear a track in which Debbie Mathers is apologised to. This new Marshall really knows how to draw you in. If, like me, you have been listening to him since 1997 you will have heard all about the trails and tribulations between the pair with some scathing attacks on ‘Cleaning out my closet’. Mathers actually comments on how he cringes now when he hears that old track. Maybe dealing with his own addictions has opened his eyes to his mother’s problems or maybe, despite himself, he has matured. Either way, this is obviously an emotional track for him and one he skirted around talking about in a recent interview with Sway.

The outro is an extended affair suggesting there may no longer be a Shady, Eminem and Marshall as the lines between them have become blurred. It also serves as a platform for Mathers to call out the competition as he struggles to find people to go at now there are no more Backstreet Boys or NSYNCs. 

The final word is saved for Ken and his beloved re-workings of the lead single from the album.

So overall, in my opinion, a triumphant return of one of the greatest rap artists of a generation. Angry, frustrated, funny, emotional, introspective and cocky all at once he has definitely rekindled the spirit of what made him such a good artist in the first place. The production is good throughout the album and successfully holds the whole thing together without making tracks too similar and the sound becoming generic. I have always struggled to suggest which of his first three albums is the best overall, now there is a fourth that may not compete for that title but certainly belongs in their company.