'Relapse : Refill' - A Question.
Is it worth shelling out again for an additional seven tracks?
Frankly yes.
'Relapse' Mark One was, in many ways, a rock-solid highpoint
in the musical year. It was good to have the master of his
craft back - and back on very, very good form. Hoorah said I !
The new material represents much more than an afterthought.
The songs are as edgy, polished and blissfully confrontational
as anything that has come before. Mad, bad and dangerous in
the nicest possible way. (Even the presence of the dastardly
Kanye West on 'Forever' exerts minimal damage).
'Hell Breaks Loose' is vintage Em. Dr Dre's moody
arrangement and vocal contribution is equally peerless.
The chemistry flying backward and forward between
this dynamic duo is as potently electric as ever.
Mr Nasty is in a bad mood on 'Buffalo Bill'; yet another
sideways glance into cinematic serial-killer territory.
The line separating ego and alter-ego seems to be perilously thin
on a track like this. Mr Mathers' dark side has rarely seemed darker.
'Elevator' finds our hero still working through
the bitterness attached to past relationships.
Rap as therapy/Breakdown as entertainment.
Time to move on? Nah! Give it one more poke for luck!
'Taking My Ball' is one of the most musical vocal
arrangements we've heard for a while. Familiar
lyrical themes run in and out of the mid-tempo
arrangement. What is it about this guy and Cardassians?!
The rhymes are fluid, fluent, rude and very funny!
'Music Box' is another terrorvision piece.
Pathos and horror mixed up in equal measure.
Listening to the madness unfolding is a complex
and uncomfortable experience for the listener.
Totally wrong in every possible way but still curiously
affecting despite the nightmarishly amoral content.
'Drop The Bomb On 'Em'' is a cocky anthem as strong
as any Mr Mathers has created in his career so far.
Dangerous territory deftly navigated.
No-one does it quite like him.
If 'Relapse' was the cake : 'Refill' is the icing on top of it.
Essential ?
Hell Yeah !!