Robert Christgau's Music Criticism Blog - Expert Witness - MSN Music

Eminem/Big Boi

Comebacks, Yes. Trumphs, No.

By Xgau Dec 31, 2010 6:50AM

Eminem: Recovery (Aftermath/Interscop​e)

The comeback is for Eminem, not Slim Shady‑-and for Marshall at his most martial. His most confessional as well‑-he admits Relapse was "ehh," admits he came this close to beefing with Wayne and Kanye, admits "I'da had my ass handed to me." No matter how cleverly he's rhyming, which varies, he could use subject matter beyond married-to-the-game and his traditional obsessions. But with Shady in the shadows, rarely are these themes lifted by Em's long-recessive sense of play. Bringing the proceedings over the top, however, are the three final tracks: Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" hook depositing some bodily fluids on Em's conjugal seesaw, "You're Never Over" nailing Marshall's love for Proof, and the bonus boast "Untitled" renewing our love for Shady. And delivering the best music qua music in 77 minutes is none other than Lil Wayne, whose 16 on "No Love" would be the funkiest thing here if Wayne didn't then hand Eminem his ass back by inserting acutely timed grunts and such for the rest of the track. A MINUS

 

Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot . . . The Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)

Last things first: I wish I could never again hear the jocularly misogynist David Blaine skit at the ass end of "General Patton" in my entire life.  But it's not tracked, so insofar as the pervasive albeit incoherent musicality of this overrated good album calls me back, it will always be there to waylay me. Granted, so will a succession of enjoyable songs with plenty to offer. But direct comparison to any post-Aquemini OutKast establishes not Andre's superiority‑-that's ambition and always has been‑-but the congruence of two timbres and deliveries that resembled each other far more than did the big boys who put them across. I feel the juice of Big Boi's "dark fudge brownie with the nut of your choice" and cheer when he mocks "coke-ayena." But without OutKast's synergy, few of his many good moves are slam dunks. "Like a crocodile walking round with alligator skin"? Couldn't have said it better myself. A MINUS

 

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17Comments
kichu362
Jan 10, 2011 1:16AM
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Just heard Eminem's comeback album for the first time. Heard Marshall Mathers Lp before this (haven't heard the others since I usually don't listen to white rappers) and I can say for sure that Eminem is now recuperating from his hardships, since when he had undergone those hardships, he ironically made finer albums. His Marshall Mathers is disturbingly thought-provoking while Recovery sounds like a divorce album. Eminem has not been as successful as Kanye in acclimatising with fame. Kanye is more imaginative and versatile in terms of musicality while Eminem's forte are his formidable lyrics. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much to talk or rather pen about. Yet he does have a few catchy ones though they sound like anything but the old Eminem: Talking 2 Myself, On Fire, Going Through Changes, 25 to Life and Almost Famous (sans that grating hook "Be careful what you wish for)" Grade: B
JeffC77
Jan 4, 2011 3:35PM
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Off-topic, but I'll chime in anyway since TY.X brought it up. I'm shocked to report that the BIG HOOKS in Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" have stayed with me, also. The songs are too long (some by as much as several mins.), and I have reservations about some of the nakedly autobiographical lyric content, but as the father of a young woman who has endured her own romantic travails, I root for her nonetheless. 
Someone
Jan 4, 2011 10:41AM
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Pointing out what I see as irony isn't to redeem the skit via rhetorical yoga so much as to cope with the unavoidable fact that I do laugh whenever I hear it.  It's hard not to hear it in the context of the oeuvre of Outkast - which you clearly do - in which the "comedy" bits were much more likely to undermine ghetto machismo than necessarily fall in line with it (the "cut-up" skit from Aquemini comes to mind; "motherf*cking minuteman" from Stankonia too).  So, I immediately assumed Big Boi included the David Blaine bit not despite his homie sounding like a Neanderthal, but specifically because.  That being said, your point is well-taken that this is merely tradition; and as Mark926 points out down below, the whole album is plagued with a casual misogyny that's a little strange in the context of the oeuvre of Outkast, but not in the context of Purple Ribbon, and certainly not in the context of hip-hop.
TY.X
Jan 4, 2011 12:59AM
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I agree
both of them enjoyable but not great.

 

and there are few albums id like to know your opinion
Taylor Swift's speak now is not a disappointment as i thought it might be
Robyn's body talk is kind of good

--though i really hate her previous album and cant stand euro pop.

Rihanna's Loud has great consistency,and production sounds kind of like nicki's pink friday(but i admit there's not great song on it..maybe"whats my name"?) 

 

plus
since you are no longer giving out bad grades
will you bring back the "turkey shot" or something else like that
---after all,the new DrDre album is out~~

reywaskt
Jan 3, 2011 12:23PM
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Programming note: you can customize playback on an iPod by programming in start/stop times to eliminate anything that bugs you, from the Blaine skit to band intros.

Alex Wilson (Japadsfdf)
Jan 3, 2011 8:08AM
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I agree with what you said (Xgau), one time, how Kanye (or some other rapper) tends to associate himself with bad artists. I get it - friends are friends - but the **** Kanye comes out with sometimes - the artists he endorses - make me wonder how he got so good in the first place. Recovery will be low down on the Pazz & Jop poll, I'm sure, I will have to listen to Big Boi's - I haven't actually heard anything about it (although I may have known it was coming out). I tend to leave internet hype alone - it's mostly always dumb.
David Crozier
Jan 2, 2011 8:07PM
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A longtime reader, I'm intrigued by your A minuses that tip to the negative (Tricky's Pre-Millennium Tension comes to mind), though I get it: an artist capable of brilliance doesn't accomplish it and therefore disappoints. In the case of Big Boi it feels more like an indictment of critics for overrating it, hardly Big Boi's fault. Given the years of struggle with Jive trying to get it released, I think it holds up great. 

Incidentally, you might consider investing in a basic (i.e., cheap) audio editing program; relieving General Patton of David Blaine is seconds of work, even for technophobes. 
Dave Cohen (a.fury)
Jan 2, 2011 5:48PM
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Happy New Year to the Dean and all his readers! The CG's resurrection is the biggest Reason To Be Cheerful for me since whenever, and as a blog it's now my favorite way to screw off at work:  I read Xgau's entries, I read the comments, I read Xgau's comments on the comments, and I find myself checking back at least once a day to see if there are any new comments on any of the entries since the blog started.  I'm new to the blogosphere,  I gather that's how blogs work and how to people get hooked on them. 

 

Anyway, it's fun for me to read all these comments from obviously knowledgeable music fans, but humbling.  I mean how in the world do you have time to absorb all this music?  I know the Dean and assume some of the posters do it for a living, but still.  About 30 years ago, I briefly considered trying to be a music critic, and I'm glad I didn't because I never would have made it.    I'm way too slow.  For example, I almost always wind up agreeing with Xgau's recommendations, but it took me repeated  listenings over about ten days to get into How I Got Over, which I now think is really great.  As a matter of fact, even without the Honorable Mentions, Bob, you're job seems like a lot of work.   Thanks again for doing it; it's meant a lot to me and I'm sure it's meant a lot to the other posters.  

Robert Christgau (Xgau)
Jan 2, 2011 10:50AM
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I don't know anything about Big Boi's crew or who exactly delivers that skit, but the history of intelligent rappers with complex personal attitudes throwing a bone to both their old running buddies and their more simpleminded fans by letting said running buddies take up stupid space on a generally good record goes back forever.  It's a street-cred move, a loyalty move, and a way for intelligent rappers with complex personal attitudes to vent without owning it. "Pure insincerity" is almost certainly far too kind (and complex) a construction.
Someone
Jan 2, 2011 10:34AM
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Oh come now, the David Blaine skit is pure insincerity.  It's the meathead delivery that makes it funny - because only a beer-swilling jackass like that would DO something like that (hopefully).  Like Gene Siskel used to say, I can't explain to you why something is funny, it just is, and I like the concept of the Rock skit better than the delivery (it outstays its welcome, which I think is the point, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant), but come now.
JeffC77
Jan 1, 2011 10:13AM
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Agree with most everyone (including Eminem) that "Recovery" is way better than "Relapse," but I still don't imagine I'll play it very often, for the same reason the sour Em feature "Roman's Revenge" is the only track on Minaj's "Pink Friday" I routinely skip. At his best (c.f., "The Marshall Mathers L.P.), Em/Marshall/Shady managed to sound wicked, gleeful, and vulnerable, often at the same time. Now, despite (because of?) his shows of humility, he mainly sounds spiteful and tired... like "the game" isn't much fun anymore. And a sense of fun and (word-)play were what most of us treasured in this artist to begin with...
Someone
Dec 31, 2010 11:54PM
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w/r/t the "General Patton" skit, I find it humorous in how ludicrous it is (although I suppose it's a little frightening that anyone might try to "David Blaine" their girl). Similar, I guess, to something like, say, "Get your baby kidnapped and your baby mother****ed" from Lil Wayne's "3 Peat". Lucious itself is a good record but also an inconsistent one; all of my favorites (from "Daddy Fat Sax" to "Tangerine", excepting "Follow Us") are packed onto the front (although "Shine Blockas" is also a favorite). The production is often a little muddled and/or (oh boy, this word) "bloated", which is why the sorta-minimalism of "Turns Me On" makes that track probably my favorite (also, the chorus is awesome). I've found myself truly unable to pay attention to the lyrics on rap albums (this sounds terrible, I know), but Big Boi, if not a genius lyricist, is pretty consistently spitting lines that, you know, SOUND good and all that. Good record, just runs out of steam. This was sort of a stream-of-consciousn​ess post but hey, haha. I'll echo the sentiments that you should try out/review the Janelle Monae album that was released this year. Also, the Corinne Bailey Rae. Maybe as a personal favor? Haha.

- Alex Robertson
Joey Daniewicz
Dec 31, 2010 1:25PM
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Also, Xgau, when I heard that Eminem had dismissed Relapse as "eh," I was pretty surprised.  From what you've heard over the past forty-something years, what are some other good examples of musicians dismissing their own previous work?
Joey Daniewicz
Dec 31, 2010 1:22PM
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Oh, man.

I don't like Recovery, but there are some big faults from Relapse that he did fix.  I think the tonal setup of the album could have gone places, but he didn't follow through.  Have you heard about the new film Southpaw?  Look that one up.

Also, can't stand the singing on that "with or without you-ooo-OO" track.

I like Left Foot a lot, particularly "Shine Blockas," which I think is on par with frickin' "Ms. Jackson."  Then there are great hooks from Janelle Monáe and George Clinton that are surrounded by not as good rapping (I think I just described "Empire State Of Mind").  But I think it's a very good album.

Heh.  Better than The Roots, even.  Not as consistent, but the highs are higher.
Robert Christgau (Xgau)
Dec 31, 2010 10:51AM
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"Kanye's Chris Rock skit > Big Boi's David Blaine skit"
BY SO MUCH
The Rock is absolutely great, the Blaine hideous at 15 seconds.

Mark926
Dec 31, 2010 10:51AM
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To be honest, I've found the casual misogyny of Big Boi's album a constant distraction from the get go. The production is stellar but the content never rises above male adolescence. It pushes the disc into "B" territory for me. What a shame because "Tangerine" knocks my socks off every time it crosses my ear hole. Eminem is a different beast altogether. I will give it a re-listen due to the A minus but I had shelved "Recovery" pretty quickly mostly because I'm just plain sick of him and have not forgiven the sin that is "Relapse." I just don't find him funny anymore which was always key in the past. Also, his rap on "Roman's Revenge" damn near kills that track with its vitriol. So it is gratifying that Nicki Minaj's run in Kanye's "Monster" is the best rap of 2010. There hasn't been a girl as potent on the mic since the glory days of Yo-Yo. Oh...have ya heard that new Ghostface yet?
Stephen77
Dec 31, 2010 10:43AM
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I am so happy to see the A minus for Big Boi. Along with Janelle Monae's (and maybe a few others like the Deerhunter album), it is certainly the most overrated album this year. Many critics, and fans alike, seem to think it's on the level of Kanye's. It is not. And most think it's better than The Roots' album. Which, I think, is just ridiculous. This album has always been an A minus ever since I first listened to it.

Kudos for giving it the appropriate rating. This almost makes me as happy as the time you only gave Animal Collective's MPP an Honorable Mention, or better yet, the time you trashed that awful awful awful Bon Iver album.

Also: Kanye's Chris Rock skit > Big Boi's David Blaine skit
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about the blogger

Robert Christgau

Starting in 1967, Robert Christgau has covered popular music for The Village Voice, Esquire, Blender, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He teaches in New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, maintains a comprehensive website at robertchristgau.com, and has published five books based on his journalism. He has written for MSN Music since 2006.

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