One thing we learnt from Eminem's BET 'The Storm' Freestyle was just how much good shutting down does for an artiste.The unanimous verdict was an Eminem homicide when in all honestly,there was nothing spectacular about it.No exquisite lyrical showmanship,no catch power,just stuff he could have easily said in an interview.Who makes a freestyle taking 'pace' breaks?.But we were all glad to have Marshall Mathers back and that drove the immense love he got.
We had been looking forward to an Eminem album before that and why his subsequent single didn't exactly rip through the charts,we knew what we knew;and that was that a good song off his album could very well turn out one of the best made this year.Eminem is that good.The best to ever do it on a lot of score cards.
Everyone had something in common after Revival dropped,it didn't matter if the BET freestyle and Beyonce assisted single made you lower your expectations or not,they surpassed whatever expectations you had for it.He made a great album.
Lets take a walk through the tracks.
1.WALK ON WATER feat BEYONCE
The only single off the album.It originally started as a chorus written by co-producer Skylar Grey and she describes it as the song she's been trying to write since she was 6.Walk on Water passed him off as having gone stale.It was vintage Em whining about the same old things-hate,inner struggles and overcoming them.Perhaps switching up the tempo a notch would have remedied the disconnect between great verses and a great hook.
2.BELIEVE
You'll want to apologize for ever doubting the current state of his skill set after listening to this.Beast mode stuff.He thumps with the singing on the hook in that way only he can and it soaks you into his message with little or no effort.All that to complement some flawless lyricism.The new 'pause-go' delivery style he showcased on the BET freestyle works perfectly here.Naah,he never lost it.I BELIEVE,Em!!!.
3.CHLORASEPTIC feat Phresher
You have to wonder if Denaun Porter's beat would have been good for anything other than what Marshall did with it.Just the right knocturnal feel for Em to get on some 'cut-throat' vibe.Its "I'm truTV,you too PG" in a nutshell.He gets on some really savage delivery mid-way through the last verse-"What kind of nut drives a Budweiser truck,finds a slut,tries to suprise her,cuffs her...".Anything would have sounded great on that mode.Breath taking.
Em flew 8 hours to New York from Detroit to record with Brooklyn Mc,Phresher and he was worth every bit of the stress.He was fabulous with the brassy hook.
4.UNTOUCHABLE
Em tells it all from a white supremacist perspective.Before the 6:15 min song ends,you're bound to think Em is dropping the facade and embracing the fact that he is first and foremost a white boy.But then he gets to preaching about the system and racism.
He gives a very strong take on police brutality and killings but Marshall exudes so much passion playing white boy,you feel he was 'cleaning out his closet'.(Pun Intended).
5.RIVER feat Ed Sheeran
Ed got a call from Eminem's manager asking for ideas on the album they were putting together and he gets into a studio in Rusell Crowe's Australian home to couple up some drum and piano patterns plus a super great chorus and sends it to him.Em feels it and lays his verses.A little info just incase you are wondering how he got to rapping about love triangles.
A truly great song.That must be said.
6.REMIND ME
Everyone who missed the real Slim Shady more than they missed Marshall Mathers will love this joint.."Screwin our brains out like changing a lightbulb/Thats why i like ya coz am crazy just like ya/Now every time i get brain/You screw mine up/I barely can think straight/Your head game is a mind fuck..Crazy.
7.REVIVAL (INTERLUDE)
I really had to make mention of this 0:51 sec skit.The singing by Alice and the Lake on those keys was sheer magic.Perfect scenery for something deep and i feel Marshall should have made a whole song of it.
8.LIKE HOME feat Alicia Keys
Unarguably the most 'accepted' best song of the Revival album.Em celebrates the greatness of America and goes ballistics on Trump.Alicia Keys was splendid on the hook.In a few words,he gets everything right to make a truly outstanding song.
9.BAD HUSBAND feat X Ambassadors
This is one of those songs that never really get the props due to them.Its my personal favourite.Eminem reveals himself like no rapper in the game and this is one of his most gripping introspective offerings yet.
The story telling absorbs almost to the point to tears.Its that powerful.
Em remorsely looks back at the tumultuous relationship he had with his high school sweetheart and 2 time wife, Kim Scott.."Why are you a good father,great dad but bad husband".The X Ambassadors hook was mind-blowing.To state the very very obvious,Eminem is a musical genius.
10.TRAGIC ENDINGS feat Skylar Grey
Skylar's singing was super fantastic but Em's verses don't quite sync with it.There is some distance that leaves you longing for the hook to come back on.A sober Marshall delivery and some little adjustments to instrumentation would have done muchgood.
11.FRAMED
The most vivid display of Em's slim shady persona.He's talking about killing females and having Ivanka Trump's corpse in his car trunk.Good to know Marshall never outgrew slim shady.The wackiness is still on that same adorably intense level.
12.NOWHERE FAST feat Kehlani
I lack words to describe this song.Its a masterpiece that will definitely go down as an Eminem classic.Everything works; from his lines to Kehlani's chorus and then you get a Tyson K.O when he caps it off with some signature Em singing.
This will never be forgotten.
13.HEAT
The Slim shady pops up again on this rock-inspired cut but he doesn't quite make the desired effect.Not to write it off totally,its a decent song.It just sounds a bit too white.Lol.
14.OFFENDED
Em gets to know Illa da producer made the beat for Phresher's 'Wait a Minute' and has Paul Rosenberg reach out to him.He sets him up with just the right beat to go on a flamboyant lyrical spree reminiscent of the 'Rap God' song.Em nails it bad.
15.NEED ME feat Pink
It always feels dark and twisted when Em waxes on about love.Always.Theres same sides to the man you will never get bored of.It almost feels like he's daring you to sometimes.He is that good an artiste.
He allows Pink just enough room to hypnotize you before dropping his lines.Great cut.
16.IN YOUR HEAD
He samples the Cranberries' 'Zombies' for this introspective look on the challenges of being him.Nobody does that better than Eminem and we all know that.
17.CASTLE
A good song but at this stage,you are starting to feel perhaps Marshall personalizes his songs a little more than he should.
18.AROSE
You just have to love how this is deep almost as much as it is twisted and how its a farewell to the listener as much as it is to his family on his death bed.The right delivery made that happen.
Sadly,he caps it off with the last verse from Castle and it gets a bit haphazard.
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