RELAPSE-EMINEM'S NEW ALBUM

Another big album leaked to the internet via Rapidshare and the other share file servers, Eminem's Relapse isn't a great album lyrically, but production-wise, the greatest producer in music, Dr. Dre, has excelled himself.

Opening with "Dr. West", with Em in conversation with his doctor (he's obviously been having treatment for alcohol misuse) played by Dominic West (McNulty, from The Wire), with British accent, playing a laconic, devil-may-care doctor, who doesn't seem to care that Em is quite nervous about going back into society, hoping he doesn't go back to the demon drink. The end of the funny skit tells a different tale, sending the listener in 78 minutes of Eminem as he falls off the wagon.

We go through Eminem's insanity, issues with his mother, obsessions with celebrities (like Lindsey Lohan and Mariah Carey), references to felching (a pretty gross sexual act); it's all business as usual and, lyrically, it doesn't break new ground, even though it's quite witty in places. The trademark flow is evident throughout and the wordplay is inventive, if a little lazy and obvious.

What sets this apart from the usual hip-hop albums is Dr. Dre's production. His trademark synths and drum patterns, including some wonderful samples of sitars all make for a head-nodding, funky, cinematically kaleidoscopic landscape.

The unofficial sequel to the introspective "Stan", "Beautiful" is about the only time Em shows he can make a track with that seems troubling and heartfelt. The production, by Dr.Dre has a touch of the Aerosmith's about it, especially with guitar and sad refrain.

The carnivalesque "We Made You" is obviously a commercial sop for the album to get more exposure and more sales. Musically, it could have been a track made for Britney or Christina, even they're the targets, more or less, for Em's rant on this track.

The French singer Mike Brant's Mais Dans La Lumiere track gets the sample treatment in the excellent "Crack a Bottle". That is, until 50 Cent chips in with the most lackluster rhymes he's ever bother to record. At least Dre's credible performance (and elsewhere, vocally, on the album) elevates the album a bit more that it probably deserves. Even though it's probably a sure bet that Dre's rhymes were ghostwritten, as they have been in the past by Jay Z and MF Doom.

Overall, Relapse is solid, but more so for the production, which is always consistent and worth listening too. Perhaps they'll release an instrumental album. Relapse 2 is due out at Christmas. I suppose, for Em's fans, this makes up for his 5 year absence.