Eminem / Revival - Full Album Review (Track by Track)

Eminem / Revival - Track by Track Album Review

With the release of Eminem’s Revival album and as a long-time fan who’s been generally disappointed with most of his recent releases I thought I’d write a track by track review of the entire album and give my honest opinion on each song. Right, I’ve been excited to hear this, let’s get right into it! 

01. Walk on Water (Feat. Beyonce) 

This was the first song released from the album and it was met with mixed responses, Beyonce just doesn’t belong on an Eminem song, their sound clashes and it results in a fairly generic and forgettable song, I love the content and as a long-time fan I appreciate the honesty and the awareness of the fact that his recent material hasn’t been up to par with what we know he can do, but this song is part of the problem, it you just look at it like an intro it’s a little better, I just really don’t like Eminem and Beyonce being on the same song, it just doesn’t work! I’d give this 5/10.   

02. Believe 

This song comes in hard, it switches the tone up from Walk on Water and Shady delivers some great verses between an excellent chorus where he asks his fans if they still believe in him, I love the beat and his verses are sick! He switches his flow up a few times but it worked better than it normally does, he ponders, ‘how do you keep up the pace and the hunger pains once you’ve won the race’ while sounding like a hungry rapper, his flow is little robotic in moments as it has been recently but I enjoyed this song, there’s passion in it and unlike Walk on Water, there’s more confidence, I’d describe this song as a fight, there’s moments where he’s landing and moments where he’s stumbling. I’d give it 7/10.   

03. Chloraseptic (Feat. PHRESHER) 

This had some minor controversy circling it as rapper 2 Chainz was supposed to feature on it but was absent even to his surprise from the track list, it’s not a feature I ever needed to see but I did however notice that Eminem uses 2 Chainz flow on this and thought it was worth mentioning. I loved this track, I love that heavy trap beat with the choir vocals in the background and I love his flow, mostly, Eminem says ‘fuck boy’ in this song, thought that was worth noting, this song isn’t particularly content heavy, he isn’t really saying anything, just showing off but I enjoyed his flow, including the 2 Chainz rip off flow, thought I heard a little Luda in there too? The PHRESHER chorus was catchy as well, overall, I enjoyed it, I’d give it 7/10.   

04. Untouchable 

This was the second song released from Revival and it kind of felt like a continuation of what he was trying to touch on in the BET Cypher where he ‘launched an attack on Trump’, I thought it was terrible, feelings on Trump aside, just as a piece of art, it was just terribly written and awkwardly performed. Untouchable is a lot better than that but it just felt very messy to me, there were high moments and low moments but overall it was disappointing and just sonically the instrumental and the vocal mix aren’t pleasing on the ears, I appreciate the message and his heart’s in the right place but I wasn’t a huge fan of this, it’s not as bad as Joe Budden seems to think, he called it trash, it’s not trash but it’s nothing special either, I’d give it 5/10.   

05. River (Feat. Ed Sheeran) 

Ed Sheeran seems to be everywhere these days, he was in Game of Thrones for fuck sake, and here he is again, on an Eminem album. I like the chorus and Eminem drops in hard, I like his verses, the flow is a little messy at times, the choppy speed up, slow down flow but it works and it’s mostly effective, there’s a great build up to the chorus in the second verse in particular, overall I enjoyed it but there’s not anything particularly memorable about it, it has some good moments though, I’d give it 6/10. 

06. Remind Me (Intro) 

Not much to talk about here.   

07. Remind Me 

Similar sonically to his Bezerk single from MMLP2 and sampling Arrows ‘I Love Rock N Roll’, Shady jumps on this Beastie Boys, 80’s Hip Hop inspired beat, it’s not bad, there’s a couple of good moments but overall this isn’t a sound I think works with Eminem, his flow clashes on these rock beats. The content on this is exactly what people don’t want to hear from Eminem, empty content addressing fictional relationships or attractions that mean nothing peppered with corny punch lines and an awkward flow, it’s not completely terrible, but at this point in Eminem’s career this song is pretty much just more of the same, it’s very forgettable, I’d give it 5/10.   

08. Revival (Interlude) 

Not much to talk about here, just a nice little female vocal that fits nicely with the vibe of the fictional Revival website they created as promotion for the album.

09. Like Home (Feat. Alicia Keys) 

This is a much better attempt at doing what Eminem was trying to do with the Cypher in regards to attacking Trump, artistically the writing is a lot better and it sounds better vocally, his flow is more on point and he gets some good jabs in, especially when he mentions the Shady convention, which was a promotional performance for his album where Trump introduced him and actually had nothing but nice words to say about Shady! I think I hate the chorus, it’s so fucking generic and corny, Alicia Keys shouldn’t be on an Eminem song, again, it’s okay, memorable as an attack on Trump but not really on its own artistic merits. I’d give it 6/10.   

10. Bad Husband (Feat. X Ambassadors) 

Now this is what I’m talking about, Eminem’s personal content is where he shines brightest, he talks to his ex-wife Kim on this song, it’s emotional, it’s honest and it felt like closure to the story, the chorus was okay, I’m not mad about it, again it’s somewhat generic but it’s okay and I feel the same way about the instrumental, it serves its purpose but Shady’s verses are what sell this song, the raw emotion in the lyrics and passionate delivery make this the best song on the album so far, especially that build up in the third verse! I’d give it 8/10.    

11. Tragic Endings (Feat. Skyler Grey) 

Eminem and Skyler Grey have working together quite a few times now and it doesn’t always result in great music, which is strange because they seem like the perfect pair, Tragic Endings might be their best collaboration yet! Decent beat, great flow from Shady and a chorus that kind of reminds me of Dido’s chorus on Stan, it’s a decent song, not anything particularly amazing but I’d give it 7/10. 

12. Framed 

I can see a lot of people hating this song, I loved it though, it’s like a more cartoony 3AM, the beat is hypnotizing, his flow is choppy in moments but mostly on point, there’s a nice bump to it, I don’t know how to feel about the chorus, fuck it I like it! It’s Shady sounding, the right kind of crazy! I love the Ivanka Trump line, that’s how Eminem should be taking shots at Trump, not awkward Cyphers where you visibly huff, puff and stamp your feet on the ground, Framed grew on me more the second time, then less the third, not sure where I stand with it, I’m just gonna give it 8/10.   

13. Nowhere (Feat. Kehlani) 

Another generic female singer on the chorus, Shady drops in hard though and delivers some great verses, again the robotic flow is present in moments but gets better as the song continues, I especially love the delivery on the line, ‘go to war with me you’ll end up blew to Timbuktu, I’ll send at you a ten ton nuke, like Kim Jung Un and end up ruining your career’, I also love the ‘the world’s screwed it’s already fucked and I’m on top so everyone’s just ashes blowing in the air’ line, overall a decent effort, I’d give it 7/10.   

14. Heat 

Another addition to the 80’s Rock inspired style he’s been fond of recently, it’s got a catchy chorus, few good lines, couple corny ones, up and down flow, empty content, he’s not really saying anything, he’s just, at times, saying it well, this is a fairly forgettable song, it’s album filler, I did laugh at the little clip at the end though, just took me off guard, I’d give it 5/10.   

15. Offended 

This is similar, both the flow and beat, to his song Vegas from Shady XV, I actually liked it a lot, for a nonsense song content wise it works, Eminem hits that crazy right on the head sometimes and this is an example, his flow’s perfect he really goes nuts on this one, fucked up verses separated by a funny little chorus, he’s showing off his skills and doing it well. I like the jabs at Trumps family as well, similar to the Ivanka line on Framed it’s the sort of politically charged lines I’d rather hear from Shady, it’s dirty and I like it, I think I’d give this 7/10.   

16. Need Me (Feat. Pink) 

Did we really need another collaboration with Pink, no we didn’t, but here it is and it’s okay, it’s definitely their best collaboration so far, there’s a lot of Pink though, Eminem doesn’t drop in till around the 2 minute mark and it’s just for one long verse then Pink takes over again. It’s a decent verse, good delivery, nothing particularly memorable though, it’s okay, I’d give it 6/10. 

17. In Your Head 

This is a good song, I really like the content, there’s a passionate honesty to the verses, it’s real, the chorus is okay, again it just feels like generic female chorus but it works I suppose, I like the beat and he flows well on it, the content of the lyrics is what sells the song though, everything surrounding it is sufficient, flow is choppy at times but not too bad, I’d give 7/10.   

18. Castle 

Another nameless female singer for the chorus but I actually liked this one a lot, Castle is a letter to his daughter Hailie told from different stages of his life and it’s one of the best songs on the album, it’s well written, the delivery is perfect, no choppy/robotic flow on this one just pure emotion, again, more proof that his personal songs are his best, he sounds natural and confident in what he’s trying to say, it’s real and it translates and makes for great music, I loved this track, I’d give it 9/10.   

19. Arose 

Fittingly this, the album closer, is the best song on the album! I absolutely love the delivery, his voice sounds natural, it’s just pure emotion and it hits the mark, the beat feels light and sits perfectly under his vocals, his flow is on point and there’s so much emotion in his voice! He talks about his daughters, his wife, his younger brother, his mother and his best friend Proof, it’s honest, it’s touching and it’s the culmination of everything Eminem’s music has been about since he dropped The Slim Shady LP in 1999, I loved everything about this song, it’s everything I love about Eminem as an artist and I’d give it 10/10.  

Revival isn’t perfect but it’s a great effort, there are both high and low points, more high than low! Overall, as an Eminem fan, I enjoyed the album and I think it has some really powerful moments throughout, it’s a solid Eminem album, he’s not going to top those first three albums, that was a moment in time that’s past. For an Eminem in 2017 at this late stage in his career, it was a nice surprise to hear something so refreshing from him after the fairly disappointing MMLP2 and embarrassing Trump Cypher! Overall I consider Revival a success and I’d give it 7.5/10.