Eminem, “Eminem Presents the Re-Up”
HIP-HOP|Shady, released today
This “mix tape,” featuring a handful of remixes and new tracks from Eminem, his protégés and his crew, was originally intended for limited issue. But Eminem liked it so much he expanded and cleaned it up for an album release. For the most part, the content justifies that treatment.
Kicking off with an angry shout- out/dismissal, the disc wastes no time showcasing Em’s dexterous flows and talent for choosing MCs that play to his lyrical strengths. “We’re Back” and a remix of “Pistol Pistol” spin their wheels, but the brooding “Murder” nails it with its considerable emotional gravitas. It’s arguably a reckless move, given the recent shooting death of D12 member Proof, but the blasting horn samples and sandpapery underpinning hit hard.
Producer The Alchemist (Cypress Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg) handles many cuts, emphasizing the thunderous beats and dark synth washes lurking around the edges of each half-buried melody. “You Don’t Know,” the first single, unites Eminem, 50 Cent, newcomer Ca$his and Lloyd Banks from the Shady and G-Unit factions, its portentous chorus building steam with each go-round.
Fans will be especially floored by album-ender “No Apologies,” an oddly spare but sturdy track that acts as Eminem’s response to the recent press he’s enjoyed/endured. With 22 tracks (all but a few of them proper songs), “The Re-Up” is indeed a coherent album, one that feels far more essential than its origins would imply. |John Wenzel
Julia Fischer, “Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky”
CLASSICAL|PentaTone Classics, released Nov. 21
It is not hard to understand why the classical music world is paying increasing attention to the 23-year-old German violinist Julia Fischer, who was featured on the covers of two important classical-music magazines this year.
She combines boundless technique with a lovely, singing tone and affecting sense of musicality. These qualities are nicely showcased in the secondary works on this release with the Russian National Orchestra, especially in her moving take on the Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26.
It is easy to wonder if we need yet another recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, but this one offers a fine performance with superb stereophonic sound. Fischer takes a largely middle-of-the-road interpretative approach, tinging her playing at times with a fitting folk quality. |Kyle MacMillan
Babyshambles, “The Blinding E.P.”
BRIT-ROCK|Regal, released today
Pete Doherty’s drug-fueled antics have overshadowed his music so completely that many forgot why he was noteworthy in the first place. And no, getting into a coke scandal with Kate Moss doesn’t count.
Doherty, formerly of British buzz band The Libertines, does little to justify all the attention with the five-song “Blinding E.P.,” a respectable but unremarkable comment on the tabloid attention he’s lately received. The vocals and crisp but uninspired guitar work sound as bored with themselves as the public is Doherty’s weekly run-ins with the law. If this is the direction in which his music his headed, you should jump ship now.|John Wenzel
Other releases today:
Gwen Stefani, “The Sweet Escape” (Interscope) Led by the yodel-laden, Neptunes-produced single “Wind It Up,” “The Sweet Escape” is another thick slab of synth candy from this dance-pop diva and No Doubt lead singer.
Various Artists, “Charlotte’s Web: Music From the Motion Picture” (Sony Classical) Popular film composer Danny Elfman handles the music for this live action version of the children’s classic. Pop-folk singer Sarah McLachlan and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics team for the ballad “Ordinary Miracle.”
