Image courtesy of Billboard.com
There is no denying the talent of Justin Timberlake. His recent stint on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live only go to show how multifaceted he is as a performer. This is a man with serious talent. Which is why I was surprised that I didn’t like his new album The 20/20 Experience more. I can’t tell you how much I really wanted to love this album, but much like my reaction to Suit and Tie, I found that the anticipation was sweeter than the result.
The album is not so much as departure from FutureSex/LoveSounds as it is a sequel. Songs such as Spaceship Coupe, Don’t Hold the Wall and Tunnel Vision have a strong modern/electronic vibe to them. Timberlake collaborated again with producer Timbaland and although I have loved the creativity and deftness of some of their pairings, I think it is time for Timberlake to work with additional people. Part of the problem I had was that each of the 10 tracks is nearly 7 minutes long, and in all cases I found the songs three minutes too long. The length of the songs creates an excessive amount of repetition, which killed my initial interest in the song.
Die-hard fans of Justin’s will be thrilled with this album because it does showcase his beautiful airy voice and his musicality. My two favorite tracks are Pusher Love Girl and Suit and Tie, which have a cool retro throwback vibe which I dig more than the futuristic sound of the rest of the album.
Give it a listen and let me know what your reaction is to the album. I give it a C+