When
"FutureSex/Lovesounds" was released in September 2006, Justin
Timberlake was 25 years old, in a relationship with Cameron Diaz that
was about to end, and for all intents and purposes, still a kid trying
to prove himself and sustain the post-*N SYNC momentum of 2003's
"Justified." Today, Timberlake is 32 years old, married to Jessica Biel,
and has nothing left to prove. He has, in fact, been hounded for a
half-decade to release new music, and not been frantically tossing out
stopgap singles to remind the world of his presence. When Timberlake
announced his return to music last January, pop fans prayed that "The
20/20 Experience" would feel a lot like "FutureSex/Lovesounds"… but
realistically, that could never have happened. Timberlake is no longer
where he was in September 2006, and as his latest album reflects the
euphoria seeping out of every one of his immaculate, 32-year-old
pores.
Six-and-a-half years after effectively conquering pop music with a
highly sexual, fashionably futuristic album, Justin Timberlake has
returned as a more relaxed version of himself, with a brand new palette
of musical shades. Despite the reunion of Timberlake and
"FutureSex/Lovesounds" producer Timbaland, "The 20/20 Experience" is not
a sequel of that groundbreaking album as much as a document of growth,
crystallized within the medium of classic R&B.
The propulsive moans and aggressive come-ons of his 2006 smash single
"Sexyback," for instance, have been traded for big-band brass, creeping
bass and open-hearted professions of love on songs like "That Girl,"
"Mirrors" and "Tunnel Vision." Timberlake has always been a vocal force,
but the main accomplishment of "The 20/20 Experience" is the expansion
of Timberlake's vision: aside from Jay-Z's guest verse on snappy single
"Suit and Tie," the album features no guests, and often allows its
tracks to run past the seven-minute mark.
One of the year's most anticipated pop releases is also one of the
genre's weirdest -- and most fully realized -- efforts in ages. There
will be many people longing for the immediacy of songs like "My Love"
and "Rock Your Body," but Timberlake has offered us something more
complicated, although no less accessible.
Which songs on "The 20/20 Experience" are worth extended listens?
Check out Billboard.com's extensive track-by-track breakdown of Justin
Timberlake's long-awaited new album.
1. Pusher Love Girl - Like a more seasoned version
of his opening "Justified" come-on "Senorita," "Pusher Love Girl" is an
extended glide -- even if the drug-addled metaphor at the heart of the
song produces some dubious lyrics, Timberlake's easy delivery will leave
listeners hopelessly, er, addicted. The song morphs into fuzzed-out
neo-soul during an elongated breakdown, one of the many mid-song
transformations that occur on the album.
2. Suit and Tie feat. Jay-Z
The ode to high style is still not as sonically ambitious as
Timberlake's last lead single, "Sexyback," but within the confines of
"The 20/20 Experience," "Suit and Tie" makes a lot more sense. Funneling
the succulence of "Pusher Love Girl" into a more radio-friendly format,
Timberlake and Jay-Z -- who will soon be co-headlining a stadium tour
-- demonstrate an effortlessness that probably took months to construct.
3. Don't Hold The Wall - Tribal chants and oozing
vocal samples combat with rainsticks and spacious drums, as Timberlake
correctly reads the primal tone and commands his subject to give in to
her physical impulses. Timbaland's production is the star here, turning
on a dime at the 4:20 mark and assuming a darker, more muscular
structure. There are so many things happening on "Don't Hold The Wall"
that it takes five listens just to process them.
4. Strawberry Bubblegum - The intensity of "Don't
Hold The Wall" evaporates, and a cloud of electronic blips, string stabs
and snappy percussion tears at the seams of a (relatively) simple
R&B tune. Timberlake has rarely sounded more at peace as he does
when he intones, "She's just like nothing that I've ever seen before/And
please, don't change nothing, because your flavor's so original." The
sashaying outro is pleasant, but the main track is sumptuous enough on
its own.
5. Tunnel Vision - The instrumentation is vintage
Timbaland, with fizzing beats abetted by the producer's signature
ad-libs and vocal record-scratches, while Timberlake puffs out his chest
and throws out a typically confident performance. The song's evolution
is thrilling: not only do the ornate production details stack upon each
other to create a constantly moving Jenga tower, the arrangement falls
apart at exactly the right time, as Timberlake sings, "A crowded room…
all I see is you. Everything just disappears, disappears, disappears."
6. Spaceship Coupe - From the groove at its gooey
core to the lyrical concept -- interstellar romance! -- "Spaceship
Coupe" smacks of an R. Kelly castoff… not that that's a pose that
Timberlake can't successfully assume. "Spaceship Coupe" is admittedly
sillier than any of the other "20/20" tracks, and Timbaland sounds out
of his element here; JT sells the concept with aplomb, though, and even
gets an electric guitar solo to echo across the cosmos.
7. That Girl - "Some 'em some Southern love!"
Timbaland shouts during his faux-introduction of "JT & The Tennessee
Kids," and Timberlake strides onstage to reside upon one of the album's
shiniest surfaces. "That Girl" does not carry grand ambitions,
endlessly rhyming "baby" with "lady" and keeping the whiz-bang
production techniques to a minimum, but as the bass continues creeping
forward and Timberlake nods to the brass section, the song reaches
"immaculate soul" status.
8. Let The Groove Get In - The album's only extended
dance flare-up, with canned horns popping off, propulsive percussion
begging for movement and Timberlake's harmonized voice knocking against
Timbaland's nimble pop arrangement. For seven minutes, "Off The
Wall"-era MJ gets a tip of the cap, and Timberlake enters a zone
reserved for only the most assured mainstream stars. Make no mistake:
"Let The Groove Get In" will be exhilarating in concert.
9. Mirrors
Imagine being a newlywed and wanting to write the most epic song ever
in honor of your life partner. "Mirrors" is Timberlake's version of that
anthem -- how can you not think of the singer's recent wedding photos
alongside Jessica Biel when he endlessly repeats, "You are, you are, the
love, of my life," as if he had just soaked in the splendid finality of
his romantic situation? Compare this album's second single to
"Justified's" second single, "Cry Me A River," and aside from the steady
presence of Timbaland's fantastically cluttered production, the
difference between the song is clear: 10 years ago, Timberlake was
broken, and now he is whole.
10. Blue Ocean Floor - An unexpectedly somber note
ends Timberlake's third album, with the pop star digging for his most
pensive expressions and pleading to be joined in his silent escape.
Unlike "FutureSex's" "serious" song "Losing My Way," "Blue Ocean Floor"
shows the growth of Timberlake, who gently steps into Timbaland's
puddles of piano pokes and stretched-out melodies. It's a song that only
a few vocalists could land -- imagine Thom Yorke trying this one on for
size -- and a bold way to close a generally celebratory project.
Sumber : http://www.billboard.com
