This coming Monday, September 30th, Justin Timberlake will be releasing the second part of his March album, "The 20/20 Experience" to listeners everywhere. The pop superstar's "The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2" was announced just over a month after the original's release. The first of the two albums has been incredibly successful, spawning three singles; two of which landed in the top 5 on the Billboard chart.
But we're not here to talk about the original.
Timberlake made his album free to stream on iTunes on September 24th. So naturally we HAD to review it before its official release.
1. Gimmie What I Don't Know (I Want)
A strong introductory track, the song has a strong entrance and a fresh beat. The album already feels much darker than that of its predecessor. The song is incredibly R&B, which compliments Timberlake's voice well. Like most of his songs, this one has a distinctly different second half. The song seems repetitive in the first half, which starts get annoying, but once the song jumps into the second part, the composition of track changes only slightly, but somehow has a completely different feel. Definitely not the best song on the album, but it does have its moments and acts as a great introductory track.
2. True Blood
First of all, I think it is worth noting that Timbaland's (One of the album's lead producers) vocals have been featured in so many of Timberlake's songs, that no one deems it necessary to list him as a featured artist anymore. Just saying, because in this track the story is no different. The track is faster paced than the previous, but pretty much the same; Very repetitive, heavy R&B influence, and a darker tone to it than any of 20/20 Part 1's songs. At some points its has a semi-dancey feel to it, and this song has much more replayability than most of the other tracks. Definitely worth listening to.
3. Cabaret
This song has a very well....Cabaret feel to it. Featuring rap sensation Drake, this song has even more talent packed into it than a usual Justin Timberlake song. Easily one of my favorite songs, largely due to Drake's contributions. While Timberlake's part is great as usual, Drake's vocals seem ever better suited for the song. His verse just seems so well placed and the lyrics, while not exactly deep, do feel as though they carry some weight. The song also acts as a prelude to the next track, "TKO".
4. TKO
The second single off of the album, "TKO" is a very powerful, and dark song. The heavy beats and cynical tone of it make it almost depressing. While not terrible and perhaps one of the best songs on the album, certainly not some of Timberlake's best work, or at least not deserving of a single. The song is incredibly similar to Timberlake's first solo hit "Cry Me a River" from way back in 2002, when Timberlake was still establishing himself as more than a member of NSYNC. I'm sure this will be a song many of you love, and many of you hate. I definitely consider it worth listening to, but don't expect too much.
5.Take Back the Night
When I first listened to this song, the lead single off of the album, I had this sense of familiarity with it; as though I had already heard it before. It wasn't until a few days ago that the revelation came upon me that I had heard this song before; It had been released in 1979 as "Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough" by an artist named Michael Jackson.
3. Cabaret
This song has a very well....Cabaret feel to it. Featuring rap sensation Drake, this song has even more talent packed into it than a usual Justin Timberlake song. Easily one of my favorite songs, largely due to Drake's contributions. While Timberlake's part is great as usual, Drake's vocals seem ever better suited for the song. His verse just seems so well placed and the lyrics, while not exactly deep, do feel as though they carry some weight. The song also acts as a prelude to the next track, "TKO".
4. TKO
The second single off of the album, "TKO" is a very powerful, and dark song. The heavy beats and cynical tone of it make it almost depressing. While not terrible and perhaps one of the best songs on the album, certainly not some of Timberlake's best work, or at least not deserving of a single. The song is incredibly similar to Timberlake's first solo hit "Cry Me a River" from way back in 2002, when Timberlake was still establishing himself as more than a member of NSYNC. I'm sure this will be a song many of you love, and many of you hate. I definitely consider it worth listening to, but don't expect too much.
5.Take Back the Night
When I first listened to this song, the lead single off of the album, I had this sense of familiarity with it; as though I had already heard it before. It wasn't until a few days ago that the revelation came upon me that I had heard this song before; It had been released in 1979 as "Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough" by an artist named Michael Jackson.
Okay. Okay. All kidding aside, if this song doesn't show how much Timberlake likes to pull some things out of the "King of Pop"'s playbook, I don't know what does. The song is incredibly well done; it has a very big band feel to it, while also getting a good Pop vibe. When this song released this past July, I listened to it for about a week straight. No exaggeration But somehow, it is still only my second favorite song on the album.
6. Murder
The second guest appearance on the album, this track calls upon Timberlake's "Legends of the Summer" tour partner, and Jay-Z to lend his skills. The Brooklyn native who was also featured in the lead single of Part 1, "Suit and Tie", doesn't quite match Drake in his contributions to "The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2". Not to say that he isn't talented on his verse or anything of that nature, it just lacks any significance. This song could have been released just the same without Jay-Z. Other than that though, the song is really good! The lyrics are great, and the vocals fit perfectly. This song is probably one of the more artistic songs off the album, regardless of the subject matter. It just seems to weave together so nicely (minus the Jay-Z verse).
7. Drink You Away
Cutting right to the chase; this song is amazing. I love this song. This song sounds like it should be on a Classic Rock station. Its incredibly weird listening to Timberlake sing a bluesy drinking song, but weird in the best way possible. This track isn't like anything else on the album, or anything in his entire repertoire for that matter. It has a very down-home feel to it, but at the same time it doesn't seem out of place for Timberlake. The guitar parts compliment Timberlake's new vocal styling in this song. This song is much less punchy than the other songs, and is a really easy and enjoyable to listen to.
8. You Got It On
This song is probably my least favorite on the album. Its not BAD, its just such a sappy and generic love song. I mean there aren't any parts of it that I DON'T like, I'm just very "meh" about the whole song. The vocals and beat are pretty on par with the rest of the album The song isn't really a song you'd want to listen to over and over again, and I'm not sure you'd even want to listen to it twice. This is one of the few songs where I am truly opposed to Timberlake making his songs so long. At nearly six minutes, I'm falling asleep by the end of it. If you get the opportunity to skip this one: Do.
9. Amnesia
This is the pinnacle of the album. It's dark, powerful, and beautifully composed/produced. The beginning of this song paints a picture of this grand scene, and quickly brings the world back to reality with a simple beat and simple vocals. It then leads its way back up to the grand chorus that is just as beautiful as it is moving. I like to picture this song as the Anti-"Mirrors"; They both have more depth than any other song on their respective albums, one is a happy love ballad, the other is a dark, cynical, and crushing tragedy. Finally, perhaps the most simple comparison; they both share the ninth track listing. I see this song going far. If this track does not get released as a single in the coming months, I will be genuinely shocked.
10. Only When I Walk Away
I have a hard time making my mind up on this track. On one hand it is very appealing to the ear, and Timbaland's producing really comes together on this one. On the other, this song sounds like it would have been better had any other person sung it. Timberlake's vocals just don't work for the hard, punchy, aggravated vocals. His vocals are distorted to a point where they actually become annoying and distracting. This would have been a better song had it not been sung by Timberlake and rather any other human being .(Rebecca Black anyone?)
11.Not A Bad Thing
I had no idea that NSYNC had gotten back together until I heard this song. My least favorite song on the album, its obnoxiously boy band-esque. Even the choruses have such heavy harmonizing, it can hardly be considerd Timberlake alone. It seems so pre-packaged and simple, it drags the entire album down. This song should be released by some aspiring 17 year old that is trying to make his mark on the music scene, not a 32 year old, world-renowned pop sensation. While this song may have worked on "Justified" in 2002, it certainly doesn't fit on this more sophisticated album
12. Pair of Wings (Hidden Track)
Located at the end of "Not A Bad Thing" (An 11 minute song seemed suspicious, even for this artist), the acoustic love song sends the album out on a good note. It is simple, happy, and just fun to listen to. It contrasts the complex production of the earlier tracks with an emotional guitar piece. This song seems fitting as the last song on an album which may very well be the last from Timberlake for the next few years.
OVERALL
I liked it! Despite criticizing the album heavily, all of the awkward disfigurations of each track seemed to work together for the most part. While it certainly doesn't compare to the first half of "The 20/20 Experience", it is exactly what Timberlake said it would be,
"If you could imagine you're 16 and she's (20/20 Part 1) everything you thought, she's Marilyn Monroe and then you meet her older sister. Everything that's dark and wrong about her (20/20 Part 2) at that age is why you become infatuated with her"
The album comes out September 30th, and is currently streaming on iTunes for free!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-20-20-experience-2-of-2/id672509345
Definitely check it out for yourself! I'm curious as to what you all think of it! Be sure to leave your PURPLE opinion below!!!
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