Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience Review
Combine Justin Timberlakes falsetto, Timbalands musical genius, over half a decade of anticipation and you get 70 minutes of an enveloping soundscape. My ears were not prepared for this audiogasm I should have known with a Timbaland production that I was going to get an eclectic blend of period, future and global sounds. This is what makes Timberlake and Timbalands musical union so universally appealing and accessible.
My relationship with Tim is very unique, we share the same perspective that we always want to make something that reminds us of music that we love, but at the same time is something weve never heard before. - Justin Timberlake, NY Daily NewsTimbaland has created some seriously sick beats, rhythm and flow on The 20/20 Experience drawing from brass, percussion and strings, 70s soul, Houston screw, Afrobeat, Soca and Bhangra. The genius of this album lies in the innovative and clever way that producers Timbaland, Jerome J-Roc Harmon and song writer James Fauntleroy have woven these diverse sounds into individually complex tracks and made them not only sound good, but feel good. I'm talking the way "Got To Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye or Rick James' "Superfreak" made you feel. According to JT the title The 20/20 Experience came from his best friend whos reaction to a listen through of the cuts claimed it was the music you could see. I like to think of the album as a sensory assault. If you like FutureSex/LoveSounds, Robin Thicke, soulful baby-making music than I guarantee The 20/20 Experience is your flavour. FutureSex/LoveSound reminded us of the brilliance of two part songs inspired by 1960s and 70s rock. While working on The 20/20 Experience, Timberlake told Capital FM:
"If Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin can do 10-minute songs and Queen can do 10-minute songs then why can't we? We'll figure out the radio edits later."Prince, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder successfully perfected the two part, lengthy songs now we can add Mr. Timberlake to that list. The appeal of Timberlakes two part songs, is that you essentially get two songs in one just when you think the track is closing out - you get an unexpected yet flawless beat or sound change. I think this is best demonstrated on tracks Strawberry Bubblegum, Suit and Tie and opener Pusher Love Girl.
"Pusher Love Girl" a sweeping orchestral intro with a funky main section and then an extended coda in which he raps with surprising authority; later, "Strawberry Bubblegum" metamorphoses from a chilly electro jam into a warm organ vamp à la Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." LA TimesNot once did I get that itchy thumb-skip urge I feel when a song is waning or lacking in connection each of the ten tracks had me bopping along for each lapsing second. For my short attention span this is truly remarkable.